Frank left the meeting exhausted but happy that it was only 7:00 on a Friday night. Most days he left the office much later. “Another important meeting, Mr. Frank?” asked Marissa, the night cleaning crew supervisor.
“Yes, always meetings. But this one was useful; we actually got some things done.” Marissa smiled and Frank continued down the hall toward his office. He flipped on the light and saw the folder Dave had left for him in the center of his blotter. Opening it, Frank saw the report Dave wrote, the printout of the slides Dave had prepared, and the thumb drive with the files. Excellent, he thought as he put the folder in his briefcase, added some other files from his desk, and then closed it up. Turning to the door, Frank sighed and thankfully headed home to a great dinner with the family, a Saturday at the zoo with the kids, and a Sunday flight to the meeting where he would make his presentation.
The aroma of pancakes, bacon, and eggs filled the kitchen as Frank served up breakfast for the family. Frank enjoyed this Sunday morning ritual with the kids and loved to spend the day with them, but today he had an afternoon flight and needed to finalize his presentation. He had completed most of it and just needed to integrate Dave’s data and then he could get on with the packing. Sally herded the kids into the car and drove off for church, lunch with Grandma, and a return home in time to see Frank off on his trip.
Silence, thought Frank, smiling, as he carried his coffee into the den. The schedule was to have him speak to the executive board’s strategic planning meeting on Monday morning. He had worked out the last-minute details with the other presenters during the Friday meeting. He was confident that the board would support his new product proposals—they always had in the past. This time he had Dave’s research, which would augment his presentation.
Frank opened Dave’s folder, loaded the files from the thumb drive, and began reading the report and looking at the charts. Frank read and read. He studied the charts. He sipped coffee. He opened the folder to see if he had forgotten to take out part of the report. Growing concerned, Frank searched the drive for more files. There was nothing else; he had all the material there on his desk. Frank started getting nervous and then angry. “This is crap!” he said aloud as he picked up the phone and dialed Dave’s home number. The phone rang and rang. There was no answer. Rummaging through his briefcase, he found his phone book and dialed Dave’s cell phone number. The call went straight into voice mail. Getting control of himself, Frank firmly and clearly left a message telling Dave that he didn’t have the full report and asking Dave to get back to him as soon as possible with the numbers he needed.
Frank reread the material, and it dawned on him how familiar it was. His anger slowly turned to fear as he realized where he had read this material before. This was from an article he had read in an industry magazine a few weeks back—an article written about their chief competitor. He turned his briefcase upside down on the floor. There among his stuff was the magazine. He flipped through it to the article. “Oh, my God!” exclaimed Frank as he realized that Dave had taken paragraphs from the article and retyped them into his report. The charts were the same, except he had changed the product labels and the legend to say Garrideb Technologies, and had increased the figures 12 percent across the board. There were no new data, no real projections, and no new product presentation!
Frank realized what he had to do. He logged on to the corporate computer and began searching through databases. He knew he still had the flip charts in the closet from the off-site planning meeting that he had run himself before he handed the project over to Dave weeks before. He furiously emailed requests for information to his staff, hoping that they, being the compulsive folks he knew them to be, were at home working, as well. Finally, he called his travel agent and got her to change his flight to the later one that night. He would miss the cocktail party and dinner, but there was no other way. He had to finish his presentation—his reputation and career depended on it.
Frank tried to sleep on the plane, but frantic thoughts kept running through his mind. When his cab pulled up in front of the hotel, he jumped out and quickly headed for the registration desk. Turning toward the elevators, Frank spotted John, his boss, walking through the lobby bar. Before he could duck into the elevator, John waved him down. “Frank, Frank, glad you made it. We were worried; how are things at home?”
“Oh, John, fine. I just had to change flights because of a family thing. Sally’s mother called . . .”
“No problem, Frank, I understand. Look, I really love your presentation. I think it’s a winner. You’ve really knocked the ball out of the park this time,” said John enthusiastically, patting Frank on the back and pulling him back into the bar.
“You do?” asked Frank, not knowing about what presentation John was talking.
“Yes, the ideas are so fresh; just what we need to pull us out of this slump and rebuild the board’s confidence,” said John as he ordered two martinis. “You know, you’re pretty sly, Frank. You never mentioned any of this to me on Friday—wanted to surprise me at cocktails before the meeting?”
“Well,” squeaked Frank, wondering what was really going on. “John? Which version of my presentation did I send you?”
“Oh, I just assumed it was the final one,” said John as the bartender put down their drinks, and John signaled him to start a tab. “I got it from Dave, earlier this evening.”
Frank reached for the glass and downed half his martini before he said, “Dave?”
“Yes, he called and told me you had some issue at home and weren’t sure you would make it to the meeting. So he went ahead and sent the latest version, knowing you were preoccupied.” John paused. “You know, he’s really got the right stuff, hasn’t he?”
“I . . . I,” stuttered Frank.
“And you, putting in a whole slide thanking Dave and the team for their input. A bit much, Frank—the picture, I mean—but a nice thought nonetheless.” Frank finished his drink and smiled weakly.
“You look like you’ve had a rough day, Frank. Would you like another?”
Discussion Questions