Some things, however, remained the same as in my previous world. My skills included being able to read people and being able to sniff out any weaknesses or deficits in character as well as strengths and plus points. This meant that, by and large, I recruited well and so was able to let my managers and their staff get on with the day-to-day running of the various businesses while I took a bit of a back seat and looked to increase the financial backing and security of my portfolio.
Working together with The Group wasn’t ideal, and I would have much preferred to have been in a position back then to have gone alone, but it wasn’t financially possible at the time, and anyway, I knew that the contacts and security The Group offered were an insurance for the future.
Meanwhile, Neil was settling into his role as the Director of Studies at EPLC in Cikarang and, I have to say, making a decent fist of things. That said, though, it would be hard not to being doing relatively well in what was basically a captive market. We had done our due diligence with regards to market research and marketing, and had secured a prime location and then set about on a top-notch advertising campaign. The students were rolling in and all it needed was someone to keep a lid on the quality of academic teaching, which Neil was doing a good job of, to be fair, and in no time at all the school was showing a working profit. This was despite the rather high rental and employment costs involved.
I didn’t see that much of Neil in this time as he worked closely with Evie, the BM, who reported directly to me, but I would pop in from time to time to see how he was doing and just to keep him and everyone else on their toes a bit. Neil was, as ever, pleasant enough and hard working without ever really giving the impression of being awe-inspiring. He was what I used to describe as ‘clever but not too clever’ or perhaps even a bit of a ‘mysterious boy’.
Evie, the Business Manager I had deigned to work with Neil, was in fact a distant relative of my wife’s, and it was her remit to maintain student numbers, organize marketing and promotions, and deal with the financial side of matters with a number of staff working directly under her. I also requested her to keep a close eye on Neil and report back to me anything noteworthy at all. When she pressed me on what I would consider ‘noteworthy’, I explained that I was looking for information regarding not just his performance in the job but how he dealt with people, his communication skills, the friends and relationships he appeared to have or be forming, as well as other more off-beat aspects of his character and actions such as where he went for lunch, who he called on the phone during working hours, his internet browser history and how others viewed him. Evie agreed to do so without ever questioning me why I wanted such information. This was just as well, because by now a new plan was beginning to form in my mind.
I needed a face: someone I could put in overall charge of my fledging empire, as it were, and let get on with it, but it had to be the right person. It couldn’t just be anyone I knew or even trusted. Whoever it was had to be exactly the right fit and tick all the boxes without exception. This person, whoever he or she were, would need to be approachable, industrious, well respected, diligent and, above all, smart but not too smart. In a word: Neil.
Now, why him you may wonder. Well, I had seen enough of him at relatively close quarters to know that he was ambitious without being cut-throat, and intelligent without being a genius. I knew I could trust him because he was one of the good guys; he was honest and sensitive to others, and he could adapt to situations. I knew that after living in Indonesia as an expat for as long as he had, he had to have a certain determination about him and the potential to be of use and benefit to me.
In fact, the one consideration I did have to ponder was the very fact that he was not Indonesian. This could be both an advantage and a drawback. The positives of employing an expat in such a position included: he would bring a fresh perspective to the business; he would garner respect by virtue of being a ‘westerner; he would act as an attraction in certain quarters and aspects of the business; and he would add a certain mystique to our businesses, too. Against all this I had to weigh up some drawbacks too. For a start, a bule could sometimes be taken advantage of due to naivety or be seen as an easy mark to tap up for money or a sob story. I didn’t have many worries regarding Neil, though. I trusted him well enough, and according to Evie, he was doing just fine with man-management of staff and dealing with customers at EPLC.
No, the only real concerns I had regarding Neil related to his personal life.
I wasn’t totally aware of what was going
