Chapter 40: Holiday Parties

December 16, 1996, Colorado Springs, Colorado

“Good morning, Mr. Adams!” Margaret Stevens said as I walked into the office in Colorado Springs.

“Hi, Margaret. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good,” she answered. “Mrs. Jaworski is expecting you.”

“Thanks. How are your wedding plans coming along?”

“Thank you for asking. They’re pretty simple - a military wedding at the base chapel. It’s really a timing thing for him. We’re getting married at the beginning of June and he’ll get his orders for his next duty station around the middle of the month, right after his leave for our honeymoon. We’re hoping for Japan.”

“I enjoyed the time I spent there, but it was far away from Yokosuka or Okinawa. Let me know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

“Thanks!”

I walked over to the door, waved my badge, and headed down the hall to Barbara’s office. She jumped up when I walked in and we exchanged a hug, then we sat down on her couch. She had tea ready for us, which I appreciated.

“What’s your plan for replacing Margaret?” I asked.

“We’ll start looking in March. Margaret’s last day is May 31st.”

“Do the paperwork to grant her an exception to the bonus rules, please.”

Barbara laughed and picked up a folder and pen from the coffee table and handed them to me. I opened the folder, scribbled my approval on the form and handed her the folder and pen.

“Am I really THAT predictable?” I asked.

“She’s marrying a military officer. What are the chances I was wrong?”

“Zero,” I chuckled. “Unless he was Air Force.”

“You do realize the Academy is a few miles down the road, right?”

“And if I want to learn how to repair televisions and order cable TV services, I’ll stop by!”

Barbara shook her head, “You’ve spent too much time with Naval officers!”

“And I’m the son of a Chief, which I think I told you about. Anyway, are you going for a combination person, or two people?”

“Probably two. My P&L will handle it, and now that you’ve green-lighted Charlie’s expansion plans, I’m going to need it. I guess Terry is going to add a couple of developers here as well to flesh out the team. Is it true that you’re giving up your veto?”

“Yes, though I’ll be involved in hiring at the C-level and for directors. We need to move to a more traditional management structure, but we’re doing it slowly and carefully. One thing I won’t do is let it become bureaucratic or ‘corporate’. Our new Director of Human Resources is having a bit of trouble adapting to NIKA.”

“We are an outlier, but that’s what’s great about the company, and why people are concerned.”

I nodded, “I know. And I’m sure it’s people like Andy, Cynthia, and Cecilia who expressed their concerns to you. For newer people, it’s not going to be a big shock, especially out here and in Pittsburgh. I’ll sit down with them and allay their fears. The tricky part of this entire exercise is for NIKA to not lose her soul in the process.”

“Her?”

“Y chromosomes are something of a rarity at NIKA compared to most tech firms.”

“True! I just never heard you use a gendered pronoun for NIKA before; usually it’s ‘it’ or ‘we’.”

“NIKA has a «kami», and to me, that «kami» is female. Do you feel otherwise?”

“I just always associated NIKA with you, and you’re male, so I guess that’s how I would have expected you to refer to the company.”

“But doesn’t it have more feminine aspects than most - nurturing, caring, and so on?”

“I hadn’t quite thought of it that way, but yes, it does, and I always associated that with you.”

“You do, and so do the other early employees. But the newer ones? And if we double in size in the next two years? It’s that feeling I want to preserve, and while I won’t be sitting in the big chair, I will be the person who ensures our culture doesn’t drift too far away from my ideals.”

“How do you propose to do that?”

“The biggest part of it is making sure that the things we need to do to run efficiently don’t turn into red tape and bureaucratic processes. Think how simple it was to accomplish giving Margaret her bonus. And I did something similar for Tasha’s team - I could just sign off on a bonus for them and make it happen. And hiring has always been simplified here. Bob Larson’s job is to help us set up a hiring process that will work at scale, but also retain the character of our current process.”

“Things are quite a bit different from ten years ago when we were in that space rented from the union. I missed working out of your house by about five months, I guess.”

“That sounds about right. We moved to the union building at the very end of August of 1986. Only Tasha, Zeke, Debbie, and Mario have been with us longer, discounting the Founders and Penny. Stephanie was helping out at that point, too.”

“She did the interview; you mostly sat quietly and listened. I never would have envisioned anything like what’s happened since! And you want to know the best part?”

“You get to work with me?” I grinned.

“Hah! But that’s really it, when you look at it - you’ve had a lot of faith in me.”

“And it’s been justified. And I hope you’re around for a good long time.”

“I love the company and I love Colorado. The work is rewarding both in terms of satisfaction and money. That’s why we hardly have any turnover at any level.”

“Sadly, I think that will change as we go through this growth spurt. We won’t be the happy little family working out of the rented union space, or even the one which moved to the bigger space in Hyde Park.”

“That’s what has you worried.”

I nodded, “And anyone who’s been with us for more than about four years, and even a few of the newer folks. But you, Mario, and Zeke are going to help me on this. You’ll take your operational instructions from Stephanie, but you’ll need to protect the culture of NIKA while doing so. She knows that, but her job is to make things run smoothly from a business perspective. You’ll need to look out for the staff’s morale.”

“That’s a pretty heavy responsibility.”

“But is it really any different from what you’ve been doing?”

Barbara laughed, “No.”

“And we’ll have some time at the quarterly meetings set aside for conversations about this with the other regional directors, my sister, and a few key advisors.”

“I’ll do my best!”

“You always have! Let me go say ‘hi’ to a few people, and I’ll see you later on. I take it everything is set for tonight?”

“It is, including a car back to your hotel. I have a car arranged to take you to the airport in the morning as well. Are you flying back to Chicago or straight to Pittsburgh?”

“Straight to Pittsburgh. I have a meeting on Tuesday afternoon with someone I provided startup capital to. And then a Penguins game.”

“Of course! You had a B&B and an architecture firm. What’s this one?”

“Political consulting. And I also decided to invest in a restaurant in Ohio.”

“Interesting. How do you find these?”

“They tend to find me,” I replied, standing up. “Well, three of the four were close friends. The restaurant was an opportunity that presented itself when I was in Ohio.”

Barbara stood and went back to her desk, and I went down the hall to the development offices. Kajri jumped up when she saw me and we exchanged a nice hug, and I received a hug from Skye as well. Vickie and Marlene both waved but didn’t get up.

“How are things?” I asked.

“Great!” Kajri said. “Did you hear I’m getting married?”

“I missed THAT memo,” I chuckled. “The rumor mill didn’t make it to my office, either. Congratulations! When?”

“We haven’t set a date yet, but sometime next year. He’ll be at the party tonight.”

“I look forward to meeting him! Any other big news?”

The others shook their heads, so I asked Skye to step into an office to talk privately.

“How are things with your team?”

“Good. I really need the two software engineers Terry has in our budget for next year. There’s just too much work to do.”

I nodded, “I’m fully aware; I gave the green light to all the expansion plans. Did Barbara or Terry share them with you?”

“Barbara has a meeting on Friday to go over the approved plans. She did mention everything looked good at the last staff meeting.”

“Then I’ve mistakenly stolen her thunder. The final approvals were done on Friday. How are things going, otherwise?”

“Pretty good overall; I’m enjoying Colorado. I learned to ski a couple of weeks ago and it was a blast; quite the change from Dallas!”

“I’m glad you’re happy. It’s a pretty big deal to pick up and move. Is there anything I can do for you? I mean besides the additional staff which will be available next year?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I’ll let you get back to work.”

We left the office and I went back to reception to ask Margaret when Andy would arrive and she said he’d just shown up and was in Barbara’s office. I walked back to Barbara’s office and found Andy, Ross, and Juana there. I greeted them and we caught up, then I went to a small office to make a few phone calls and check my email. There was nothing pressing, and after calling Kimmy, I went back to Barbara’s office to spend the last few minutes before leaving for the Western Region Christmas party.

December 17, 1996, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“I want to set my expectations appropriately,” Tara smirked. “That’s why!”

“It’s possible, yes. I take it you’ll be here after the Penguins game?”

“Absolutely. Shall we grab a bite next door?”

“Yes.”

We left the hotel and went next door to the bar, found a table, and ordered food and drinks.

“How are things going?” I asked after we had ordered.

“I’m sure you’ve read my monthly reports.”

“I have, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. I want to know how you feel.”

“If you don’t know that by now, you never will!” she replied impishly.

“Business first!” I insisted.

Tara fake pouted then smiled.

“I think things are going pretty well. I’ve made the right contacts and you know I have a couple of prospective state senators and a prospective Pittsburgh city council member signed. I’m not sure what else to tell you.”

“What’s your sense?”

“To be honest, I have to win elections! All three of the people I’ve signed are new to the political process. All three are local attorneys, two of whom work for firms who you have as clients.”

“What do you need to do to win?”

“That is the key question, isn’t it? The obvious answer is get more votes than our opponents. It’s how to do that which is tricky - every case is different, and very much depends on the constituency. If you think about it, the best run Republican campaign in Chicago is going to have as much chance as the best run Democratic campaign in Orange County, California. So I have to pick candidates and races where there’s at least a chance. From there, Tip O’Neil’s maxim comes into play.”

“‘All politics is local’,” I replied.

“Exactly. So if we ignore mudslinging for the moment, the key is to find the issues which resonate with the people in the district you’re in, while trying to avoid being tarred with statewide, national, or international issues that your party is responsible for, but might work against you. Then it’s about deciding how to get the message out. The absolute, number one best way is to walk the district and meet people - going to their door, shaking their hand, and looking them in the eye while you ask them to vote for you. The only thing that costs you is time and having brochures printed. Nothing else is remotely close to targeting the correct voters.”

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed quickly, with a smirk.

“Later!” I laughed. “What about computerizing those records so you can keep track of everything, right down to the house?”

“How would that work?”

“You’d need a database of every address in the city, but those can be purchased. The same with voter lists. You combine them, and use them to target your most likely supporters and go from there. Maybe somebody is on the fence - you note that on a Palm PDA, load it into the database when you get back to the office, and send someone back to talk to them. And so on.”

“You could create something like that?”

“Yes, but it really isn’t something NIKA would want to get into. It’s not our core business. But I might be interested in funding a small group of programmers to do it. I’d need to sit down with Elyse and my in-house counsel to figure out how we might do it.”

“I’d kill for something like that!”

“Which would be the end of your career,” I chuckled.

“I didn’t mean that LITERALLY!”

“Let me talk to a couple of people in Chicago and see what I can come up with. How are things besides business?”

“Good, though I’m at a point where I think I’m finally ready to settle down. I just haven’t found the right guy to settle down with.”

“Any prospects?”

“There’s an attorney at McCarthy/Jenkins I met a couple of weeks ago. He called last Friday and invited me to the company Christmas party next week.”

“Promising?”

“We hit it off pretty well when we spoke after a seminar we both attended. His practice is campaign law.”

“Sounds like a match made in heaven!” I grinned.

The waitress brought our food and we dug in.

“How are things with you?” Tara asked.

“Pretty good, actually. Business is good, and things are good at home. The kids are growing like weeds. I don’t think I told you about the pre-med student living with us, and we just recently hired a ‘domestic manager’ to help us around the house.”

“Must be nice,” Tara laughed. “But with a doctor, a professor, and you and Elyse, that household has a stratospheric income!”

“And stratospheric property taxes, not to mention the cost of raising the kids!”

“I’d say you’re doing pretty well.”

“And I’d agree.”

We finished our meal, hugged, and I headed for the Igloo to meet John. I found him exactly where he’d said he’d be - right by the gate we’d go in. We shook hands, showed our tickets, and headed for our seats.

“Tell Sheryl thanks for me,” I said as we walked down the aisle.

“Tell her yourself, Boss! She’ll be at the party tomorrow night. I listened to Sunday’s game on the radio. Not too good.”

“They didn’t play badly, but honestly, without Barrasso, I don’t hold out a lot of hope. They’ll make the playoffs, but I don’t think they’ll go too far.”

“I hate to say that I agree with you, but I agree with you.”

“How’s the family?”

“Good! The baby is doing great and we’re negotiating for the second one.”

“Leave the poor girl alone!” I grinned.

“First of all, Boss, no disrespect, but you have SEVEN kids! And second, SHE wants the second kid!”

I chuckled, “Which is pretty much what happened with me. I had no intention of having seven kids, and yet, here I am.”

We stood for the National Anthem, then sat back down to watch the puck drop. The first period saw two Boston penalties, the first of which allowed the Penguins to score, but the second of which was disastrous when they gave up a shorthanded goal. That goal was a harbinger of things to come, as the Penguins completely self-destructed in the second period, giving up five goals and scoring but one, with Ken Wregget being chased in favor of Patrick Lalime.

“When Lemieux has two goals and is still -2 for the game, you know it’s a shitty night,” John sighed when the horn sounded at the end of the second period.

“No goaltending. I mean, five goals in seven minutes and two seconds is just unconscionable!”

The Penguins did make something of a comeback in the third period, scoring two goals, but it wasn’t enough, and they lost 6-4.

“Maybe Sheryl should thank ME for her not coming to see this travesty,” I said as we made our way out of the stadium.

“When you score four goals, you HAVE to win,” John said. “Hey, I didn’t ask, how is Jesse doing with his hockey team?”

“They’ll be playing in a big tournament in Minneapolis between Christmas and New Year’s. He’s playing well and he’s pretty happy.”

“I have some time off. Mind if I bring Sheryl to watch him play?”

“Not at all. I’ll get you all the details tomorrow.”

“Cool!”

We parted at the exit, and I headed back to the hotel, where Tara was waiting in the lobby.

“I heard,” she said. “What a nightmare.”

“Shall we get a drink?”

“I have a bottle in my bag.”

“Then let’s go up to my room.”

We headed for the elevator and went up to the eighth floor and into the suite Liesel had booked for me. Tara took out a bottle of Johnny Walker, got two glasses from the shelf, and poured us each about an ounce. We drank a couple of toasts, then cuddled close on the couch.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“I thought that was supposed to be MY question!” Tara protested.

“I think we can find a mutually satisfactory middle ground,” I said.

“About that, I have no doubt!”

December 19, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

I walked into the house about 11:00am on Thursday morning to find Winter vacuuming the area rugs. She shut off the vacuum when she saw me.

“Hi! How were Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh?”

“Pretty good. How were things here?”

“I got an earful about someone not getting ‘cuddle time’.”