VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [69]
Garth was shaking his head.
“Why not?” asked Amy.
“Because customers don’t care about that stuff. They don’t care about Lean or Six Sigma or any of the rest of it. They care about the things I just mentioned: Price. Perfection in all aspects of what they’re buying. Shorter lead times and more flexibility. Things like that. But they don’t care how it happens. In my opinion, LSS belongs at the bottom of page three of the brochure. That’s all the mention it deserves.”
Amy was becoming somewhat annoyed with him.
“I know a certain admiral in the United States Navy who would disagree with you on that,” she said.
“All right, you have me on that one,” Garth conceded. “But the average customer? I really don’t think they care. The results. The execution. Working with a salesperson they know and trust who can also put a smile on their faces. That’s what they care about. Sorry, but I have to be honest.”
“Yes. And please, always be that,” she said.
She was quiet for a moment, considering what he had said.
Then she asked him, “Do you really think Oakton is becoming a severe negative for us?”
“Look,” said Garth, “as we all know, Hi-T is the world leader in precision, high-performance composite materials. What we can do with, well, what is essentially a piece of plastic is unmatched technically. There are some customers who almost have to deal with us, because we can do things no one else can. But those customers are few in number. The vast majority have other alternatives for suppliers, and those suppliers have excellent facilities in Asia and in Europe, as well as the United States. If Oakton keeps screwing up, and driving away accounts that we’ve worked years building up … well, it doesn’t get much more negative than that.”
Late in the afternoon, and almost dreading it, Amy called Murphy Maguire.
“Murph, I need to have a meeting with you. How does tomorrow morning around eight o’clock sound?”
Murphy paused and then said, “I think I know what this is about. And let me just say that I do apologize for my outburst earlier today. It will not happen again.”
“I appreciate the apology, but I’m afraid there’s more to talk about than just that. My office, eight o’clock tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’ll be there,” he said quietly.
Such was his bitterness and anger over what was happening that Jayro called Murphy that evening on his private number to make sure he was all right.
“No, I am not all right,” said Murphy. “Jayro, I cannot abide this. The most foolish thing I have done in recent months has been to pretend to myself that I could just go along. I have too much of my life tied up in that place to stand by while someone ruins it.”
“How do you know it’s going to be ruined?”
“I don’t. But I’ve got twenty-five years of experience at that plant, plus a gut as big as the great outdoors that tells me we should be nervous, not confident.”
“These folks seem to know their stuff, Murph. They got spread-sheets and data and formulas. Wayne and Kurt, and everyone else, they sure look like they know what to do. And there are a lot of people who are on board. They – and I am one of them – really would like for this to succeed.”
“That stings me, Jayro. I’d have thought that you, of all people, would have more common sense.”
“Well, no offense, Murph, but Lean Six Sigma appears to be the wave of the future.”
“Then you go ahead and ride that wave, Jayro. Because I cannot.”
The next morning at seven thirty, when Amy Cieolara arrived at the offices downtown, Murphy Maguire was waiting for her. Dismayed to see him there, Amy stopped in her tracks.
“You’re early,” she said.
“Well, I hardly slept at all last night,” he said. “And if it’s convenient for you, I’d prefer to get this over with as soon as possible.”
“I’m not going to fire you,” she said, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She took a key ring from her purse and unlocked