The next morning it was time to tell the team John had quit.  I?m sure most already knew, but I needed to make it official and get their thoughts.  I scheduled a meeting of my leadership team for 9AM.

 

When I arrived at 7:15, the message light on my phone was on.  That was never good news.  For some reason, if someone left a message during the day it was 50/50 whether it would be good news or bad.  But, when someone left a message overnight, it was almost always some problem that would screw up most of the next day.  My prediction was right.

 

The message was from Vault Communications.  A competitor had beaten us out for the new project we were proposing.  They liked our ideas but just thought our team lacked the passion they needed to be successful.  This was going to throw a major wrench in our ability to meet our sales forecast for the next quarter.  In addition, since our current project with them was due to be completed at the end of the month; it also meant 10 more people ?on the bench?. 

 

The worst part of the message was the ?passion? comment.  It was an eerie echo of John?s complaint when he quit yesterday.  Was John right? Of course he was.  Most of our employees looked like they were sleepwalking through the day.  The question was why are they sleeping and how do I wake them up?

 

I decided to call Vault to see if there was any way of saving the business and getting another chance.  No one was there so I had to leave a voicemail.  One I knew would probably not be returned.  I made a note to try to call them a bit later this morning. 

 

Ah, another beautiful start to the day. 

 

***

The team meeting didn?t start until about 9:15AM.  I was there promptly at 9AM, but the full team hadn?t staggered in for another 15 minutes (I guess when you?re sleepwalking it?s hard to find the conference room).

 

My leadership team was made up of 4 directors (5 until last night).

 

Kim Edwards headed up our Consumer Products industry group.  She had been with us for a year and a half and had made an impact from day one.  She was incredibly bright and talented.  Most clients loved Kim because she was as honest as they came.  Some hated her for the same reason.  If she felt strongly about something, you were going to hear it whether you liked it or not.  Tact was not one of her finer qualities.

 

Joe Cialone headed up our Utilities and Telecommunications industry group.  Joe was with us from the beginning.  What Joe lacked in consulting skills, he made up for with his incredible network.  He knew everyone and everyone knew him.  If you needed a good plumber, Joe knew a guy.  If you needed a great seat to a concert, Joe knew a guy.  If you needed a contact at a potential client, Joe knew a guy.  The problem was, Joe was so focused on making friends, his team walked all over him.

 

Rich Anderson headed up our Technology Services group.  Rich?s team were the ?bits and bytes? techies that supported the work of the industry groups.  He had been with us about 2 years but I don?t think any of us really felt like we knew him.  He did a solid job with our tech group and his team, and our clients, really respected him, but he liked to keep to himself more often than not. 

 

Linda Friedman was our Controller.  Like Joe, Linda had been with us from day one.  Nobody knew numbers like Linda.  She had a photographic memory and could quote budget line items in her sleep.  Linda was ?old school? and ruled our numbers and her team with an iron fist.

 

?From the serious look on your faces, I?m sure you all know John resigned last night? I started.  I decided not to say anything about the Vault Communications message yet. 

 

The nods around the table were unanimous.

 

Kim chimed in first, ?Tell me you didn?t see that coming Andy?.

 

?No Kim I didn?t.  I always thought of John as a friend and a loyal member of the team.  I know we?ve been going through a rough time but I didn?t expect he?d quit on us.?

 

?He didn?t ?quit on us? Andy? Kim countered, ?he left for what he thought was a better opportunity.  I spoke to him last night in the parking lot.  He was pretty upset.  He didn?t want it to come to this but he did what he felt he had to do.  We all see what?s happened to the business over the last year and frankly, it?s pretty scary.?

 

?Come on Kim? Linda, visibly angry, entered the conversation, ?if John made his sales numbers we wouldn?t be in this situation in the first place.  Seems to me we?re better off without him.?

 

?Now wait a minute Linda, none of us are happy about this situation but we?re not going to sit hear and disparage John.  He helped us build this company and I?ve considered him a friend for a long time.  I?m angry too, but beating him up after he?s walked out the door won?t help the situation.  We need to look forward and figure out how to deal with this?.

 

?The more important issue? Joe agreed, ?is what do we do now? Should we try to find a replacement or just split up his responsibilities??

 

?I disagree.? Kim argued, ?Our priority needs to be figuring out how to make sure the rest of us don?t follow John out the door.  It needs to be figuring out how to make sure our employees don?t follow John out the door.  How do we inject some passion back in to this place? How do we make this a rewarding place to work again??

 

As usual, Kim was right on the money.

 

?I agree with Kim.  We obviously need to fill in the gap for John?s responsibilities but our priority needs to be fixing the problems that lead to this.  What do you think Linda?? I knew she?d have some strong opinions and wanted to bring her into the conversation.

 

?I?m honestly not sure I see the problem.? Linda said with a confused look.  People leave companies all the time and you just need to deal with it.  They?re only loyal to themselves.  You can?t blame them.  Also, I don?t feel like it?s our job to make sure people are passionate about what they do.  They have a job to do and they should do it.  If it doesn?t make them passionate, they should find something else?.

 

?And you think we should just let people go without trying to do something about it?? Rich said, amazed at Linda?s attitude.

 

?Here?s what we?re going to do.? I interrupted before Linda had a chance to answer.  ?I want each of you to spend a significant amount of time over the next week speaking with your teams, and doing some hard thinking yourselves, about our situation.  We?re going to get back together in a week to talk about our challenges and brainstorm what we need to do about it.  I need you all to take this assignment very seriously.  In the meantime, I?ll take over John?s responsibilities.?

 

?Sounds like a good idea Andy? Joe said smiling, ?the only problem is, with you heading up sales, we may be out of business by next week?.

 

At least someone still had a sense of humor.