The German Triangle

by Carl Messinger

  Ron continued to explain the rudiments of his discussion with Gateway. The Condor proposal would be an important part of the Gateway presentation to their Board as it would explain how the delivery service would work, how different parts of the country would be serviced, how Condor would tailor its facilities, its flights and its home deliveries to mesh with what Gateway would offer its customers. Equally important the proposal would explain the financial commitment Condor would be making to ensure the success of the new strategy. It would analyze the requirements and itemize the costs associated with those requirements. It would outline the operational aspects of the strategy and make sure it furthers that strategy rather than get in the way of it.

  “Why would different parts of the country be serviced any differently than the others?” asked one of the Regional Directors.

  The reason, Ron explained, had to do with the Region's make up and the geographic conditions within it. For example, he continued, compare a Region containing New York City with a mid-west Region. New York City itself is an old city, with lots of buildings, lots of people, and little empty space. Deliveries to business usually take place in small alleys with doors to the business in the alleys or behind the store. In the mid-west there is a lot of more space between the stores and deliveries can be made either via back streets or even through front doors. There are also malls which house many stores with easy delivery locations. Homes are usually grouped together but not on top of one-another making home delivery easier. Now, think of the trucks that would have to make deliveries in both of the Regions. In the mid-west, trucks can be large, carry lots of product for delivery and can handle a day’s worth of deliveries in one load. In New York City, things are different. With small alleys, delivery trucks have to be small to fit in those alleys. Deliveries cannot be made on the main streets because of the blockage of traffic. And with smaller trucks, the capacity is smaller requiring either more vehicles per day or multiple trips per vehicle. That is only one example of the differences that need to be analyzed, addressed, and resolved.

  Ron could see some nodding of heads as the picture became clearer. “This is not a democracy,” he said. “So we will not have a vote on proceeding or not. However, I do value the opinion of all of you and invite your thoughts on any aspect of the subject. After hearing them, I will make the decision as to proceed or not. Margaret, please takes notes on what points are raised so I can review them.”

  “Now, the floor is open. Please educate me.”

  The discussion began slowly. Actually it was more questions than comments. Some of them were answered when information from Gateway was brought to the conference room. Those answered were scratched off of Margaret's list while the remaining ones were left to be settled at a later date. As time went on the comments turned from “if we can meet that requirement” to “how can we meet that requirement.” This subtle difference pleased Ron as he had pretty much decided they were going to do it. Now his team was looking at how to get it done rather than offering excuses as to why it could not be done.

  Lunch was ordered and delivered as the discussion continued. By early afternoon assignments were being distributed to those in the room with the Regional Directors being responsible for their Regions input as to assets needed to fulfill their obligations as well as to the policies and procedures for their usage. The Regional input would be consolidated by the corporate staff, reviewed by a proposal Red Team and finally submitted to Gateway by the requested due date.

  Finally Ron stood up. “Well,” he said. “We seem to have reached the conclusion that this is something we should do and have pretty much outlined a plan as to how to do it. And we can do this. If, during your preparation, something is missing or you need help, don't hesitate to ask. We have enough talent around this table that can help solve any problem. If there are no more questions, let's get started.

  Everyone in the room began to stand up, talking excitedly to their neighbor or heading out the door to find a quiet place to call back to their own office.

  “Ron,” said Margaret. “I am going to need some help in preparing this proposal. Can I bring someone in for the duration?”

  “Yes” came the absent-minded response.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The rest of Monday and all day Tuesday were a blur. Between numerous meetings, discussions, phone calls with Condor people as well as Gateway executives asking for clarifications, Williams' work just never seemed finished. Even extending his workday to nine or ten in the evening did not give him the time he needed to satisfactorily work the proposal. He had even slept in the office Tuesday night, something that he considered doing until the effort was completed in a couple of weeks. He knew his kids would miss him, his wife not so much. While the facade they presented to the outside world was one of a loving husband and wife that was no longer the reality of the private life. In fact, their physical interaction had ceased to exist, especially when he had moved into one of the other bedrooms citing his snoring as the reason for his move to the kids. His wife made no objection and did not seem to care. In fact, they had openly discussed the possibility of a divorce and the separation of assets. That was not difficult as long as the kids were comfortable. The kids provided her with what she needed.

  Early Wednesday morning, Ron rolled off his office couch, took a quick hot shower, dressed and drove over to the all-night diner near the airport's administration building The piping hot black coffee and danish helped him wake up as he tried to read the morning paper through his partially closed eyes. The world news was anything but calming, the local news centered on the previous day's shootings, and even his favorite sports teams added to the negativity. Only the comics showed any kind of positivity, so he read them slowly, sometimes more than once, and allowed himself to enjoy them.

  After an hour, he drove back to the headquarters and walked to his office. Margaret was there already, handling some minor crisis and waved as he walked past her. Near Margaret's area were two visiting executive cubicles completely provided with all the latest office equipment and supplies so that visiting Condor executives could continue their duties while at the corporate office. Matthews noticed that one was occupied by a young woman. She is about twenty-four, maybe twenty-five, slender in build, short blonde hair that barely reached her shoulders. She appeared busy at whatever tasks she was doing, but looked up at Matthews, smiled and nods. He returns the nod without saying a word, looks to Margaret and motions her to join him in his office. She nods, holds one finger up to ask for a couple of minutes, and returns to finish the call. He nodded in understanding and entered his office.

  Two quiet knocks on the office door signified that Margaret was about to enter, and enter she did, waving papers, a big smile on her face, and grinning from ear to ear. She started to read the papers, some just little notes on hotel stationary, some more formal, but all of them thanking Ron for the wonderful way he had shown his employees his appreciation of them and also their family. The kids had loved the planes, the games they played had everyone involved, the food was plentiful and good, and the atmosphere just super. They appreciated the hotels and transportation and a lot of them said they would never work for another company again. Ron smiled as the notes were read and he began to realize a little, not much but a little, how his small gesture meant to those who worked for him. He vowed to do more of it.

  Holding his hand up to stop the incessant chattering of Margaret, Ron asked “who is the young woman sitting out by you?”

  “Don't you remember, when we discussed the proposal to Gateway I said that I would need some help in assembling the document and I asked if I could bring someone on to help me. You said yes, I could. Looking through many resumes personnel had, she seemed like a good candidate. She has a BA degree in business and had done some intern work with Johnson and Johnson, which was a good recommendation right there. I called her the next morning, had an interview that afternoon, and she started work here this morning. Is there something wrong with that?” />
  “No Margaret, there is nothing wrong with that. I had just forgotten about that conversation till you reminded me. I definitely trust your judgment, so let's just move on. She works for you. Keep her busy and remember who we are and how we do things. Now, let's go over a few things I noticed in one of the write ups. Oh, by the way, since she is going to be working with us, at least tell me her name.”

  “Natalie,” Margaret replied.

  “Natalie,” Ron thought. “Nice name”

  “Now look at this write-up from this Region,” he started. “They have pretty much covered all the elements that we had discussed, you know, personnel, equipment, warehouse space, vehicles, but they have done it in a superficial manner. For instance they say ‘We will use fifteen new trucks to ensure the fastest delivery.’ That is all well and good, but what size of trucks since that Region has both rural and urban space. Do they need ten large ones and five small ones, or vice versa. And with more trucks, there is a need for more drivers. And something which almost every Regions forgets is that with more vehicles, there is a need for more mechanics. A vehicles does no good if it sits for days waiting for it to be fixed before resuming its intended purpose.”

  “We have to think like the Gateway board members will be thinking. They are being asked to provide more money for their operation and want to be sure of what they are getting. If we don't tell them up front, they will start to ask questions and we have little time to provide answers to them. We have to beat them to the punch to prevent that from happening. We need to communicate these concerns to all the Regions.

  “Margaret” thought Ron, “have Natalie put together a list of questions that she believes the Gateway Board members will be asking. I think she has the education and experience with Johnson and Johnson to be able to do so. If not, we shall soon know. Schedule a meeting with the three of us this afternoon to go over the questions, add or subtract as needed and we can send it out to use in formulating out response.”

  “Well,” thought Ron as Margaret turned and left. “She has the beauty, let's see if she has the brains.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The rest of the morning was pretty much like the last one, meetings, phone calls, discussions, disagreements, resolutions, and most of all, progress. Initial write-ups were beginning to pour in from the Regions to be reviewed first by the respective corporate department then to Dick, and finally to Ron. All the recommended changes were added or subtracted from the submissions by either Margaret or Natalie and the progress was noted on the status boards.

  Status boards were positioned round the conference room, one for each of the Condor Regions. Each board identified elements with which the Region had to be concerned and under each element were sub-elements or sub-topics relating to each element. Round sticky tabs were used to quickly identify the status of the sub-elements, red meaning it was being worked, yellow meaning it was under review, and green meaning the sub-element was complete. Only when all the sub-elements were “green” could the element itself be considered “green” and only when all the elements were classified “green” would the Region be considered “green” and its input to the final proposal ready to be integrated with the rest. This morning the status boards showed mostly red with a couple of yellows. There were no greens on the boards indicating that there was still a lot of work to be done.

  Ron walked into the conference room and listened as Margaret explained to Natalie the purpose of the boards and how to update them. Ron and Margaret had used this system before and were comfortable with it and it allowed a person to instantly see the status of any particular element or sub -element giving the corporate departments Directors an idea of which Regions may be in need of help or just a kick in the butt.”

  “Lots of reds, Margaret,” Ron said. “How often are you updating the boards?”

  “I try to update them as the changes happen, but the changes happen so often I'd spend most of my day walking back and forth from my desk to here so I've set up sort of a schedule of ten am, noon, three pm and when I leave. Natalie and I have worked out a system where I come in the regular time and leave the regular time and she comes in around noon and leaves when you are done. That way you have coverage the whole time you are working,” Margaret explained, “and I don't burn out.”

  Ron looked at Natalie and asked, “You ok with that?”

  Natalie nodded in concurrence and said, “I only live a couple of miles from here and since I have a car, transportation is not a problem. I can get my things done in the morning and easily be here by noon. Driving home later in the evening is easy also since most of the traffic is gone and the roads are well lit. I'm good with the arrangement.”

  And so the next couple of days followed that routine. On Friday afternoon, Ron called both Margaret and Natalie into his office for a quick conference.

  Ron started the conversation by talking about the upcoming weekend. “Tomorrow is Saturday,” he said, “and I expect anyone associated with the preparation of this proposal to be working. They, of course, will be compensated accordingly. And I want lunch brought in so there is less stoppage in effort during lunch hour. However,” he continued, “I want no one working on Sunday other than those routinely scheduled for Sunday. That means this office is closed on Sunday. I consider Sunday to be a family day and I want my employees to enjoy that day with their families.”

  “Margaret, please send a memo out to all employees thanking them for the efforts they are putting forth on this and include my guidance as to this week-end work. Natalie, this guidance includes you. I want you to spend some time with your family also.”

  Natalie nodded as Margaret glanced over at her. “I am sure the people will appreciate the gesture about Sunday, she said,” but I have no one here to share the day with. My family, what is left of them, live in the Chicago area and while we talk often, the actual visits are far and few between.”

  “I thought you were local?” asked Ron with a quizzical look on his face.

  “Well, I did go to school locally, Douglas College in New Brunswick. I was awarded a scholarship and decided to take the opportunity to study business there with the possibility of a follow-on job in the New York area. The internship with Johnson and Johnson was a real eye-opener for me and when that ended, and this position came open, I jumped at the chance to learn more. It has been a good experience for me. Margaret has taught me a lot and seeing how you run the company as a family gives me fresh ideas as to the role of senior management. It has been good.”

  “Margaret,” Ron said nodding appreciatively, “we may have to keep this one. Get with HR in the next couple of days and see what we have available. I don't want to lose her.”

  Margaret smiled, grabbed Natalie by the arm as they scrambled out the door chatting like old friends. Ron watched them go, smiled and nodded to himself.

  Meanwhile, Natalie's memo containing questions the Gateway board might ask and which should be answered in the proposal prior to them being asked caused a turmoil in the company. Previously, questions raised by a proposal were answered in a volley-like manner. Asked, answered. Asked, answered. Asked, answered. But this time, all the answers had to be in the initial proposal. Pages were pulled, sections completely rewritten, assumptions replaced with researched answers and any doubts that Condor knew what was required were quickly, quietly, and efficiently wiped away. The proposal was becoming a solid foundation upon which to prove Condor's value as a reliable partner. Ron was satisfied with the effort and the resultant work.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Saturday seemed like any other work day. People came and went as they usually do. Margaret was there when Ron woke up and had his coffee ready. The write-ups were coming in fast and furious as the first week of preparation was drawing to a close. Some tense moments were showing their ugly face as the writers, managers, department heads and even Dick and Ron tried to convince others how points should be made, or not made, and what reasonable costs should be associated with their po
ints. Natalie's questions, as Ron had begun to refer to them, was causing much more work, but resulted in Regions evaluating their own submissions through the eyes of the Gateway board. It was strenuous and detailed work and by the time that Natalie walked into the office, Margaret was swamped with revisions that practically covered her whole desk.

  “Thank goodness you are here” said Margaret, I was beginning to get over-whelmed. Have you had lunch, there is some in the small conference room?”

  “I had a late breakfast so I'm ok for now,” said Natalie. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Start with this stack. Try to work all the revisions from the same Region. I'm trying to put some order into this process, and quite honestly, it's not working. People are putting their comments on one pile without regard to where it should go and I have to search the whole pile each time to stay on the same page. We have never had such a big proposal like this before and it’s a little daunting.”

  Natalie smiled and left the room, returning in a couple of minutes with a couple of maintenance men carrying a big table. They set the table up against the wall between Margaret's and Natalie's desks as Natalie moved to her desk and began to make signs of stiff paper, one sign for each Region. Placing them on the table she turned to Margaret and told her that each paper represented a Region and when someone came to drop off a revision, they should place it in the right Region. That way, Regions revisions can be controlled and followed. Margaret liked the idea and started using it right away. It proved effective as a more organized information flow made the work easier.

  Ron was constantly moving, checking the status boards frequently, checking with Margaret and Natalie to see how they were holding up under the rush. Both seemed to be doing well and Natalie's work-flow fix made the review and revision process more controlled. Between the checking, he was reading the inputs, making suggestions, calling into question why changes were needed or not needed. It was a busy day.