http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5489398
Exit strategy Feb 6th 2006 >From Economist.com How a boss managed his dying days Eugene O'Kelly was chairman and chief executive of the American arm of KPMG, one of the worlds biggest accountancy firms, when in May 2005 he was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer and given just three to six months to live. He radically reoriented his life to prepare for his death, chronicling his thoughts and deeds in this surprisingly well-written and moving book. It describes the very business of dying. Mr O'Kelly approached this personal task as he would a professional project. He defined his goals, redefining death as something to be accepted rather than avoided. He wanted to succeed at death, in his words, to try to be constructive about it, and thus have the right death for me. To be clear about it and present during it. To embrace it. He made to do lists for his final days. He tried to use the skills, knowledge and optimism that had served him well as a chief executive to help him on this final undertaking. He viewed the warning he was given of his impending death as a gift. He was fortunate in that he was otherwise in good health, and he knew the brain tumours that were to kill him would not cause him pain. He determined to have the best death possible. To him, that meant spending his remaining time engaged in worthwhile activities, saying goodbye to friends and family, and preparing himself mentally for the moment of his departure. Days after being told the news, he resigned from his job. He then decided to choose a medical regime that would enable him to make his remaining time the best of his life, and as good as it could be for his family and friends. Timethe single most important factor outside his controlhad to be rethought. Mr O'Kellywho regretted that only twice over the previous decade had he had lunch with his wife during a working weekhad recently introduced to KPMG a new concept: you can succeed if you give your best energy (rather than time) to a project. He tried to apply this idea to his remaining days. Next, he began what he calls unwinding his personal relationships, methodically bidding farewell first to friends made through shared experiences, then to close business associates, lifetime friends and his immediate family. He learned to meditate, trying to live in the present. A practising Catholic, he found comfort in his faith. Mr O'Kelly strove for perfection and, as he approached death, often saw reality as perfection, describing, for example, a downpour that disturbs a meal at a boathouse restaurant in New York's Central Park as a gift of rain. In each of his final dealings, he sought to create a perfect moment, whether a five-minute telephone conversation or a four-hour lunch with wine. The prose runs fast; it has to. In the event, Mr O'Kelly had just 100 days to live after his diagnosis. At times, the text appears as a stream of consciousness. Then it just stops. The epilogue is provided by his widow, who describes how her husband died at home a week later. Mr O'Kelly felt he benefited from having a mentor during his professional life. This book represents his attempt to mentor the reader through the process of dying. It also serves as a guide to living, reminding the reader to slow down, accept certain things as they are, and to value moments with family above time at work. Mr O'Kelly will not have become the first to tell Saint Peter that he wished he'd spent less time at the office.
