77 Posts
Among the many wonderful memories I have of Marshall's presence in my life, a meeting at Google in May 2015 stands out. It was my job to get the "right people" from Google to join us, and they had specifically requested Marshall. Peter Joseph, Marshall and I met at a nearby coffee shop to prep, and I had to tell Marshall that the "key person" (VP of energy policy) had canceled at the last minute. Unfazed, Marshall gently put his hand on my shoulder and calmly said, "Karl, the people who are supposed to be in the meeting are the people who will be in the meeting."
Well, there was a last-minute addition: a young woman that my Google buddy thought should join us. Her response to Peter's synopsis of Carbon Fee & Dividend was, "OK, that is such an elegant solution I don't understand why it is not already the law!" Marshall looked at me with a big smile and a slight nod, as if to say, "See... what did I tell you?" She ended up being our champion to help move things forward.
After the meeting I had to show him my license plate:"CCL HOPE". Thank you, Marshall, for giving me and so many thousands of people the hope we need to move things forward.
Well, there was a last-minute addition: a young woman that my Google buddy thought should join us. Her response to Peter's synopsis of Carbon Fee & Dividend was, "OK, that is such an elegant solution I don't understand why it is not already the law!" Marshall looked at me with a big smile and a slight nod, as if to say, "See... what did I tell you?" She ended up being our champion to help move things forward.
After the meeting I had to show him my license plate:"CCL HOPE". Thank you, Marshall, for giving me and so many thousands of people the hope we need to move things forward.

6 Replies
6 Posts
Aww. I think of that phrase all the time. I never heard it directly from Marshall, but did hear it in stories (maybe yours!) and it changed the way I think about teams in all different areas of my life. It just simplifies things beautifully and allows one to move ahead without reservation.
247 Posts
Thank you Karl for both story and picture.
Every time I get concerned about who will be there (including CCL conferences), I will remember the words Marshall shared with you: "the people who are supposed to be in the meeting are the people who will be in the meeting."
Every time I get concerned about who will be there (including CCL conferences), I will remember the words Marshall shared with you: "the people who are supposed to be in the meeting are the people who will be in the meeting."
Search Forums
Forum help
Select a question below
CCL Community Guidelines
- Discuss, ask and share
- Be respectful
- Respect confidentiality
- Protect privacy
CCL Blog Policy Area Categories
- Price on Carbon
- CBAM
- Clean Energy Permitting Reform
- Healthy Forests
- Building Electrification and Efficiency