Dragons - Chapter 58 (DRAFT)

At the conclusion of the “state of the company” meeting, I did not approach Mary and Mary did not approach me, and for the rest of the day our paths did not cross. I don’t know if she was avoiding me, but I was certainly avoiding her.

But at home that night I said all the things I would have wanted to say to Mary.

“Eleven?” Really, Mary? I thought you said eleven was such an odd number. Don’t you think it will work so much better if there are only ten?”

“Obeys the rules?” Really, Mary? It takes a rule follower to think that’s a good idea. How does obeying the rules possibly fit in with the other qualities? You want people to show initiative, to creatively apply resources, to be visionary -- and you want them to obey the rules? Do you even realize how schizophrenic that is? Oh, and what the hell does obeying the rules have to do with maximizing productivity, anyway?”

“Company Values? Really, Mary? You don’t get it, do you? You can’t just take our list, slap Company Values on the top of them, and claim them as the company’s own. There’s more to it than that. Goddammit, we worked hard to describe professional qualities that people could possess. People, Mary, not companies! People can show initiative. People can creatively apply resources. People can be visionary. All the company can do is identify, encourage, and reward people who have those qualities, because those are the qualities that are most closely correlated with the company’s success. But you don’t have any plans in place to do any of that, do you, Mary? You certainly didn’t talk about those plans in the company meeting. All you did was pass out a list and remind everyone how important it was. If these are the company’s values, what is the company going to do to embrace them? To make them a reality? To reward instead of punish anyone who dares to embrace any of them except your glorious number eight? Because if I took a survey of everyone in that room today, I’d wager that number eight is the only one that any of them remember. Obey the rules!”

It all came tumbling out of my mouth. Like a holy roller, I was angry, indignant, and righteous. I wanted to do battle. I wanted to hurl myself on my enemy’s sword and let her feel the terrible heated pulsations of the blood I was willing to shed for my cause.

And through all of it Jenny simply sat quietly and listened. When I was spent and could speak no further, she was short and to the point.

“What time is your flight tomorrow?”

I looked at her quizzically, wondering if she had even heard anything I had said.

“Ten fifteen.”

She slowly nodded her head. “Better get a good night’s sleep. You really need to knock them dead on Friday.”

+ + +

“Dragons” is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. For more information, go here.

This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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