But here's the thing. Either way, you have to walk into that conference call and be exactly who you are. Not defensive, not compressed, just clear. She leaned forward slightly. You know your numbers better than anyone in that call.
You know your department better than anyone in that call. The only way this goes badly is if you let them make you feel like you need permission to say so. He looked at her. You've done this before. This specific thing.
Walked into a room full of people who had decided I didn't belong there and then changed their minds. She held his gaze. Yeah. More times than I can count. How do you do it?
She was quiet for a moment. I remember that I did the work, she said finally. Not the work of belonging. Not the work of proving myself, just the actual work. The thing I know when I'm standing on what I actually know.
No one can move me. She paused. You know your work. Marcus, stand on it. Friday came the way.
Difficult days always come too fast. With too much quiet beforehand, Marcus was in the second floor conference room at 1:45. His performance records printed and organized in a folder. Gerald had helped him prepare, his suit jacket on, his hands steady on the table in front of him. The conference call connected at 2:00 exactly.
The VP of operations introduced herself, Ranata Simmons. Out of the Chicago office, a voice that was brisks and efficient and not unkind. The firm's lead consultant introduced himself, Bradley Walsh, whose voice had the specific texture of a man accustomed to being the smartest person in rooms that hadn't been properly stocked. Bradley Walsh opened with, "Mr. Hayes, we want to understand your perspective on our efficiency assessment. " Marcus opened his folder.
He looked at the first page of numbers and felt the ground under him go solid. My perspective is that the assessment doesn't match the documented performance of this department. He said, I'd like to walk through the specifics. There was a brief pause on the line. Then Ranata said, "Please," Marcus walked through it methodically, clearly, without editorializing the incident rate, the budget performance, the specific interventions that had prevented three significant equipment failures in the previous fiscal year.
Each one documented with dates and cost estimates for what they would have run if they had been allowed to progress. He cited numbers the way he cited everything as evidence, not argument, letting the facts do the work that emotion would have complicated. When he finished, the silence on the line lasted long enough to mean something. Bradley Walsh said, "These figures weren't part of the initial data package we received. They're in the hotel's maintenance records. " Marcus said, "Egg.