My Turn - Achieving the American Dream

by Jonathan Williams

  Chapter 4

  “Play the Game”

  It’s not long after David is let go that they are informed that an interim Director is needed. IT is told that the company is looking for a new Director with experience going through an FDA audit. As part of the process of filing the NDA, an audit is conducted. IT is not allowed to participate in the interview process. Chris finds that strange. A week prior to hiring someone, the CFO drops two resumes on his desk saying that they’ll be hiring one of the two and will let him know.

  During this short period without a director, Chris is asked to limp IT along until the position is filled. Based on some meetings, though, he struggles to communicate with upper management. It seems like they speak their own language. He has always found office politics challenging, and he just can’t play the game. His personality is similar to Suzanne’s in that way. Upper management recognizes this and wants someone who is more politically seasoned. Chris is basically performing a clean-up role until someone else comes in to lead the department.

  After reviewing the two resumes, Chris has a hunch that his new boss is going to be a person by the name of Timothy Larson. He has a fair amount of biotech and IT experience but what makes his guess easier is that the other candidate, Paul Blanders, doesn’t have a background in either. Paul’s only tie to IT and biotech is that he sold a sales module to another large pharmaceutical. So when a week passes and the CFO tells him that it’s Paul and he’ll be starting tomorrow, he’s surprised.

  Evidently, it’s not necessary for a person to have gone through an audit in order to become the IT Director. It also looks like IT experience is not a requirement either. The team thinks it’s kind of unusual, too. The CFO spins it as Paul is an interim Director, so like everyone else in IT, they accept it. Besides, this is what upper management wants and they don’t have much of a say. As it turns out, Paul is a friend of the CFO.

  As stated earlier, the company’s main goal is to obtain a successful NDA. So when Paul asks Chris what NDA stands for, Chris knows it’s going to be a long ride. This is the person selected to steer IT in the direction of the NDA. But how can you have a leader steering a team to an objective when he doesn’t even know what it is?

  In his first week on the job, Paul instructs IT to patch all servers in a four-hour window with no involvement from business units, no change control, and no advanced notice to users, all of which proves his lack of IT experience and that he is almost definitely a controlled political hire. There is also absolutely no desire on Paul’s part to address IT issues, which is another strong indicator that his sole purpose is to control IT, suppress issues, and to just do whatever it takes to get drug approval.

  There’s an ongoing nationwide initiative in segregating duties in the finance world. The way that it’s viewed is that one person or department should not control the entire stack of a task/process tied to finance. There needs to be a system of checks and balances. It’s called SOX (Sarbanes Oaxley), and it’s good practice but difficult to adhere to when the people doing the checks and balances are all friends. It’s similar to being in the Republican or Democratic Party. Most of the time, everyone sticks together unless the media gets involved and brings something to light. Then people start distancing themselves to try and save themselves. But they all have the same goal of gaining more power and money. So, if the CEO “controls” the entire stack of departments, like at Biokinz, the segregation of duties becomes difficult. It becomes more like the collaboration of duties. So the move to hire Paul makes sense.

  Even people outside the department wonder why Paul was hired. For instance, some of the questions he asks in cross department meetings make him sound inexperienced in regards to biotech and the IT field, and it raises flags across the board. The remaining members of IT continue to remind themselves that he’s only an interim Director. They just need to file the NDA and he’d be gone.

  Paul continues meeting everyone. He does seem like a nice guy, Chris thinks, and his philosophy is that you need to give people a chance. There’s always the first impression, but he still feels that people should be given time to prove themselves. But it isn’t long until Paul’s inexperience starts to take a toll on Chris, too. Paul tries to wing it, but it’s just too obvious that he is not familiar enough with the industry. And though he spreads out several of his questions among the IT department, he limits most of them to Chris who soon begins to show his frustrations. Chris responds to his questions as best he can. But, as the professional relationship grows between them, Chris’s graciousness slowly starts to fade.

  Soon after Paul is hired, the two of them meet with the CFO. It’s obvious to Chris that the meeting’s been staged. Paul gives his analysis on what he’s discovered at this point in the IT department. A lot of what he says is just not true, Chris thinks to himself. He’s not sure where he’s getting his information from but Paul lays it on thickly and smoothly, something Chris is unable to do. Towards the end of the meeting, the CFO mentions that Chris should speak up when his opinions differ. But he knows if he does, he could end up saying too much of what he’s starting to figure out so feels it’s best to just keep quiet.

  In a second one-on-one meeting, Paul says to Chris that if he can learn anything from him, it’s framing. Based on the company’s priorities, Chris already knows it’s not going to be IT or biotech-related.

  “When you get to this level, it’s all about framing.”

  “What do you mean?” Chris asks.

  “Framing,” he smiles. “I’ve worked with several CFO’s and CEO’s. I know how they operate. You should only give them what they want to hear.”

  “So, distort the truth?” Chris asks.

  “Well, not really,” he says laughing. “You’ve seen me in several meetings. I phrase things in a way that appeals to them. I tell them what they want to hear. They eat it up.”

  “Yeah, I know. But it’s not accurate. It doesn’t seem to be true most of the time.”

  “Well, that is how it works. They don’t want to hear about issues. So you either correct them or frame them as a success. What do you think they’re doing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “These guys are seasoned. They’re framing as well. You don’t think when they meet to discuss financials that they are going to be upfront and honest, do you? Or when they meet with the Board that they’re going to disclose all the issues?” he says with a grin.

  “I guess not.” Chris doesn’t want to come across too confrontational.

  “Of course they’re not. They’re going to distort any negative results as best as possible. They’re not going to be upfront and honest with the Board. It would be suicide. The Board knows this as well. I bet you that in a company of this size, low-level managers are doing this as well.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  “Yes, I’m right. Trust me. Do you know how hard it is to get caught framing? Most people are not going to double check your statements. People are too busy.”

  “Yeah, I guess that sounds right.”

  And he’s right. Who is the Director? It sure isn’t Chris. He’s a straight shooter. If things are sour and something goes bad, he speaks up and let’s his boss or others know. The way Paul is handling it, though, is to cloak the truth and spin it as a success. Take a negative and make it a positive. For a technical person like Chris, this is difficult to do, but for someone like Paul, it’s second nature.

  If the cost of a project is miscalculated, it’s because the vendor doesn’t understand the requirements. If a patient becomes gravely ill while taking the drug, it’s because they are on another medication or not following instructions. The idea is to weasel out of a negative situation. Frame things to cause doubt or divert people down another path. It’s not a surprise either that they weren’t clear on providing requirements for the project in the first place.

  As far as the patients go, it’s Biokinz’s drug that’s making them sick. But ironically, it’s not their job to dis
cover the truth. Someone else needs to be the one to find it. The corporation’s primary goal is to make shareholders happy and that means getting drug approval which pushes the stock price up.

  “Also remember, these guys like numbers. They want to make money, not lose it.”

  “Right.”

  “Remember the Oracle licensing presentation I gave in our last meeting with Frank?” Frank is the CFO.

  “Yes, the one where you messed up your formula.”

  “Yes, that one,” he says laughing. “When you first take a job as a director, they want to see results. They want to see savings. Sure my formula was wrong but all they really want to know is that I am going to save the company a half million dollars.”

  “Yes, but if your formula was correct then there’s nothing to save. We were already compliant.”

  “I know, but they aren’t aware of that. All they know is I saved them a bunch of money. They ate it up right?”

  “Yeah, but you said you should only give them good news because that’s what they want to hear.”

  “Well you do that after you’ve proven yourself. And yes, they expect this. Why do you think I’m here?”

  “So I take it you frame with external folks, too, like auditors?”

  “You frame wherever you need to. You do whatever it takes to please the shareholders.”

  As time passes, it becomes apparent that working with Paul is going to be difficult. Chris tries at the beginning but feels he is not built to work with someone who is so adept at politics. In IT, things are clearer. They’re either on or they’re off or they’re a “0” or a “1,” simple. Every once in a while, Paul acts naïve with Chris and tries to convince him of his role at the company.

  “Is this light on?”

  “Yes it’s on!” Chris replies somewhat frustrated.

  “How do you know? Maybe it’s wired incorrectly and it’s actually off.” He states with that same grin.

  “Then the light would not be on. It would be off,” Chris replies with a soft laugh.

  Paul can be aggravating but that’s how he’s built. He tries to cause doubt in the facts but that’s what the corporation wants. When something negative surfaces, he spins it into a positive by framing. At his level, it’s not about biotech or IT knowledge; it’s about politics and distorting the truth.

  This continues for a couple of months. As time goes on, Chris becomes more and more frustrated. His team is also having a tough time working with the new Director. They complain to Chris several times, and it’s becoming difficult to be a manager. His direct reports are now complaining about his boss. It’s not a fun position to be in. But however you look at it, anyone with any IT/biotech experience would complain. The IT team is constantly asked to bypass IT best practice and corporate policies simply so that Paul can check items off his list.

  Chris knows the CFO and Paul are friends but, regardless, he schedules a meeting with HR to voice his own concerns as well as his team’s. He feels that he doesn’t have much choice in the matter. His crew is complaining, and he’s not happy either. Chris is warned by others not to go to HR if he wants to keep his job. He’s also told that their discussion will be directly reported to his boss and that he will not be portrayed in a positive light. HR would call it a confidential meeting but, in the end, the people at the top are always informed. And with so many people standing to make a fortune, they need to silence the complainers. At this point, however, he and his team don’t care about experience. They just want someone who can be honest and who has integrity. Plus these are two of the supposed values that the company emphasizes. However, it’s becoming blatantly apparent that they don’t apply to upper management.

  As expected, after Chris’s meeting with HR, Paul calls Chris into his office.

  “If you have an issue with me, let’s discuss it.”

  “We do.”

  “Well I think we need to discuss it more. There’s no need to go to HR. We can resolve the issue here.”

  “Okay. I’ve tried but I can try again.”

  “Yeah, come to me directly, and we can iron out our differences.”

  Needless to say, it’s awkward but given the climate at Biokinz, Chris feels prepared for the meeting.

  There are already numerous complaints regarding upper management at the company. It’s not clear if it has to do with competency or not, but the complaints are there and nevertheless HR has to maintain a history of these complaints. They’re supposed to anyway. And the fewer complaints to HR, the better off the company will be in case something goes awry.

  It isn’t so much that Paul and the CFO are friends but, rather, it’s the culture at Biokinz. One needs to bend the truth when necessary and play the game. Chris’s team and several others see this as being dishonest. But this is the way things are run. It’s basically dishonesty spun as framing. It is Biokinz. It is corporate America.

  The weekly meetings with the CFO now include the VP of HR. It’s probably to try and get a better handle on Chris’s character more than anything else. The framing also continues as half of what Paul says is untrue. Chris and his team continue to be frustrated.

  After each meeting, Paul and Chris have with upper management, Chris shows the team what he and Paul presented and they’re surprised, too. But upper management, on the other hand, is impressed and love it. Plus, because they complained and upper management is now aware of it, it seems like everyone is in on it or at least those who have a large amount of stock at stake. The bottom line is that if a person doesn’t go along with things, employees are going to be asked to leave or the company is going to make things difficult until you go on your own.

  It’s one of the advantages of being in upper management and working for a smaller company. It’s easier to control the body of the snake if it’s smaller. It’s all coming together now. It begs the questions: Do most companies start off the same way? Do they start off unethical and once they make it big, continue down this path, or do they attempt to correct themselves? But then what is correct? Many people believe that greed is inherent in all of us and if so, is it good?

  “So explain validation to me. Do we even need it? It seems like a waste of money,” Paul says during a meeting with Chris and the Project Manager.

  They attempt to explain the concept of validation to the IT Director, but it’s clear that he doesn’t want to understand the process.

  “Essentially it’s a way for systems to be locked down. Any type of change needs to go through the company’s change control process, which is to prevent tampering in systems that house information related to the NDA. It’s to help ensure integrity of systems. They even use a validation process for equipment used in the manufacturing process,” replies Trisha, the Project Manager.

  “But to go through all this seems like a waste of money and time. This is ridiculous.”

  “Paul this is the way it is.”

  Chuckling a bit, “Yeah but I just don’t get it. I don’t think we have to do it.”

  Trisha becomes frustrated. “Paul you don’t have a choice. This is something you have to do,” she replies.

  “Okay, we’ll see,” Paul says back. Trisha and Chris leave frustrated and walk over to Chris’s office.

  “Geez, I don’t get this guy. I want to let you know that I’m looking for another job,” Trisha says.

  “Yeah, I kinda figured,” Chris replies.

  “I feel like I’m just his secretary. He doesn’t know anything about validation or, for that matter, project management. He thinks both are a waste of time.”

  Chris laughs. “I know, you don’t have to tell me. He doesn’t know much about IT either. You have a company in mind?”

  “Another biotech closer to where I live.”

  “Well hopefully it works out. Not sure how long I’m going to last either. It’s hard when your boss doesn’t understand pretty much anything you work on but, more importantly, is unethical. Not knowing anything about IT is one thing but to be dishonest is ano
ther. But what can you do? This is who the CEO wanted.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks. If you need a reference let me know. And good luck.”

  “Thanks Chris.” She gets up and leaves.

  Struggling with Paul on what’s considered good-practice in IT is an ongoing theme. It’s difficult for those with experience to deal with him. But more so for Chris because he’s the one who’s present when Paul does presentations where so much of what he says is either embellished or fabricated. Chris believes, too, based off his comments and attitude that he’s probably at the top of the list to go. He’s rocking the boat.

  As far as the company goes, a lot of what upper management says is simply not true either. And if those in subordinate positions don’t agree, whether it’s ethical or unethical, they should just go ahead and resign because they’ll be let go anyway. Upper management has a way of making things difficult for people if they don’t play the game. Someone in HR once told Chris that if he had a problem with one of his team members that he can make their job so miserable that the person quits. This is basically what Paul is doing, and it seems to be working because Trisha resigns two weeks later.

  Chris thinks if people are honest and treat others how they like to be treated then there wouldn’t be so many rules. But since so many employees want to make a quick buck and cut corners, they now have to go through gobs of paperwork to prove that they have integrity and are honest. It’s simple logic but Chris feels greed is part of a human’s DNA. Granted, some people are greedier than others though.

  After a few weeks, there’s another round of layoffs and Brian is let go. Brian and Chris had several conversations and Brian felt that he was on the list, too. He says that he’s tired of the politics anyway. He’s been with Biokinz since the beginning and has seen the company through several layoffs. At the time of his departure, Brian was handling the network and the email server, and his layoff is attributed to cutting back on costs.

  “Sorry to see you go.”

  “I knew it was coming.”

  “You weren’t happy for quite a while.”

  “Yeah, just got really tired of this place.”

  “I think the atmosphere is taking a toll on a lot of us. So who did you piss off?”

  “Obviously the wrong people,” he says laughing.

  “Sounds about right.”

  “Remember when I was telling you about David and how he was asked to delete emails?”

  “Yes.”

  “Same thing happened to me.”

  “No way!”

  “Yeah.”

  “Geez, so they actually asked you to delete emails related to a DOJ investigation? How did they approach you?” Chris asks out of curiosity.

  “Don’t mention this to anyone.”

  “Okay.”

  “Paul came over to my cube and called me into his office. He then went over what he needed deleted.”

  “I knew there’s a reason why they need him. We have too many complaints about controls, security, etc… that could interfere with an audit and drug approval.” It’s just another confirmation as to why Paul was brought in. They know Chris won’t comply with direction that is unethical. In other words, Chris can’t be trusted from their vantage point. They need someone who will play the political game.

  “Did you mention that we’re not supposed to be deleting any data?” Chris asks.

  “Yeah, but he said it’s fine.”

  “Did you get it in writing?”

  “No, it was all verbal. But I did keep a copy of the emails I deleted.”

  “Geez, this place is crazy.”

  “I know. It’s time to get out.”

  “Yeah, I think I’ll start looking for a new job pretty soon.”

  “You better. Otherwise they’re going to ask you to delete data.”

  “Who knows with this place? They hire high level folks that they can control and not complain,” Chris says laughing.

  “Well just watch your back.” He gets up and they shake hands.

  “Will do. Good luck with everything.”

  “Thanks, you too. You have my personal email so we’ll keep in touch.”

  “Of course.”

  Well apparently Brian isn’t good at the game either. After being asked to delete emails, Brian complained to HR. Once again, HR doesn’t do anything and Brian, in the end, is let go. The only difference is that instead of the CFO making the request, they have the IT Director come down and request to delete emails.

  Here Biokinz is deleting emails related to an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice. Though it’s just email, upper management can delete or modify any piece of data and no one would ever know. Chris has a hunch that if they are toying with the DOJ data, then it wouldn’t surprise him that data related to the drug study is also being tampered with. The company is dependent on drug approval—it’s the sole reason people are here. Skewing numbers on spreadsheets and data is easy for them. That coupled with everyone framing, he can’t imagine the drug failing.

  In addition, most IT directors or at least senior ones want access to everything. They still want system admin privileges, which always strikes Chris as odd. Why do they want these types of elevated privileges? Don’t they have a team handling the hands-on work? They request system admin privileges on everything from databases to email servers. Most though have never even seen a database. For instance, they have a network background or maybe a Helpdesk background or in Paul’s case, a sales background.

  Chris meets with Paul, and they discuss framing again. Chris though, is not interested and Paul senses this. The meeting doesn’t last long.

  Surprisingly, only after a couple weeks of Brian’s departure, a replacement is found. Paul hires him immediately. Based on how things are run, it’s par for the course. Chris is not allowed to interview the new person, Andy, but someone from the Helpdesk tells him that he knows everything about IT. He is certainly a “yes” man. It’s intriguing to say the least. Chris has learned in his experience that one person cannot know everything about IT. For instance, it’s not possible for a doctor to know it all. That’s why they’re specialists and doctors understand this. So those in IT who make this claim, don’t know much. That’s where the humor lies with people like Andy. Chris has come across these types in his career. If they claim to know everything, as Andy does, it’s a red flag.

  Andy’s claimed knowledge base is amazing: firewalls, routers, databases, wireless, phone systems, Linux, Unix, Windows, switches, networks, webservers, etc. Oh and not to forget, nuclear physics, chemistry, pediatrics, astronomy and sports medicine. He’s a supposed expert in all fields, and after being hired, the truth comes to light. He makes so many errors and either blames someone else or blames the weather. It’s comical. Chris gets a kick out of it. But this is what Paul needs. Someone who’s desperate for a job and as it appears, someone who’s already distorting the truth. He’s a player and one of his people. He fits well with Paul.

  That night Chris goes home and starts thinking. Here he is about to turn 40 and still living in an apartment with no savings and an 11-year-old car; the list goes on and on. Is this the American dream? He’s been upfront and honest throughout his career and this is what it gets him? Look at what dishonesty brings though: a high-paying job and promotions and a ridiculous amount of money. Is it time for a change? Should he play the corporate game?

  All of these questions dance in his head. He can’t sleep very well. This is not about IT or biotech experience. The new Director doesn’t have either. It’s about being a seasoned suit.

  He realizes he needs to make a decision. Chris is indirectly asked to play the game. David and Brian weren’t good at it, and they were let go for it. Chris doesn’t think he can do it. He’s never been able to. But maybe he never tried before? Here at his company, there are plenty of professional people who can and what a better place to learn. It’s evident that a person needs at least the desire to learn how to do it in order to keep
their job here. But looking at how things unfold, if he doesn’t take this opportunity, he’ll lose his job. A person either does it or gets canned. He’s at a crossroads.

  He also knows what his DBA team will say. It’s not what they’re about or how they administer databases. He’ll be letting them down. Chris will be signing up for something that he’s never preached before. He’s a straight shooter and there would be a huge learning curve as well. Along with that, Chris is not even sure he can pull it off. On the other hand, he does have a decent amount of stock that he’ll lose if he leaves the company or gets fired. And if they do get drug approval, he will for the first time in his life have a savings. What a concept. A savings!

  The next day Chris has his weekly one-on-one meeting with Paul. Going in, Chris is still not sure which way he’s going to head. If he had to make the call for someone else, he would tell the person to walk or complain to Human Resources again.

  “I’m in.”

  “Ah… so you finally came around. You are lucky I like you. Otherwise this could have gone different a while back.” It looks like Chris is going to keep his job.