Chapter 1

Lana greeted Mr. Kennedy, a Senior V.P. at J.A.M. Aluminum. She was surprised by such a rare visit by an executive to the fabrication plant. He was an imposing figure. He wore an impeccable expensive suit and had a commanding presence made her very flustered.

“Good afternoon” smiled the distinguished looking gentleman at the pretty young secretary. “Is Bruce Kunkle in his office at the moment?”

Lana, having never actually met him before in person, recognized Mr. Kennedy from his photo on the company brochure she was given as part of her orientation when she was hired and seeing his informative presentations on stage during all-employee meetings held annually.

“I am sorry Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kunkle happens to be on the production floor at the moment, but I can page him for you.” Lana stammered and blushed slightly, intimidated by the man’s reputation as an influential and powerful executive.

“As long as he isn’t involved in an emergency, I would appreciate it.”

“No emergency sir. I know he was making his usual rounds of the production processes. Mr. Kunkle routinely likes to touch base with each production supervisor and their crews at least three times per week to discuss problems or potential improvements in their areas. I will call him right away.” Lana said rapidly and took the opportunity to talk about the dedication of her boss to a J.A.M. executive. She picked up her phone and dialed the mobile number. She then thought that an important man like him might think her rapid unsolicited speech would make him think she was a babbling airhead and was afraid she embarrassed herself. She thought to herself “Come on girl, pull yourself together. He asked for the time and you just told him how the watch was made.”

She was fiercely loyal to Bruce. He was a great boss that never talked down to her or any of his subordinates and treated everyone as an equal. Lana felt it was her duty to portray Bruce in the best possible light to Mr. Kennedy and took this encounter as an opportunity to do so.

Lana called and informed Bruce about his visitor. “I’ll be right up.”

Lana hung up and told the elder executive that her boss would appear shortly and asked if he would like a coffee or water.

“No thanks, Sweetheart. I will just wait for Bruce in his office.” He walked into the private office. This made her bristle for two reasons. First the “Sweetheart” address struck her as demeaning. Secondly, she thought it was disrespectful for him to barge into her boss’ office without an invitation or any consideration for Bruce’s privacy. Senior VP or no, she decided she was not a fan of Mr. Kennedy’s sense of entitlement. So much for meeting your heroes. She glared at his back over the top of her glasses as he walked trough the doorway to the office.

Bruce must have been close because he was in the hallway of the office shortly after Mr. Kennedy entered the office. She nodded toward the office door with a frown to indicate the big boss’ location.

Bruce spotted Mr. Kennedy just inside the office door and extended his hand. “Gene great to see you. What brings you down to Fab 2? Are there any problems with our numbers?”

“Not at all, Bruce. In fact, your great production numbers are exactly what I would like to discuss!”

As Bruce entered the office Mr. Kennedy closed the door, leaving Lana frustrated with only with a very muffled conversation which she strained to decipher, unsuccessfully, to get some indication of the nature of the visit.

“Bruce, your achievements in Fabrication have caught the attention of everyone in the executive wing. Since you took over the department five years ago, productivity has nearly doubled and costs have been cut 38% despite rising raw material costs.”

“Thank you, Gene, but it has really been a team effort. I especially need to give some credit to my Assistant Manager, Brad Pittman. That kid has been a genius in introducing automation while making certain the rank and file actually embrace the changes. He has been great at getting workers to see how much more exciting their jobs are now that the routine, boring and sometimes dangerous elements can be accomplished with computer controls and allowing them to be more creative in innovating production enhancements.”

Bruce spent his entire professional career with J.A.M since he graduated from Ohio State in Engineering. He hired Brad shortly after moving into management and quickly recognized his genius for innovation. They worked well together and were able to easily bounce ideas off each other to the point the sum of their effort easily out performed what either could have accomplished on their own. Bruce mentored Brad to some day run a department on his own. The way Gene Kennedy was talking, Bruce was beginning to think that day may be coming soon and it would be Bruce’s current job. He concentrated carefully on what Gene was saying and every inflection in his voice, hoping this was the opportunity he longed for.

Gene was one of the more tenured Senior VPs at J.A.M. and was the heir apparent to take over for Mr. Morris, the current President and CEO who was getting up there in age. Bruce recognized the importance of staying on Gene’s good side if he hoped to some day get promoted to Mahogany Row. Bruce loved his job and he and Joni were comfortable but still sometimes struggled with finances. Both of them had a tendency to live beyond their means and enjoyed the finer things in life, even when they were slightly beyond their reach.

Bruce saw a path to Junior VP as a way to put those concerns far behind them and at 33 years old, he was getting close to the age he had established as a goal to make the leap to the executive ranks. Although he kept his ambition well-hidden at J.A.M., he was secretly hoping the elder executive was here to make his promotional dreams come true. The last thing Bruce wanted to do was give Gene the impression he thought he was entitled to the promotion, even if deep down he thought he was. He put in long hours, even prior to being promoted to management to make a name for himself at J.A.M. knowing the golden ticket to the executive ranks at this company promised a lifestyle for which he and Joni wanted and deserved. One of the reasons he decided to work here was they rarely hired executives from the outside and preferred to promote from within. Furthermore, Senior Executives hardly ever left J.A.M which he took as a testament to the values of the company. Although it was privately owned and not subject to the whims of stockholder quarterly reports that often concentrating on short term gain, the company seemed to be immune to the turmoil of corporate acquisitions. In short, it was the kind of place one could build a secure, lifelong career. The company was family oriented and there seemed to be an unwritten rule that executives be family men to match the fact it was a family run company.

At J.A.M. the leap to Junior VP from manager was unusually significant. Even the Junior VPs were given company cars in addition being chauffeured to and from work in limousines. This allowed their wives the use of the company cars, which were usually high-end models as their own vehicles during the work week. He also noticed the Execs seemed to always have a late model car and rarely went more than a year without updating their transportation including fully loaded models with the very latest technology. Expense accounts were generous as well and included corporate memberships to all the best spas and clubs. Bruce had no idea how much Junior VPs were paid, but based on the mansions most lived in and lifestyles, he surmised the pay increases were substantial.

Gene Kennedy crossed his leg over his knee and leaned back in the chair in front of Bruce’s metal desk while Bruce parked himself in his chair behind a pile of requisition forms and budget folders he had been working on that morning.

“Bruce, the company has been able to score some major customers largely due to our price competitiveness. Your efforts have played a large role in that success. As a result, J.A.M. is expanding. That includes our executive ranks.”