Chapter 11

Tuesday morning came too early. I could have used more sleep, but got up and had to get rude with the girls to get them out of bed for a little workout. We finally made it down to the gym room in the basement. We used the treadmills for a half hour, and they then used the Nautilus while I used free weights. I did notice both girls were really looking delicious with their improved figures. A few more weeks of exercises and they would have to learn to fight men and women off. I smiled at that as Jules had always just shunned men, but she might decide to sample now. We would see.

We enjoyed a few minutes playing in the shower, but I didn't leave a deposit in either girl so that they wouldn't be leaking all day. They did get to squirt me when I ate and probed them. My shot splashed against the bellies of the two girls.

Jules dressed with us since she was working at the exchange today because she felt that she needed to be close when trading began. There was a big shift of values happening, and she wanted to be sure to be on the right side of what was happening. She asked me if I wanted her to work with my money today too, but I had no way to get it to her fast. I told her I would get my savings out here so she could make it grow.

Brindle took off with Katie, and I hustled to the office with Yori. Only one other car was there this morning. I didn't know who owned the older Corvette, but I figured it was a salesman. The guard inside the lobby said good morning as I went to my office. Kelly was busy sorting through a stack of faxes that had come in overnight. I thought to ask her, "Is that your baby blue Corvette out there?"

Kelly smiled and said, "It sure is, and it is pristine. My grandparents gave that to me for high school graduation and I've had it ever since. I really try to take care of it. It doesn't have that many miles, and since I take care of it, it takes care of me and isn't expensive to operate."

"That's neat, Kelly. Every guy would love a Corvette, but they just aren't practical for business. My regular car is a Ford Escape, but I have this BMW courtesy of Hideki."

I heard a couple of power screwdrivers in the hallway, and stepped out to see what was going on. Four men were wrestling two heavy rails on to the wall going up stairs. One of the guys saw me and said, "This is the stair climber you ordered. We should be able to get this installed in about two hours. Your building is built well and the studs are where they're supposed to be. We guarantee the installation as well as the lift mechanism. We'll demonstrate using that big guy we have to show you how well it works when we finish."

I told them, "A lot of people are going to want to get up those stairs in a few minutes. Take a coffee break if they cause you too much hassle when they come in. There may be donuts or pastries in the small break room too."

I told Kelly when I went back into the office, "I didn't have a chance to tell the girls about the possibility of me doing a lot of traveling. It shouldn't be too bad, but I should check on Oakland, and maybe even Sacramento, if I'm in San Francisco."

I thought about what Dorothy had told me yesterday, and asked Kelly, "I want to look at San Diego's stats when you get them separated. I'll call down there and introduce myself so that the man knows I'll be visiting soon."

People all said good morning or just waved as they went by my door. Some came in to greet me or to ask Kelly a question. It was neat that people were relying on Kelly for some answers. That brought up another problem. If I began taking care of the whole California region, I was going to need an assistant like Fred had been in Tampa. Wow, I knew that would be tough. I had stumbled onto Fred while he was a temp in the loan department. The loan manager said the kid was super sharp and that I should figure out a way to put him on staff. I began assigning him a lot of simple tasks and started teaching him the principles of the business and how to resolve problems. I sent him to other offices to resolve minor situations, and he learned to handle more difficult problems on the way to his being a branch manager today and capable of being a state regional manager soon.

Ken came wheeling into the office with a happy greeting. He said, "The stair climber company is getting it done. They'll be done before noon."

"I'm going to get some coffee, Boss, do you want some?"

I looked at Kelly and she nodded, then looked over to Yori, and asked, "Coffee or Tea?" Yori said coffee.

Ken didn't know what to do other than make multiple trips now. I went with him and brought back mugs for Kelly and Yori. We were lucky to have three coffee drinkers who didn't use cream or sugar. Ken drank his black as well, and had snagged a donut. When he was finished with his donut, he asked, "Can I get a pad like Yori has and begin getting some information? I want to get the plans for the new office ready ASAP."

"Oh yeah, I have something to show you before that. Follow me." I went to the lobby and opened the door so Ken could roll out and see what I wanted him to see. "I want four closing offices here, Ken. It might be better for you if we build a fifth office for you too. There is enough room now to build a single story with two offices in front and three on the side of the building. Make them all longer than the width. I don't think they can be square, but we'll have to measure. Ask Rebecca for the plans for this building, and go from there. You'll know what I need if you check out the office over on the other side of Rebecca's desk. That's the minimum size, but it's working."

Ken rolled over and looked in the small office. He came back and said, "Let me go down to the title office and talk to, ah, Margaret, right?"

"You got it, Ken. Talk to her and bring her back out here to show her what I just showed you. I think we can get these built in a max of two weeks or less if the guys want some overtime. Give the plans for this to Julio when you have them, and let him begin."

Ken was smart and recognized Rebecca as an office manager as well as a receptionist. He asked, "Do you have any of those lined white pads that are similar to standard page size legal pads? I need a couple."

Rebecca gave him some pads, mechanical pencils, some pens, and then told him, "Make a list of exactly what you require to do your job, and I will get it for you. Tell me the name of the vendor if there are any specialty products and I'll get those too."

Ken stopped off in the office to put everything on the table except one pad and one pen. He was off down the hall to talk to Margaret. I saw Margaret following Ken in the wheelchair a minute later.

There weren't many e-mails, but there was one from San Diego. It was from the manager of the office and he was requesting me to call.

I called the number he had put in the e-mail and said, "This is Brad Johnson from Los Angeles, I want to speak to John Willing."

"This is John Willing. I gave you my private number because this office is a mess and I just don't know how to make it better. You've been able to make the LA office turn around if your numbers are to be believed. I used to think I had this place down and it was working beautifully, and then it went to hell in a handbasket. I've had so many people quit and they won't even talk to me during an exit interview. I can't believe I've handled this office and recorded great numbers for close to five years and I can't make my numbers now and I'm losing people. I need help, Brad, and I'm not ashamed to ask for it."

"I think it's nice to meet you, John, but you might have something easy to resolve. Tell me exactly when you began to have sales slide and lose people."

John paused for a few minutes, and I could hear him shuffling papers. "January this year was a decent month, exceeding the previous year. February began the downturn, and I lost a person from finance and one from sales. I lost three from sales in March, but I also lost an accounting person who I really liked. March, April, May, and June were all the same and worse. I was hiring and often losing that person within a month."

"Can you look up who you hired in December, January, and February, John?"

"That's easy, I only hired a couple of salesmen, and we had to bring in a new sales manager realtor. He started out fine, but we don't have the salespeople now. I've gone out to the models on the weekend and we are getting some traffic, but not that much although I haven't stopped any advertising."

"Give me the name of your realtor and if you have it his cell number. Don't panic, but I want you to pull copies of the ads since February while you wait for my call. Compare them to a year ago. I'll get back with you as soon as I talk to this guy."

I called Bill Finality. He answered, "Whose calling."

"This is Brad Johnson, the regional manager in Los Angeles. I want to talk to you about your manager, John Willing. Are you in a place so you can speak freely?"

"I sure as hell am and I'm glad someone from this company is getting a handle on how derelict this guy is. I could run this place and make a lot more profit than this idiot can. Let me tell you some of the stupid shit he's done, that is if you want to hear it."

I had already conferenced the phone with voicemail and was recording the conversation. Kelly saw what I was doing and came over with a steno pad. I pushed the speaker button so that the far end of the conversation could be heard.

"Tell me everything you think is causing sales to decline and people to leave."

"First thing is that Willing has changed all the development advertising so that our traffic is down to nothing. He won't build enough extra inventory homes for us to have instant closings. The salesmen have to wait until the house is built before it can close and they are paid their commission. They can't live on their salaries, not in California anyway. Next, is that I know he's sabotaging finance, as I've had loan after loan denied to people who have decent credit."

"Every lady salesperson I get quits because the man sexually harasses her. I haven't heard him do it, but they leave in a huff and don't even say goodbye. Some of the men salesmen quit because you know the guy is queer, don't you? He looks it, talks like it, and I think he even walks like it. Who wants to work for a queer? I'll tell you what, put me in his position and I'll show you an office that will produce."

"Well, Bill, do you have any men in your group who are doing a great job and could take your job if you were promoted?"

He told me, "I have two hotshot sales guys who are probably queer too, but they are selling. I'll fire them in a heartbeat if they make a pass at any of the other guys. I know a saleswoman who would be a good sales manager, and I could probably steal her from where she works if I get Willing's job."

"I want you to go to the office if you're not there now, Bill. How long before you can be at the office?"

"About an hour. I'm a, a, down near the border trying to get a listing. I'll head back up that way now."

I ended the call then called John Willing in San Diego. He answered by asking, "Is this Brad Johnson?"

"Yes sir, this is, Brad. I want you to do something for me, John. You will terminate Bill when he comes back into the office. Have his termination papers prepared for him to sign. Remind him that he will not get any commission he's due if he doesn't sign them."

"I need a sales manager, Brad. I'm sure as hell not one. I don't even have a real estate license."

"No need, John. Look around the community and find a small energetic realtor. That's who you're looking for. He knows how to sell, he knows all the rules, he knows how to train salespeople, and he probably has a girl Friday who keeps him in place."

John said, "That sound easy enough. I can do that."

"Now I'm going to ask you a question and I don't want you to get mad, John. I'm asking because it was told to me by a despicable person. Are you gay, John?"

There was a gasp loud enough to be heard over the phone. "I'm not gay, Brad. I am married and a father to three kids. My wife and I enjoy a very good sex life. I am not gay, I don't womanize any of the female employees, and I'm not a homophobe. We have a gay finance manager, but who cares? The man busts his butt to finance everything he can. I should punch Finality if he told you I'm gay, but I'd be the one to be put in jail and I can't have that."

After a pause he said, "I looked up how our ad copy has changed over the last several months. It sucks and is nothing like the recommended copy from the home office. I've also discovered that we no longer have any TV ads. I used to have some radio too, but those haven't been kept up. I'll get to work on the current ads and get some broadcast media working. I'm looking forward to canning that guy now. Let me get his paperwork together."

"If any of your employees become nervous because of this man's departure, give them my number here in LA. I'll definitely try to get down to see you as soon as possible. Now, go get ready to rid yourself of the plague, and then go find a realtor."

Kelly was finishing her notes, and asked, "I'll type these up and put it in the San Diego file so that you can review it when you go there."

From his table, Yori said, "You'd make a good detective. You asked a bunch of questions, and then confronted the perpetrator who bragged his way into a confession. Nice going, Brad."

I told Yori and Kelly, "John obviously isn't the most dynamic person around but he's been a good caretaker and local leader for his office. He knows how to do his job, but he might be dragging his heels a little in getting some things done."

Yori told us, "You shocked him into wanting to do something about the problem. I'm learning from you, Brad. You dive in and go straight to the heart of the matter. I think your directness is a great asset."

Ken had come back during the phone calls, and had his laptop on the table and was having to work at chin level, but was doing it OK. I suppose he had a lot of practice working that way.

The company data guy came in and told Ken, "I gave you two monitors like we discussed. Let me know if you need a third like the boss has. The phone up there is a good one, and I think you won't have to move this drafting table as there already is one in there. It's already set low too. Oh, the engineer's CAD software you wanted is on the machine. The company has a license for it. The blueprint printer works, but who knows for how long. You have one of the cheap laser printers for correspondence, and you have access to the BizHub printer and fax. Brad uses a separate fax because he's a wheel and has a pretty secretary. (That got him a wadded up piece of paper thrown at him.) That old blueprint printer hasn't been used in five years. I cleaned it up and we do have an existing maintenance agreement on it. I put what paper we had in it and gave Rebecca the paper size and type to order. The stair climber people look like they are wrapping up their install, so you should soon be able to get upstairs on your own."

Ken grinned, looked around, and said, "I'm going to make this place work."

That made everyone in the room smile.

Ken wheeled out into the hall and I followed to see how the stair climber worked. Kelly and Yori followed me to see the same thing.

A big guy was in a wheelchair and wheeled up to the bottom of the rails. There was something that looked like a forklift that slid under the chair then an arm came to the back of the chair and a bar came across in front of the wheelchair passenger. The only thing required of the wheelchair passenger was to position the chair and push the button to close the passenger in. The second button lifted the wheelchair from the floor and the chair immediately came around the access area and headed up the stairs at the same pace an energetic person would climb them. We all followed it up and watched as the chair was put on the floor again and then the front and rear bar retracted and the forks where withdrawn. The guy turned the wheelchair around and positioned it and pushed the first button. The forks came out followed by the front and rear bars to hold the wheelchair passenger in. The second button was pushed and the man in the wheelchair made a quick descent and moved around to be out of the way. This was a great invention.

Ken was quick as he wheeled into the office, gathered his laptop, and all his supplies, and then wheeled to position the wheelchair for the forks. They came out and the bars then came in front and behind him. He pushed the next button and off he went. Alec was at the top of the stairs watching him. Alec gave Ken a hug and kiss before he was even on the floor when he arrived. I watched as the man went toward his new office with Alec following. They were a different brother and sister, but then, how would any of us act if our sibling was disabled like that?

I signed for the stair climber so the men could go to their next install. They left me with a stack of warranty papers and instruction booklets. I took them to Rebecca, our office manager, and gave them to her. There were men making measurements inside and outside where the proposed offices would be. I figured that had to be what they were doing, but Ken had only been on the job for a couple of hours.

Finally, at my desk with a pad in front of me, I listed each of my profit centers, as well as my office, the receptionist, and accounting. We represented the slugs sucking the blood from the host although it did take the support people to make it all work. I finally looked at the plans provided by the home office and didn't think too much of them right away. The reception area was small, but there were doors on each side of it that led to offices. You were immediately in accounting if you entered the right side. That would be good because they were supposed to handle HR, as well as dollars and cents. The title office was in the center between the doors. The print showed twelve desks, and that was more than they had now. To the left of that group across another main aisle behind the doors to the left of reception were eight closing offices in two groups of four. That would have to be enough. You should be able to do three closings a day per office if you figured two hours per closing, with an hour in between. That would be up to twenty-four a day.

I spent most of the morning studying the suggested blueprints. The one thing I immediately didn't like is that the regional manager's office was way back in a corner where it would be an effort for anyone to come to me. I liked having all the traffic flowing in front of my door. It was distracting at times, but it gave everyone the chance to stop in and say something to me or Kelly. Ginger was even stopping by to have a few words with Yori. There was something brewing there. I liked my idea of storefronts, and we could have a hallway behind those offices with the support offices in the rear. The customers wouldn't have the opportunity to come in past a receptionist, but they would enter directly into the office they were seeking. The receptionist would be the greeting area for Mooney, Inc. That entrance could be on the side of the building. I would work on that. I didn't think there was reason to go to Johnny's for lunch. I didn't think so until Alec and Ken came into my office with Margaret. Ken said, "I hear you like to conduct some business during lunch. How about the three of us go today? I want to go over some preliminary plans with you. These affect Alec and Margaret, so it's a good time to do this."

I looked over at Kelly, who smiled back at me as she reached for her phone. We heard her make reservations for us. Kelly told the person at the restaurant we would have a person in a wheelchair today. They were ready for us at noon, so I ushered them out to my car. I opened passenger doors for the ladies then the front door for Ken to get in. After folding his wheelchair into the trunk, I checked the ladies' doors and drove us to Johnny's.

The hostess took us back to our favorite booth when we entered the restaurant, and surprised us with an ingenious platform that raised someone in a wheelchair to table height. The hostess directed Ken to roll up on a platform and handed him a corded remote and told him, "Raise yourself to the height you're comfortable with. The wheels are in small depressions, so you can't easily roll off, but you should still set your brakes."

Ken reached down to lock the wheels and then began raising himself. He was able to fold the arms of his chair down and adjust his height to the same as everyone at the table. He was smiling at how neat an idea this was. He asked the hostess who was sort of hovering around us, "You must tell me who manufactured this. This is perfect for so many things that I do."

She said she would get the information for him, and it was the creation of one of the cooks who has a daughter in a wheelchair.

We placed our drink orders and Ken didn't waste any time. He pulled his folder out and passed standard-sized sheets of paper to the three of us as we listened to him. Ken said, "This is the basic drawing of how the five rooms will fit around the outside of the building with entrances from the lobby. There is sufficient room to make the offices square instead rectangular. The center office will be thirty six inches wider in order to have the outside of the building squared off. The door to that room will be just off the corner of the lobby. Note that all the rooms will have windows that match the rest of building, making the appearance very attractive. There is a bonus here if we want to explore it. These rooms could have a second floor accessed from upstairs. We could redesign the insurance and finance offices, and have a larger area for decorators. Our building would be easy to remodel if you are concerned about capital expenditures, and you could keep it and it would be functional for many years to come."

Ken passed another set of papers around that included an exterior drawing of what the new entrance would look like with two floors. Other than one side, the exterior didn't change much. I asked Ken, "Can you finish this and ask Julio if our people can build this addition? We should submit this for permitting and I'll use some influence if we don't get a quick response. Figure on the two floor concept because we will need the space. The next thing to do is for you to do what you were going to start with and interview each department. Prioritize the departments and we'll decide which ones can be on the second floor. When we have our employee projections where we think they could be, then redesign our existing building to see if it will fit. If it doesn't, we'll design a building that will work for us long term. You might let your sister help you as she has a feel for space requirements. The one thing I've learned is to use every resource available to reach an objective."

The four of us had a good lunch. I had a chance to ask Margaret how many people it would take to do a dozen closings a day. I told her, "I know there is a heck of lot of work that goes into a closing. That work has to be done before the customer sets foot in the door. I also know that the research and prep work requires people to do it. You need to know that I plan on you exceeding a dozen closings a day, so think big as you figure out how to streamline the process. There will always be snags, but we'll know how to overcome them if we plan for it to happen." Everyone was in agreement.

Margaret asked, "How soon do you need my input on a personnel estimate?"

I smiled and told her, "Give it to me when we get back to the office." She gasped in surprise. I wanted her first response since I've learned that is often the most accurate.

Ken let the platform his chair was on sink back to the floor again, and reached down to release his brakes. Alec was going to assist him by pulling the chair out of the depression for the wheels. I waved her off so Ken could see if he could do it himself. That would give us an even better opportunity to evaluate the platform. He was able to pull himself off the platform and had the satisfaction of moving on his own.

A cook from the kitchen came to us and handed Ken a packet of information that he had on the platform. He said, "No one wants to produce and market this so far, but I think there would a great demand just in the restaurant business. The platform is made of reinforced aluminum to be strong enough to hold a three hundred pounder, but is also still lightweight. It is currently right at thirty pounds and I'm working on making it lighter with other alloy metals. Aluminum is the least expensive. I can make you one if you want."

I told the man, "Make us one. We can use it in the conference room and in the closing rooms when we have wheelchair bound customers."

The man asked, "Don't you want to know how much it costs?"

With a smile, I told him, "I'm sure your price will be fair and it is a great product."

Ken said, "You know, you could design a carrier for the device that could be attached to the back of a standard wheelchair so it would be portable. That and making it even lighter than the thirty pounds would be really good. I know it might be difficult to do, but twenty pounds would be ideal. Even a girl can lift twenty pounds, and a wheelchair person has a strong upper body."

I gave the cook one of my cards and thanked him for coming out to give us more information. It was time to get back to work, so we left. I opened the doors for the women first, and then the front passenger door again. Ken swung himself into the BMW and I folded his chair and I put it in the trunk.

Alec and Ken were talking, but Margaret was deep in thought. I knew she was trying to estimate the number of people she would need to prepare and close twenty properties a day. I opened the door for Ken when we were parked and unloaded at the office, and he rolled down the hall toward the stairs with Alec hovering after him. I know Ken was trying to show Alec that he didn't need as much attention as he was getting. I heard him say, "You have a lot of work to do, and so do I, Alec, Baby. Go do your work. I'll be fine and will be very busy getting the prints for the expansion out. Go do your thing."

Margaret followed me into my office. Yori and Kelly were still eating their sandwiches at the table along with Ginger from real estate. I had Margaret sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk. I picked up my paper pad with a pen, and sat in the other chair in front of my desk. I looked at her, and paused my pen over the paper. Margaret was still a little flustered, but finally said, "It would take at least fourteen people to do twenty closings a day. It could take more if we do too many pre-owned homes, since there's more paperwork. I think sixteen would be the correct number if that were the case."

I made the notes on my pad, and then told her, "I like first estimates, or guestimates in this case, Margaret. They are often more accurate than when given with too much consideration. Now that you've given me that first impression, I want you to consider your operation in more depth and see if those numbers will work to reach the goals I want to get to."

There was relief on Margaret's face when she found out that she could really research the question and give a more calculated answer. She said, "You had me going, Brad. You're so direct sometimes that I know you immediately want a good answer, but you're also patient enough to wait until someone like me can really apply myself to make sure I gave you a good answer. Thank you, I'll work on it and get back to you."

My title company manager got up and went to her office. I knew she was planning on six closings this afternoon, and the first two should be ready right now. Ginger said, "What did you do, demand the amount of people to close an inordinate number of homes each day?"

I told Ginger, "I want the title office to be able to close twenty a day. That's a huge amount, but if you think of the number of sales we are having, even if there is ten percent fallout for credit failures or buyer's remorse, you're still looking at nearly that number if we continue to sell at the rate we're doing."

Ginger said, "There will be a lot of very rich salespeople here if they continue to sell the way they are right now. That little girl brought two more listings and another custom contract in this morning. She really is a dynamo."

I told Ginger, "Keep your eye out for someone I could convert to do what I do. I'll need someone with good ears to listen, and a quick mind to make decisions. I'm going to need an assistant very soon. It'll take a year to get him trained, but it will be a fun year."

Ginger asked, "Would you consider a woman?"

"Of course, and I do have my eyes open when I deal with all the women in this office. Women sometimes have a problem being away from a child for a period of time. Overnight trips aren't unusual. Married women have to have a strong, trusting marriage for that same reason. I don't know the individuals here well enough grade them yet. I have some great impressions, but it needs to be more than that. I like to let life and luck bring my partners to me in my personal and business lives."