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That’s probably one of his staff.Senators frequently have legislative aides accompanying them on the chamber floor for various purposes. When debating a bill, a Senator would probably bring along the Legislative Assistant (LA) covering that bill’s topic to assist with answering questions and keeping track of the details. (“Sir, we’d discussed rejecting any attempts to amend the bill at this time because we committed to Sen. X that we’d push for a vote on a clean bill.”)A quick glance at Google Images suggests that Sen. Schumer brings the same aide to the floor for most of his appearances. She might be a member of his leadership office staff who’d be able to help him manage his floor appearances, update him on happenings off the floor, and otherwise keep him prepared for whatever’s coming.

He was trying to highlight that he worked hard to get women into his administration in Massachusetts.All of the people who came to him to join his team were men.He looked at all of these men and said to his staff, "Get me some women candidates to work in this administration!"His staff went out to various sources and came back with binders full of the names of qualified women to work in Massachusetts government.That is the story he was trying to convey...except that's not what actually happened.If you're interested in the actual true story about the binders, check out: http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/talkingpolitics/archive/2012/10/16/mind-the-binder.aspxWhat actually happened was that in 2002 -- prior to the election, not even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic administration -- a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.They did the research and put together the binder full of women qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor Romney when he was elected.I have written about this before, in various contexts; tonight I've checked with several people directly involved in the MassGAP effort who confirm that this history as I've just presented it is correct -- and that Romney's claim tonight, that he asked for such a study, is false.I will write more about this later, but for tonight let me just make a few quick additional points. First of all, according to MassGAP and MWPC, Romney did appoint 14 women out of his first 33 senior-level appointments, which is a reasonably impressive 42 percent. However, as I have reported before, those were almost all to head departments and agencies that he didn't care about -- and in some cases, that he quite specifically wanted to not really do anything. None of the senior positions Romney cared about -- budget, business development, etc. -- went to women.Secondly, a UMass-Boston study found that the percentage of senior-level appointed positions held by women actually declined throughout the Romney administration, from 30.0% prior to his taking office, to 29.7% in July 2004, to 27.6% near the end of his term in November 2006. (It then began rapidly rising when Deval Patrick took office.)UPDATE:In the quest for actual fairness and balance, Bill McDonald found the list of Mitt Romney (politician)'s cabinet. Check out the names and positions of women: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governorship_of_Mitt_Romney#Cabinet_and_administration

One of my first customers as a young sales rep was an incredible jerk.After spending months calling on him and practically begging for a crumb, he gave me a shot with a small order. He wasn’t my first customer but was close.If you’ve sold, you will understand how important your first customers are.They build your confidence. When hundreds say no to you, those first few who say yes can embolden you to keep asking. They remind you that you are not completely worthless.Those first orders are used as proof sources in your marketing efforts. Social proof has done more for me as a salesperson than any other closing approach. It signals to prospects that you are competent enough for people to spend money with you.New customers buy you time to breathe. Desperation creeps when you are not selling. You are more likely to cut price or offer terms that are not in favor of your company. Bringing in a few orders gives you some breathing room to stick to your process, and avoid stretching.Preying On My DesperationThis particular customer knew how desperate I was. First, I was young and looked I should still be in college. I sold engineered solutions and most of my competitors were twice my age. Second, he saw how much time I put into getting his business and he was not a big account.I got his business because most of my competitors ignored his account, choosing to spend time in ponds with bigger fish.I was calling this guy daily and willing to run out to his little manufacturing plant at the drop of the hat.This dude chewed on me all day. Nothing we did was good enough. Our delivery wasn’t acceptable. Our technicians were not working fast enough. Our overtime rates were too high.All of that is fair game and typical in B2B sales to industrial companies.What made this guy different is how personal he made it. Every failure became a talking point about my personal competency. If anything didn’t suit him, he turned it into a conversation about how I didn’t belong in the business or was too young to be in the role.He called me ignorant, stupid, incompetent and usually with a smattering of f-bombs for good measure.I was too young to know any better so he started getting into my head. Was he right? Did I need to find a new line of work? It weighed on me and for a time, I wasn’t myself in the office.I dreaded days where I had to talk with this guy.The Showdown At High NoonThe customer called for an update meeting with me, our project manager and our technician when the job was nearly through.It was painful.He came with a list of things we were screwing up on this small piece of business he gave us. He was out of his league with our project manager and technician so he would preface each slight by saying something like, “This is where the inexperience of your sales reps comes in” or “I believe I was deliberately lied to in the sales process on this one.”Our project manager, Brian, was old school. I didn’t work for him but looked up to him a great deal. He had 30 years with the company and had worked with every kind of customer.Brian was a big, imposing dude and had kids that were my age. We talked often about our families and bonded over a common love of football.I was humiliated that this customer was shitting on me in front of him. It sucked.The TurnWhen the jerk made one insult too many, my project manager had heard enough.“Sir, this clearly isn’t working out with us. I suggest that we wrap this job up and agree that we are just not a good fit. I know enough people in the industry to suggest some people that can finish the job and we’ll refund what we’ve collected so far.”Holy shit, is he firing this customer?“Now, wait for a second Brian, let’s not take it that far. I like working with you and think we can work through these items.”This customer’s bluff was called and he had a weak hand. He wasn’t finding anyone better to do the job.Our project manager continued, “Your ‘items’ are just a list of insults to a kid who is working his ass off for you. I sit next to him in the office and hear him on the phone with you all day. He is giving you better service than you would get from any other rep on a small job like this.”I was stunned. What was happening?“Well, he does work hard,” the jerk managed a meager compliment, backtracking with his tail between his legs.“Yes, he does. Ian is important to our company and if you want to work with us, you are not going to insult him. There will be no hard feelings. We might not be a good fit for you.”“OK, I understand. Let’s work through this punch list.”Classic. Bully is all talk. Bully gets punched in the mouth. Bully backs down.Surround Yourself With People Of IntegrityThat moment taught me more about leadership than any book or course. Brian saw something that didn’t sit well with him and was willing to lose business for what was right.He stood up for someone on his team at a time when I wasn’t equipped to handle the situation myself. He was experienced enough to know that this customer needed us more than we needed him.That moment stuck with me. I thought about it with every team I led in the years to follow. To Brian, it was another day but to me, it was everything.I was different after that meeting. I quit giving customers too much power. I grew more confident, knowing that leaders in my company had my back.I learned that customers aren’t always right and that you can fire a customer if they are having an adverse impact on your business or personal well-being.If your company doesn’t have leaders like this, find a new company. You will become the type of person you are surrounded by. If your influences are weak, you are destined to become a weak leader.How do you develop leadership skills?Surround yourself with people of high integrity and pay close attention.