'I need to see Bill,' I tell her.
'Go right in. He's waiting for you,' she says.
'Hello, Al,' he greets me as I enter his office. 'I knew you wouldn't leave without seeing me. Take a seat.'
As I approach his desk I start to talk, 'Hilton Smyth is going to submit a negative report about my plant, and I feel that as my manager you should hear me out before you come to any conclu- sions.'
'Go ahead, tell me all about it. Sit down, we're not in a rush.'
I continue to talk. Bill puts his elbows on the desktop and his fingers together in front of his face. When I finally stop he says, 'And you explained all of this to Hilton?'
'In great detail.'
'And what was his response?' he asks.
'He basically refused to listen. He continues to claim that as long as cost of products increase, profits eventually have to go down.'
Bill looks straight into my eyes and asks, 'Don't you think he has a point?'
'No, I don't. As long as I keep my operating expenses under control and Johnny Jons is happy, I don't see how profits can help but continue to go up.'
'Fine,' he says, and buzzes Meg. 'Can you call Hilton, Na- than, and Johnny Jons in here please.'
'What's going on?' I ask him.
'Don't worry, just wait and see,' he says calmly.
It's not long before they all enter the room and take seats.
'Hilton,' Bill turns to him, 'you heard Alex's report this morning. You've also seen all the financial results. As the produc- tivity manager of the division, and as a fellow plant manager, what's your recommendation?'
'I think that Alex should be called to order,' he says in a formal voice. 'And I think that immediate actions should be taken in his plant before it's too late. The productivity in Alex's plant is deteriorating, cost of products is going up, and proper procedures are not being followed. I think that immediate actions are in order.'
Ethan Frost clears his throat, and when we all look at him
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he says, 'And what about the fact that in the last two months that plant has turned profits rather than losses, while releasing a lot of cash for the division?'
'That is only a temporary phenomenon,' Hilton states. 'We must expect big losses in the very near future.'
'Johnny, do you have anything to add?' Bill asks.
'Yes, certainly. Alex's plant is the only one that can produce miracles-to deliver what the client needs in a surprisingly short time. You've all heard about Burnside's visit. With such a plant backing up sales, they can really go out and blast the market.'
'Yes, but at what price?' Hilton reacts. 'Cutting batches to far below optimum size. Devoting the entire plant to one order. Do you know the long-term ramifications?'
'But I haven't devoted the plant to one order!' I can't con- tain my anger. 'As a matter of fact, I haven't got any past-due orders. All my clients are pleased.'
'Miracles exist only in fairy tales,' Hilton says cynically.
Nobody says a word. At last I cannot hold back, 'So what's the verdict-is my plant going to be closed?'
'No,' says Bill. 'Not at all. Do you think we're such bad managers that we would close a gold mine?'
I sigh in relief. Only now do I notice I've been holding my breath.
'As manager of productivity of the division,' Hilton says with a red face, 'I feel it's my duty to protest.'
Bill ignores him, and turning to Ethan and Johnny he asks, 'Shall we tell them now, or wait until Monday?'
They both laugh.
'Hilton, this morning I asked you to sit in for me because we were meeting with Granby. Two months from now the three of us are moving up the ladder, to head the group. Granby left it to us to decide who will be the next manager of the division. I think that the three of us have decided. Congratulations, Alex; you will be the one to replace me.'
When I return to the plant, Fran hands me a message 'It's from Bill Peach. What's going on?'
'Call everybody. I have some good news,' I smile.
Bill's message is: 'I recommend you use these two months to prepare yourself. You still have a lot to learn, hotshot.'
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At last I'm able to reach Jonah in New York and fill him in on the latest developments. Although pleased for me, he does not seem surprised.
'And all this time I just worried about saving my one plant,' I tell him. 'Now it seems that I'm ending up with three.'
'Good luck,' says Jonah. 'Keep up the good work.'
Hurriedly, before he hangs up I ask in a desperate voice, 'I'm afraid that luck will not be enough; I'm out of my depth. Can't you come down and help me?' I haven't spent two hours tracking down Jonah just to hear his congratulations. Frankly, I'm terrified at the prospect of my new job. It's one thing to handle a production plant, but handling a division of three plants does not mean just three times the work, it also means responsi- bility for product design and marketing.
'Even if I had the time, I don't think it's a good idea,' I hear his disappointing answer.
'Why not? It seemed to work fine so far.'
'Alex,' he says in a stern voice, 'as you climb up the ladder and your responsibilities grow, you should learn to rely more and more on yourself. Asking me to come now will lead to the oppo- site; it will increase the dependency.'
I refuse to see his point. 'Can't you continue to teach me?'
'Yes, I can,' he answers. 'But first you should find out ex- actly what it is that you want to learn. Call me then.'
I don't give up easily. 'I want to learn how to run an efficient division, isn't it obvious?'
'In the past you wanted to learn how to run an efficient plant,' Jonah sounds impatient. 'Now you want to learn how to run an efficient division. We both know that it will not end here. What
'Actually, I guess that I want to learn how to manage-a plant, a division, a company, any type or size organization.' After a second of hesitation I add, 'It wouldn't be bad to learn how to manage my life, but I'm afraid that would be asking for too much.'
'Why too much?' says Jonah to my surprise. 'I think that every sensible person should want to learn how to manage his or her life.'
'Great, when can we start?' I ask eagerly.
'Now. Your first assignment is to find out what techniques are needed for effective management.'
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'What?' I ask in a choked voice.
'Come on, I didn't ask you to develop them, just to deter- mine clearly what they should be. Call me when you have the answer. And Alex, congratulations on your promotion.'
