by Dhtreichler
And I have to assume that since most of those we are bringing over are ten years younger than I am they also will generally not be traditional. So how do I make the transition easier for them? The first thing I’ve realized is not to generalize, assume or expect. After that it should all be easy.
THE WEAK LINK
When I get to AppleCore the press is waiting. Why was I not expecting this? I should have been. Ten came to the announcement Dr. Woodall made. Now there are at least fifty. The old fifteen minutes of fame. I can hope it’s only fifteen minutes, but somehow I doubt it. Cameras are in the back filming my approach. Really? This is surreal.
As I get out of the car a microphone is thrust into my face, “Miss Washington! How does it feel to know you’re going to live forever?”
I don’t have time to try to explain that I don’t have feelings. I know I have to smile. I do. “Hello.” I just ignore the question. “I will make time for you, but I can’t talk right now. I have people waiting for me upstairs. I have a company to run.”
“When Miss Washington?” the same reporter who holds the microphone asks.
“My calendar is full until 7:00 tonight.” I see eyes glaze as each person realizes no story is forthcoming for today’s deadline. “If you come back then I’ll spend as much time as you need.”
Another reporter complains, “But we have a 5:30 broadcast. We need something. Anything.”
I realize I need to keep these folks happy or they won’t be objective with me. What can I say that will be controversial but not create other problems for me? About a thousand possible responses flash through my mind. I select one. “Think of a world where a small group of immortals can produce all that we need. Then we can chose what we want to be, not because of how much money we can make, but because of how much it fulfills our desires, whatever they may be.”
The journalists and reporters jockey to get their microphones within range. They each shout nearly the same question over the others, “What do you mean by that?” “An army of immortals just like you?” “Who will own these immortals?”
The last question catches me by surprise. I realize I have to answer it. “Own?” I shake my head. “No one will own immortals. I won’t be a slave because of the things I can and will be able to do.”
The same journalist pushes to the front of the crowd of reporters. “So, you’re saying a small group of immortals, people who will live forever, will control the productive capacity of the world and the rest of us will only be able to buy what we need from them? Doesn’t that just take the one percent and make them the one tenth or one whatever of the one percent? Incredibly wealthy while the rest of the world has a subsistence level of living?”
I have to be careful how I respond. Don’t provoke a storm I’m not ready to weather. “There are many different ways our society may change with immortals amongst us. But don’t think of me as a robot. I’m not. I’m just like you only with a lot more moving parts.” That evokes smiles.
“But if you’re not a robot, why will you live forever?” Another journalist asks.
“That question will have to wait until 7:00.” I’m consulting the time in my mind and see my leadership team has already gathered in the conference room. “I promise to answer all your questions and discuss this as much as you’d like then, but my meeting is waiting for me upstairs.”
The crowd parts to let me through. In a moment I’m through the door, thinking that discussion will come back to haunt me I’m sure. Too controversial. I’d not thought the journalist would take it that direction. While I tried to recover, I’m not sure I did. Will have to monitor the evening news to see what is reported.
As I open the door I find Petra, our CFO talking with Wallace, the head of production. Alix, the head of Supply Chain listens in, nods when Wallace turns and asks, “Can you get us what I need?”
“Morning,” I announce as I come in and take my seat.
“Is this meeting really necessary?” Wallace asks. “I have production planning issues I need to attend to.”
I quickly scan those files in my head. “What in particular is the issue?” I ask as I see what I think he may be concerned with. “Are you looking at the production change over where you only have a 24-hour supply of the memory chip?”
Wallace appears surprised, “They upgrade you again?”
I nod.
“Well, if you can see what the issues are why do we need a meeting to inform you?” Wallace sounds angry.
“The meeting isn’t to inform me, Wallace,” I shoot right back. “This meeting is to ensure we are all informed and coordinated. This time is to do what you were doing, working through things with Petra and Alix and anyone else we need to bring in to stay on course.”
“Then when we’re all like you we won’t have to have these meetings because we will all be able to see what you do.”
“What’s the real problem, Wallace?”
“There’s no problem, I just need this time to work the issues you will hold me accountable for.”
“And when you are like me, you’ll have much more time to work issues because you’ll think at least four or six times faster than you do now.”
Wallace shakes his head with a grimace. Clearly not the solution he was hoping for.
“I get the sense you’re not looking forward to being like me, as you put it,” I can’t let Wallace’s unhappiness infect the rest of the team.
“Were you when you transitioned?” Wallace challenges me. “You were supposedly dying. Your work here had gone to shit. No one expected you to still be here by now. You’ve turned it all around, but look at the price you’ve paid.”
“What price is that?” I have to turn Wallace around. This sounds like the first shot over the bow to a revolution.
“You’ve sold your soul.” Wallace drops on me. “Look at you. Think of all the stories of how the devil works, Dorian Gray, you sure as hell look younger. Frankenstein. A body made up of parts and electrified. Isn’t that you? How could you expect me to be excited about the prospect of becoming just like you?”
Whoa. I’d never seen this side of Wallace before. But I’m informed by many sources in response to my thought that it is not uncommon for deeply held beliefs to be invisible to the people around someone who feels those beliefs may not be readily acceptable to others.
“And where do you get your facts?” Wallace continues in the vacuum of my hesitation. “Are they mostly from the internet? From blogs and website searches? With fake news planted in all those supposed facts? And you’re making decisions based on those alternative facts, as someone called them. Alternative facts acted on six times faster. What does that make you? Susceptible to manipulation by those who supply you with those alternative facts.”
“Slow down,” I finally respond. “It sounds like we need to have a conversation about your concerns. But let me back up for a moment. Do any of them impact the production issue you identified?” I already know the answer but I’m trying to redirect him back to his job.
“Not really,” Wallace admits, having refocused.
“I suggest, and you are free to disagree with this approach, that we solve the business problem first and then have the conversation about my immortal soul. And just so you know, I’ve been worried about that exact issue. So, I hope this discussion will give me some insights I’m looking for in order to know what to do.”
Wallace blinks rapidly as he contemplates my unexpected response. “Why would you be worrying about your soul? You’ve not given any indication of spirituality since your transition. It’s all business. How do we make AppleCore so much better that no one can challenge us?”
“And you’ve not had any discussions with anyone here that I’m aware of that would indicate you have deeply held religious convictions,” I respond.
“A’zam isn’t open to that.” Wallace reflects. “The culture of AppleCore has never been accepting of different convictions, as you put it, or beliefs. Anyone who openly discussed them
was moved out of the advancement lane and eventually encouraged to leave. That’s our culture. Either accept what it is and get ahead, or leave.”
“Then you need to give me the same benefit of the doubt you expect. We both came up through the ranks based on our behavior and performance. We both figured out how to play the game. As did everyone else in this room.”
“I did not,” Petra protests. “I learned the rules at my last company as I’m the only external hire into the executive suite here.”
“Thank you, Petra, for clarifying that,” I need to change direction, get the team refocused on the business first and then we can work through Wallace’s concerns. “But back to the production issue.”
“I have a path forward,” Wallace informs us. “I need some help from Alix. She’ll have to call in some favors, but she thinks what we need is doable. Petra also thinks she can give me a small allocation of capital to buy a new device that should speed production. Just learned about it recently so it wasn’t in the annual plan.”
Alix and Petra both nod their agreement.
“What else do you need?” I show my acceptance of his plan without saying as much.
“Luck, and plenty of it.” Wallace glances at Desirae, our SVP of People.
Desirae fills in the missing piece, “We need to recruit someone with a special talent to make this all come together. I’m trying to get that person in immediately as a contractor, but our contracts process and system is making it real hard.”
I look to Alix, “Can you fix this?”
Alix nods, “I’ve talked to my IT guys. It’s a system design issue. We’ve known about it for a long time, but we just lived with it. You know?”
I try not to sound too like A’zam, “Can you fix this?” I repeat.
Alix looks to Suri, our CIO who shrugs.
I’m not about to accept an unwillingness to accept responsibility. “Sham. Can you fix it?”
Suri bows his head in deference, “I have good people working the issue.”
“Sham, you’re fired. You can leave now.” I leave no doubt, but Suri seems to not understand what just happened. He looks about the room as if expecting someone to clarify what he needs to do.
So, I’m more direct. “Sham. Go to your office, collect those things that belong to you and not the company. Take them with you and leave your badge with the guard as you leave. Your separation check will be deposited with your last working pay.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sham. I can’t have anyone not accept responsibility as you just did.”
“But under A’zam…”
I cut him off, “I’m not A’zam. He will not overrule me. You can appeal to him if you like, but I expect he will not even accept your call.” I question whether I should say more, but decide I owe him at least one piece of advice. “Sham. You know IT. No one questions that. But when you lead a team, you have to step up and meet the expectations of the leadership. We expected you to fix Alix’s problem or find a work around, so she could bring this contractor on board. You chose to let things just work themselves out and not intervene. That is not the actions of a leader. Just to be clear, each person in this room has to lead or they will be replaced just as you are being replaced.”
“But you will not meet your schedule if no one is in charge of IT,” Sham protests.
“That’s no longer your problem.” I nod towards the door. Alix clears her throat, so I turn towards her. “Do you have a work around IT?”
“Yes, and I’m aggressively working it.”
Testing a theory, I ask, “And what is your work around?”
“I bring her in, give her a no-escort badge and pay her from petty cash until we can get her on board as a contractor and then permanent employee.”
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” I acknowledge. “How many company policies does that violate?”
Alix smiles, “More than I can count at the moment. But I suspect when internal audit comes by with their exceptions report that you’ll sign off on them once I give you the event linkage.”
Sham is still sitting there watching this exchange, I push a button for security. Two uniformed men enter almost immediately. “Would you escort Mr. Suri to his office and then out of the building? His employment has been terminated. And be sure you get his badge when he leaves.”
The guards each put a hand on one of Sham Suri’s shoulders. He looks up at one and realizes the game is over. He rises and leads the men out of the conference room.
When the door has closed behind him, Wallace asks, “What are you going to do now? Fire each of us when we don’t deliver?”
I lean across the table towards Wallace, “If you don’t think you can do this job, which entails delivering to the business needs, then I would expect you to tell me that and resign so I don’t have to fire you.”
Wallace swallows hard. “Is that why we all have to become like you if we want to keep our jobs?”
“What you may not have noticed is that the world has changed in the last thirty days,” I come right back at Wallace. “Either you comprehend the changing landscape and competitive environment and chose to lead the new world order, or this is the point where you leave us.”
No one is looking at me now except Petra. I know she is scheduled to transition next week and is probably over all the angst about being something other than she is. Besides she’s a numbers person. She probably figured out a long time ago that living forever is a better deal than dying soon.
“I read that you had to make a decision about going back to being like us, but you chose not to because you were going to die in like the next few months. Is that true?” Wallace asks.
“There was a little more to it than that, but essentially that was the decision,” I agree.
“But none of us have that particular Sword of Damocles hanging over us,” Wallace thinks he’s speaking for the whole Leadership Team. “So why do we have to become like you?”
I haven’t made the imperative clear enough. “Do you remember the off-site when A’zam told you why he transitioned?”
“Yes. At his level it makes sense if he’s trying to match wits with the CEOs of all the big companies.”
“It’s even more important at your level, Wallace,” I have to make this point clear. “If you can’t produce our products cheaper than the competition we lose market share and go out of business. If all your competitors are immortals like me, and you’re not, you’re the weak link and we will replace you.”
PREFERENCE
Wallace is going to stop by at 1:00 pm even though I have a previously scheduled meeting. Mindi will move it. And speaking of Mindi, my assistant comes into my office as I’m still thinking through how I’m going to deal with Wallace’s religious objections to transitioning. It’s a much more complex issue than his initial discussion would indicate. Mindi closes the door and sits down across from me.
“I need you to put me on your list to become like you,” Mindi announces.
I don’t respond, giving her a chance to say more. She knows this is my preference, so she knows what I’m looking for.
“I’m pregnant.”
“That’s great news, Mindi. Congratulations. I assume Landon Bannerjee is the father?”
Mindi smiles, “Yes, Landon will be the father.”
“Will be?” I respond without even thinking it through.
“Well, technically I’m not pregnant yet, but I expect I soon will be.” Mindi is embarrassed to have to admit this slight problem.
“Okay. Given the fact you haven’t married I can understand. Have you slept with him yet? Or will conception only happen after the wedding?” With Mindi things often get confusing.
“You know how Landon is. Creative genius. But he can’t remember what day it is.”
Not pregnant and hasn’t done it yet, but is hopeful. Okay. Where do we go with this conversation? “I can’t put you on the list until you’ve delivered the baby.” I inform Mindi.
> Mindi looks down. “I am aware of the rules you sent out.”
“So where are you within those rules?”
“Conflicted,” Mindi is clearly unhappy. “I cannot transition until I deliver the child, but I cannot get pregnant until my family blesses the marriage. If the numbers say that Landon is not the one for me then I cannot marry him. If he is the father of my child but I cannot marry him, it becomes even more complicated. Do you see where this is going?”
My mind tries to process all the permutations on this set of circumstances, but I shut it down and simply react as simply as I can. “When does your family conduct the numbers ceremony, or however it is that they decide on Landon?”
“My mother is awaiting an auspicious sign from one of the gods.”
“She’s Hindu?”
“Yes, and she worships many gods. Not like you who has only one.”
“So, it could easily be a year or more before she has her auspicious sign?” I ask.
Mindi looks away and puts her hand to her mouth. “It will be when it will be.”
“And your mother is saying if the gods take their time it means you should not rush into marriage with a man that may not be the one for you.”
Mindi looks at me as if she is wondering how I knew what her mother had said to her.
“You’re not the first, whose mother has said that,” I inform her.
Mindi still seems to be struggling with how I knew almost word for word what her mother had said to her. “But Landon is the one for me. I love him, and he needs me to keep him organized. You’ve said yourself that he seems much more focused since we have been together.”
“That he has.” I agree.