take a different approach and fall to temptation, with catastrophic results for both their families and careers.
Second, Esther and James were wise enough to appreciate their different work behaviors and values rather than let them be a barrier to a mutually beneficial relationship. This enabled them to leverage the natural strengths of each other to make better decisions. They shared ideas openly and fully debated facts, opinions and reactions that more ego-driven executives would never consider. The past three years of post-meeting coffees had given Peter lots of ideas to apply at the non-profit. He also developed similar behaviors with his team, which resulted in greater productivity and higher trust between employees.
Peter had a sense this afternoon’s coffee session would be very interesting.
Who knows? Peter thought. They must have faced issues similar to ours in the past. Maybe their discussion today will help me figure out how to overcome my problem.
Chapter 6
Misgivings
After the meeting, Esther, James and Peter crossed the street to Java Joe’s, their usual haunt. Esther and James’ muted behavior during the meeting melted away as they debated who should pay for the coffee.
“I’ll pay for it,” announced Esther as they stepped onto the sidewalk after crossing the street.
“I don’t think so,” replied James, holding the door open for the other two. “You paid last month.”
“You sure?” Esther asked as she got in line. “I could have sworn you paid. How did you trick me into paying yet thinking you paid? You should be in sales.”
Esther and James continued their banter with Peter watching in amusement until they reached the cashier.
“Peter?” Esther implored. “Could you please intervene? It appears we have a stalemate.”
Peter smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it…”
“James! Caramel Macchiato!” The girl behind the counter yelled, sliding a cup of frothy, steaming goodness onto the pick-up counter.
James looked puzzled. “That’s funny. That’s my favorite dri—“
“Esther! Toffee Nut Latte!”
“Huh?” Esther mused. “Mine too.”
“Imagine that,” said Peter, stepping past them to grab a third cup that slid across the pick-up counter.
Peter started to smirk as they both shook their heads. He had ordered and paid for their drinks on his cell phone before leaving the conference room. After thanks were exchanged and drinks collected, the three found their customary table by the window.
“Well,” said Esther, “Everyone seemed to have a lot to say in the meeting today. Wouldn’t you agree, James?”
James shrugged, obviously a bit uncomfortable. “I may not be the best person to ask. I was up late night last night.”
“I don’t buy it,” Esther challenged. “When George gives his two cents in meetings, you usually draw at least another dollar out of him. Where were the questions and cross-examinations today? You’ve been tired for years! What’s really going on?”
James fiddled with his coffee cup for a few seconds. “Well, work has been extra stressful recently.”
“I thought your business was booming,” remarked Peter.
“It has been,” agreed James. “The only problem is some of our systems haven’t been able to keep up with the growth and it’s coming back to bite us.”
Esther shifted in her seat. “What systems?”
“Our small business accounting program and spreadsheets specifically,” replied James. “We have outgrown their ability to manage accurate, detailed records of our accounts, invoices or expenditures.
“I got cussed out this morning by a contracting agent after we went over budget on their project. I told him we’d fix the problem tomorrow. He’s willing to pay for the extra work, but two other clients this month made us eat the errors. I’m not sure how to solve the problem, or prevent it from happening again with the software we’ve got. Too many details are getting lost or reported inaccurately when it comes to measuring actual costs against budgets for projects.”
Esther was frustrated. James apparently did not have the magical fix she needed for her systems, but that was not what upset her. “You are playing the victim now, but you could have avoided this if you followed my advice a year ago to implement more scalable software.”
James looked up from his frothy cup of caffeine. His stress was showing. “Our systems were working fine back then. I like to rely on proven products and solutions. Heck, you wanted to be a pioneer in cloud computing. It’s still just catching on.”
“Yeah, well it couldn’t have put you in a worse position,” responded Esther. “It was worth the gamble, assuming there are any significant risks to the cloud versus our on-premise solutions. Just look at the business you’ve gained in the last four months.”
James paused for a moment, then looked up and started to work his way out of the corner of this debate.
“What about you?” He replied. “I noticed you nodding today, and smiling. Not much talking, though. Are you feeling alright?”
Esther waves her hand dismissively. “The topics we discussed today weren’t really my area of expertise.”
James laughed. “As if that’s ever stopped you before! My guess is your company’s growth is giving you headaches just like mine. How’s it going over there?”
Esther smiled. If James had held back in the meeting, he was coming alive now. Being able to verbalize and talk through his concerns must have brought back his competitive spirit.
“Times are tough right now,” said Esther, looking Peter and James in the eye. “Business is growing, but we’re having trouble with our software as well. In fact, I had to deal with a payroll situation on the way here with an employee who entered hours for a day he had taken off. It turned out to be an honest mistake, but our current system has too many manual processes and opportunities for errors. We’ve got to find a solution for recording hours worked by employees and to manage our sub-contractors better in order to keep the business profitable.”
Esther paused. “Actually James, the more I think about it, the more I realize the need to thank you for my problems. You’re the one that persuaded me to put off upgrading my software a year ago.”
James was ready. “Back then neither of us had this much business coming in.”
“Oh, baloney! Our growth today is just a continuation of our growth over the last five years. Now we need to get this fixed fast. Otherwise, we can say goodbye to our increased business. Last night I did just a quick search online and found dozens of companies offering alternatives to our small business accounting software and spreadsheet hell. It should take no time at all to find the right one.”
James countered. “They all sound great, but what if you pick the wrong one? Why go to
