If It's Friday, It"s time for Lunch

Friday. I remember them well. In the beginning it was always Chinese food at some off alley, humidity filled room with metal chairs, Lazy Susans, and sticky tables. Friday was the day for recalculation on the company overview. At first, it seemed productive. However, eventually one realized that it was general electric's way of finding out if the emails he was going to barrage employees with over the weekend were going to be answered.

Fridays were also the days that the top management circle would rip the employees in the field and comment on numerous personality traits. It was also the day the general and The Co-Founder either had a make-up lunch or kept their dysfunctional dynamic going over the weekend. Odds were it was a make up lunch, but on occasion especially towards month-end, the tension at lunch was tougher than the afternoon meeting we would have about the soon-to-be launched golf tournament.

Let me just say a word on golf tournaments. I know nothing about them. I never have, and I never will. I know how to market them, and to organize them, but I am not a golfer. Guess what, neither was the general, or The Co-Founder.

Oh sure, they play golf, but there is a difference between one who plays and one who is.

It's kind of like corporate executives; there is a difference between what it says on your business card and living up to the title.

At one Friday lunch it was brought to the attention of management – the team at that time was miniscule – that The Co-Founder was going to be hiring a person to handle sales. If the golf tournament was going to take off we really needed someone to be able to organize the sales force and get them focused. All of the things you do when you start a company. Since I was still a consultant I could legally shake my head at lunch, chuckle, explain, and it didn't matter what my thoughts or suggestions were. The general was, well, the general.

I didn't realize until months later that the golf tournament was just another stall tactic for late product launch and that the reason no clients were to be invited to the tournament was that there were few clients anyone would want into a room together.

Golf is a game of concentration, focus and clear minded vision. Lividity over product failure in the middle of a golf course with a bunch of salespeople who you never saw would not contribute to par.

And, after one more pass of the Lazy Susan, the string beans with winegar, the hot and sour soup, the plan was cut in- Formica: A new sales manager would be hired, the golf tournament would be held in ten cities across the country beginning in May in San Francisco, the Championship was to be held in March of the following year in Pebble Beach and the sales representatives in each area were to send out the invitations and get 20 people – five foursomes to sign up. But they could not be clients.

Kiss, Kiss. Check Please…..FORE!!!!!!


Monday: Can the New Guy Golf ?