Awakening, 2nd edition (6 page)

“Do you realize that you’re talking about the company’s best engineers?”

Paul didn’t grace this question with any response beyond rolling his eyes and sinking lower into the armchair.

“When they . . . when we hired you, you were told explicitly that the majority of your team would come from inside. Correct?”

“Yes. So?”

“So deal with it. You’ve hired almost twenty people yourself—that should do it.”

“I should’ve hired the entire team.”

Steve sighed.

“Like it or not, but this is the best you can get. Deal with it or deal with the fact that somebody else will take over. Actually , that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

Paul straightened up.

“Ah, not that again. You can’t have someone else running my thing.”

“We can and we will, if we decide to do so. And thi s time it would be final. Everybody understands that this is your project, but it doesn’t mean that the entire org should report to you.”

“But why?”

“Why? Are you serious? It can’t go on like this forever. We hired you because we thought you were the best one out there to take on this project.”

“And you were damn right.”

“Yes, we were. You’ve been doing what you were hired to do. You get the job done. But at what cost ? People gossip about your legendary review meetings. Your group’s employee satisfaction is down to the floor. Fights are going on constantly about everything. Nobody’s happy. And above all, you are not happy. You’ve done three re-orgs to date, shuffled and reshuffled your people, but you ’re still not happy! Just look at you, just listen to you . . . You have more power than any typical manager in your situation has ever had and you’re still not happy.”

“You know that I like to exaggerate a bit.”

“But I don’t. We gave you a seasoned manager last year. You fought this move like a cat. You didn’t let the poor guy work . You didn’t let him breathe. Everybody still remembers your , “That clueless admin” line. We let you have it your way back then and I still feel we shouldn’t have listened to you. But enough is enough. We still consider you the main force behind this project. Nobody takes that from you. But unless you start treating the people who work for you differently , you’re not going to run this show anymore. We’ll put somebody else in change and you will become an architect. Not a dictator.”

Paul got to his feet and strode nervously across the room.

“All right . . . All right . . . You have a point. It’s a—I understand . . .”

It was obvious that he was trying to avoid saying too much.

“This is good feedback. I’ll take care of it . . .”

He finally stopped and looked at Steve, who’d been silently watching the jerky movements of the angular figure in front of him .

“I’ll take care of it. Okay?”

“Okay. But there’s more. We think that, in order to deal with this challenge , you need to become a stronger leader.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“This means that they—that we are sending you on a one-week training course that will help you to grow as a leader.”

“A training course.” Paul ’s bitterness seemed to return . “The same kind of training course you put me through last time? This mumbling about everyone needing a special touch?”

“No it’s not about that . It’s about becoming a true leader. And it’s not ‘mumbling.’ And by the way, everyone does need a special touch,” Steve said, noticeably irritated. “And don’t you think you’re out of line here?”

Paul raised his hands peaceably.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. You’re right, I shouldn’t be talking to you this way. But you know where I’m coming from, right? I’ve got this whole mess to deal with and you’re telling me that I won’t be here for a week? What is this training course , anyway?”

Steve shook his head, demonstrating a mixture of weariness and doubt.

“To be honest, this workshop is not for you. Had it been up to me, you’d be spending this week doing something more useful. But, that wasn’t my decision.”

“I get that. What is it about? Give me some details.”

“I can’t. I simply don’t know much about it. Nobody does. There’re just rumors. ‘It’s something unique, nobody has ever been to it, nobody lived to tell, ’ and so on . . . There’s literally zero information. Someone at the very top, presumably Thronburg himself, came up with it. Don’t give me that look —I was told it came from him. So now they really want to send somebody over there since our competitors have already sent some of their folks on it . These people have some very strong prerequisites. In short, only those who’ve been rising up through the ranks at high velocity qualify. That’s why I don’t think it’s for you, since we hired you expecting you to do all these great things.”

“Don’t worry. Thronburg knows best. Have you got any clue about what happens over there?”

Steve shrugged.

“They turn you into a leader. I haven’t the slightest idea how they do it.”

Alan

Alan slowly shook the large lime envelope and poured out its contents onto the desk.
So it has finally happened. They ’ve noticed. They ’ve paid attention.
He was slowly savoring his triumph. Four— no, five —years of hard work ha d not been in vain.

Those heated debates he had had with Tim and Larry: “You ’ll get lost in that crowd!” Tim had yelled back then , “You ’ll become a corporate pawn! Do you know why they call people ‘corporate assets ?’ Are you dying to be an asset?”

But Alan knew what he was doing.

If you’re smart, if you ’re bright, if your GPA is rock solid, if you know how to make a good impression, they ’ll single you out of thousands of fresh grads and will practically beg you to come and work for them, right? Tim and Larry had no objections to that statement. But if this is true, why can ’t you keep walking the same path? Who said that you must stop somewhere halfway between college and real life? Why can ’t you keep using all your talents and skills, and with the same persistence and determination rise up through the ranks, first catching up and then leaving behind those who had the advantage of an early start but didn ’t have enough brains to use it? Can you imagine anything that would prevent us from doing this? And then in ten years or so you could become the next of kin to the people who rule one of the major corporations, which—and here Alan would make a pause full of significance—which, as we all know, rule the world.

But at that point, his friends were no longer in agreement with him. “You ’ve watched too many movies, ” Tim would snort. “These places are full of smart kids like you. And everybody wants a slice of it. What makes you so special? In ten years ’ time, you ’ll make head of department, and start waiting for your retirement days. That ’s your future, brother. Resistance is futile.” As for Larry, he would nod his brainy , eyeglasses—adorned head in agreement, while listening to Tim ’s loud maxims. He had little interest in becoming a big boss, but he wasn ’t without his own ambitions. Not that he wanted much. Just full recognition of his future accomplishments by th e world ’s scientific community and some fame. Like Time Magazine's front page. And perhaps, a Nobel.

“I’m telling you, you ’ve got to go someplace else!” Tim would proclaim, encouraged by his friend ’s silent support. “Someplace else ” meant “The place where I ’m going .” For Tim wasn ’t going to join the corporate legions. Oh no, brother. Upon receiving his diploma he was about to proceed without hesitation to a known-to-nobody, privatively held, loosely structured tiny startup, one of those that , like mushrooms after a rainy day , had been popping up inside the glittering structures of the Technology Center. There, as Tim passionately believed and loudly argued, instant breathtaking success was waiting for him—success never to be experienced by fools who, blinded by evil PR machines, sell their souls to the corporate monsters.

The startup was destined to flourish, to prosper, to rise above the petty competitors —and with it inevitably would rise Tim. And Tim ’s heart hurt as he watched his equally talented and bright friend getting ready to make a tragic mistake. “Tim ’s right, ” Larry would agree. “It ’s a risk —but no risk, no glory. Being in the right place, at the right time . . . w ell, you know how it goes.”

But Alan didn’t want to take risks. He wanted to hit the bull ’s eye and he wanted it guaranteed—just the way he had always been.

And who has had the last laugh? Where are Tim and Larry? Tim bangs away at his keyboard all day long in his startup. Only it ’s not the same startup he joined to rise and shine. That one died peacefully about two years later. And so Tim went to a former competitor, hoping that they would want him, and appreciate him, and please him. And they wanted him, and they pleased him, and they appreciated him, and they promised him the world. And they went bankrupt in six months.

And Larry? Larry is stuck in his university; fights for grants, up to his ears in the local turf wars, groans whenever he needs to submit a new paper and teaches hopeless slackers. And so far no prospects of getting a Nobel.

So what about Alan? Alan rules. Granted, he doesn’t rule the world yet. And not a company. Not even a division. But he has over a hundred people to manage. And it didn ’t take him ten years to make head of a department. Just two and half years, brother Tim. Just two and half. And yes, he may be a corporate asset, but a damn important one . Because now his name is even known at the very top, at those heights unseen from the ground to which inevitably, unstoppably , he will rise too. And they ’ve just decided to send him to this semisecret workshop that is a complete mystery even to his own manager.

Alan gave the envelope a proud look.
Damn, it feels good. It just feels good. Now let ’s see what they have to say.

Five minutes later, it became clear that the organizers of the mysterious workshop had chosen not to reveal much to the students-to-be upfront. To be fair, they did provide some information, but in limited quantities. For example, they chose to share their excitement at welcoming yet another bright participant to their honorable establishment. They also chose to inform the reader about the fact that The Workshop had been in existence for many years and that every single instance of it was a tremendous success. They mentioned rather vaguely some extremely satisfied and extremely powerful clients, whose corporate identities they were not at liberty to reveal in a public document. They went as far as to show a picture of a cozy wooden lodge on the shore of a crystal lake along with directions from all major highways and the airport.

They promised to supply, upon completion of the workshop , an extensive report accompanied by an analysis of leadership potential. This particular promise sounded less exciting, but since there was nothing that could be done about it, Alan just went on reading. Next, they promised to turn a bright participant into an equally bright leader. As supporting evidence , the brochure included a picture of a young man with an aquiline profile whose forehead was furrowed , à la Rodin ’s The Thinker , due to some heavy thinking process. According to the caption, the young man was a real participant of The Workshop captured in action.

That was it. There was not a word about their approach, schedule or techniques. Nor did the brochure shed much light on why a Senior VP would be personally involved in this matter.

Although there was something else: a plain white piece of paper with two short questions and a fairly strongly worded request to think about them and to come up with honest answers. The word honest was unambiguously underlined. Alan read the questions once again and grinned. Do they really expect honest answers? He tossed the paper carelessly back on the desk and stood up. Does it even matter what they expect and what techniques they use? The real value of this workshop is not in its content. What matters is that he ’s going there. As for the questions . . . w ho ’d answer this?

“Why did I get into my current position? What do I want more than anything else when I think about my future career?”

You know why. And you know what. But to say it out loud? You ’re not that naive, are you? He grinned again and began stuffing the colorful papers back into the envelope.

Don’t we just love playing with words? A workshop that creates true leaders! What a line. A leader. Someone who is followed. Someone who is looked up to. Someone whose word is law. A rare breed. Do you want to become one of them? Then our workshop is just what you need! We ’ll turn you into a true leader , even if asking who ’s last in line has been a major challenge for you. As long as you have spent the p ast five years passing down orders issued by others, attending meetings with importan t participants and sitting on countless committees, you are qualified. You have potential while we have our methods.

Let’s combine these powerful ingredients in a five-day act of unification—and , like the p hoenix , you will be reborn, this time a true leader. Your subordinates will start idolizing you, your wife will change her sour “What ’s that?” to the sweetest , “Of course, darling ,” and your manager will value your advice above his own opinion. And, like a prophet , you will set off on a journey to lead your people to the shining goals that only your eyes can see. Try it, live it, enjoy it! It ’s free—your employer has already taken care of the fat bill. Don ’t lose this opportunity!