I Am Not as Interested in Your Past Accomplishments as I Am in Your Possible Future Accomplishments
The firm has been merged with a larger firm carrying a similar product line of information technology consumer and industry products. One major goal of the merger was to save costs by eliminating duplication and improving management. Weeks before the merger, Lauren (not her real name) had just been promoted to project office director of the smaller firm. She assumed her position would be absorbed into the project office of the large firm. Mentally, Lauren was prepared to start job hunting. Maybe she should change careers and go back to a job that used her bachelor’s degree in political science. Two weeks after the merger was finalized, others, including herself, received a letter to report for an interview with the new company senior management “conversion” vice president. Lauren spent three days gathering materials to substantiate all of her past accomplishments, to demonstrate her management skills, and to show her potential value to the new firm. When the big day came, Lauren entered the office of the interviewer with approximately nine inches of substantiating material. She was prepared!
The first few minutes were spent explaining her past roles in the firm, the new project office, and other niceties. She explaining to the VP she had all of the materials with her to back up her statements and he could take them if he wished. He replied, “I’m not as interested in your past accomplishments as I am in your possible future accomplishments. Here is the need. Projects eat up about 40 percent of our yearly expenses. We need to cut 10 million off those expenses. In five minutes tell me how you will do it and how it will be verified.”
Her last statement at the end of four minutes was: “I can give you five million within the next year. Ten million is too big a stretch.”
His retort was, “Lauren, can you get five in six months?”
(Gulp.) “I’m pretty sure I can.”
“Congratulations, Lauren, you are now the new project office director of this continental
The first few minutes were spent explaining her past roles in the firm, the new project office, and other niceties. She explaining to the VP she had all of the materials with her to back up her statements and he could take them if he wished. He replied, “I’m not as interested in your past accomplishments as I am in your possible future accomplishments. Here is the need. Projects eat up about 40 percent of our yearly expenses. We need to cut 10 million off those expenses. In five minutes tell me how you will do it and how it will be verified.”
Her last statement at the end of four minutes was: “I can give you five million within the next year. Ten million is too big a stretch.”
His retort was, “Lauren, can you get five in six months?”
(Gulp.) “I’m pretty sure I can.”
“Congratulations, Lauren, you are now the new project office director of this continental