Political Murder by Emma Lathen

Author:Emma Lathen [Lathen, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simply Media
Published: 2016-05-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Showdown Meeting

John began his meeting at 7:30 AM not 10 AM because everyone was there early and itching to go. This led John to speak to the point. “Today we have seen the early election returns on our slimmed down mobile organization. With no commuting or security obstacles in front of us, we each just arrived, got our single serve coffees, a bit of fruit kindly left in the fridge because there are so few of us here, and here we are.”

He paused and then continued, “No formal clothes except for Ken who only had his suit with him. Last night I got to think about our increasingly friction free life and the impact on most people and businesses. Above all they have less work because there is less fric- tion to deal with. Last night I came downstairs and walked through the office. Let’s get up and do it together,” and they did.

He continued, “Don’t think about what is here; think about what is not: No file cabinets and they did not go to Iron Mountain either; no secretarial or clerical areas and equipment; no reception area; no large printer; few office supplies; no landlines; and the list goes on and on.”

John looked at them, “What does this mean for the Sloan, our invest - ments, and us personally? It means we were smart to move when we did. It means we are here in the Devonshire behind its moat. It just occurred to me we would be smart to have no visitors here. If they find out how small the place is they will comment; and their com- ments will lead to most people and businesses seeing exactly why they have less than they want and we have, a volatile combination if there ever was one.”

Bowman interjected, “I remember when Costco pointed out they made their corporate offices look bigger than they actually were to dissemble with visiting reps and dignitaries. They said it worked. Made sense to me then and even more so now that I take John’s point.”

John smiled, and continued, “So rule 1 of the new era: No visitors here. Period.” “Rule 2: Don’t talk about this. Don’t talk about it with your wives, friends, children, or others. We need to get hold of all this; get used to it, digest it, and then think again. I believe we will stick to this policy. But, and this is an important but, no talking about this with outsiders which includes Tom Robichaux, my son Jack, or daughter Laura, for my personal examples, and on down the line. Nobody means nobody.”

“Any comments?” There were none at first, then Charlie concluded, “It is something isn’t it.”

Bowman added, “I go out for lunch anyway. Perhaps a few dinners too now, to meet people?” and chuckled.

Everett chimed in, “Yes, Walter. Smart plan.” When the VPof Yes and No agree, then it is over and that discussion was. There would be more of that as fewer people meant smaller audiences which meant less need to dissemble.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.