VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [4]
Five months later, the shareholders and the various regulatory bodies gave their approvals and the deal closed. Hi-T Composites became a subsidiary of Winner, Inc., a global corporation headquartered in New York City. Meanwhile, Linda and Bobby had had a baby girl – Holly – and Bobby did find a job, though at a much lower wage than he had previously earned, and he was looking for another. And, to everyone’s amazement, Bill and Elaine patched things up and even went on a second honeymoon (their first honeymoon having been a mere two years prior), although upon her return Elaine complained that she and Bill were arguing even before they got on the plane to Costa Rica.
With the transfer of ownership accomplished, B. Donald Williams went to New York to present Hi-T’s business strategy and otherwise become better acquainted with Winner’s top management. Upon his return, B. Don conducted a series of meetings with employees talking up all the wonderful advantages of being part of the Winner family and downplaying the many concerns over what the future might hold. But Amy Cieolara, who could always read him, discerned that there was much that B. Don was not saying publicly.
Late one afternoon, after most people had left for the day, Amy was still in her office and B. Don came by, pausing in her doorway.
“You got a minute?” he asked.
“Sure. Come on in.”
He did so and closed the door behind him.
“This is in confidence.”
“Understood,” Amy said.
“There are some things I want you to know about. You and a few others. The good people. Things I can’t say to everybody.”
B. Don hesitated then. He stared out her window for a moment, collecting his thoughts, then pulled a chair next to her desk and sat down.
“Amy, this transition is going to be worse than what I first thought. These guys at Winner …” He shook his head slowly. “They’ve got a very different culture from what we’re used to. Very competitive. Way, way, way more competitive than what the St. Louis management set as the overall tone. In fact, I would go so far as to say that inside Winner it’s a survival of the fittest mentality.”
“Oh. Gee! That’s great!” she said. “In fact, this really sounds like fun!”
“Yeah. Well, it’s going to be a different ball game. For instance, every manufacturing plant will be competing with every other manufacturing plant on the same metrics. And the same goes for every function. Your marketing and sales team will be competing with every other marketing and sales team across the board inside Winner.”
“Competing for what?”
“Resources. Talent. Bonus money. Stock options. Perks. Promotions. Recognition. And there are sticks to go along with the carrots. Those who lag in performance will be weeded out. Weakness will not be tolerated.”
“Well, I’d like to think we can hold our own,” she said. “I’m not afraid of a little competition. Just tell me what the rules are, and I’ll deliver whatever is required.”
“That, Amy, is a big part of the problem.”
“What, you mean there are no rules? It’s like a bar fight or something?”
“Oh, they’ve got plenty of rules, all right!” he said with a chuckle. “Plenty of policies – both written and unwritten – and you must abide by them. Listen, Amy, I’m not afraid of a little competition either. Our team at Hi-T can go head to head with anyone, and there’s a time and place for everything.”
Amy leaned back in her chair. She could sense a “but” coming, and she was not disappointed.
“But on the other hand, I have seen the metrics that Winner uses for manufacturing, for service functions, for administrative, you name it. And I am not at all convinced that most of what they’re measuring really contributes to the bottom line. In fact, I don’t think what they’re mandating actually makes money – and I suspect a lot of it gets in the way of making money. You go read their annual reports, Amy. Not many of their divisions are actually growing their businesses – not by very much, and they’re not throwing off a lot of cash either. Some are getting the tar kicked out of them. You look at Winner’s corporate numbers – revenue