O Great One!: A Little Story About the Awesome Power of Recognition by David Novak & Christa Bourg

Author:David Novak & Christa Bourg
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-05-09T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The following day Jeff arrived at the office feeling great. He believed he was finally beginning to gain some momentum. It was clear he still had a long way to go, but for the first time since he’d arrived at Happy Face, it looked as if he might actually be able to make the kinds of changes he wanted.

His optimism got a further boost when Manuel asked him if he would take part in his “surprise recognition party” later that morning. Manuel had identified someone in the sales department who’d had an outstanding quarter, nearly doubling her quota, and he’d come up with the idea of throwing her a surprise party to celebrate her accomplishment. Everyone in the department was going to show up at her desk at a specified time carrying balloons, blowing on plastic horns, and throwing confetti. Then they would all yell “Surprise!” as Manuel presented her with a cake. On it was a picture of the honoree done up in frosting with “Salesperson of the Quarter!” written across the bottom. Manuel thought this would be more fun than just handing her an award and a good way to get everyone involved in the process.

Jeff thought it was a great idea, and when Manuel suggested it would be even more meaningful to everyone if the CEO attended the celebration, he happily agreed. It was a fantastic party, and the recipient of all the attention, Miranda, was not only pleased, she was more than a little sentimental about it. She talked about how much she’d loved her surprise birthday parties when she was a girl and how her mother, who’d passed away the year before, had always made such a big deal about them for her and her sisters. She hadn’t told anyone before then about the loss of her mother, and Manuel said it made him realize that he needed to work harder to foster a more open and communal atmosphere in the office. He didn’t want his people to think they couldn’t talk to him or to their colleagues about things that were clearly so important to them.

It was an incredible event all around, except for one thing. When her colleagues were trying to persuade Miranda to give a little acceptance speech, they pounded on their desks and blew on their plastic horns to encourage her. But before she got a chance, Adam, whose office was just down the hall, came barging in.

“Can you all please keep it down out here,” he bellowed. “I can hardly hear myself think!”

Adam’s face was so red, he looked as if he might blow a blood vessel. His eyes were darting about as if he were looking for someone he could unleash his anger on directly, but then he spied Jeff and abruptly cut his flare-up short. He didn’t apologize, however. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. He went back to his office and loudly closed the door.

Jeff was furious. Part of him

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