She wrote precise ones, and this one was four sentences. She'd reviewed the proposal thoroughly. She appreciated the board's confidence in her vision. She was declining the relocation requirement at this time, and she remained committed to exploring West Coast expansion through alternative structural arrangements that did not require her physical presence in San Francisco. Four sentences.
14 years of conditioning to always say yes to the next thing. overridden in four sentences. She hit send before she could revise it. Then she sat at her desk and waited for the world to catch fire. It took 40 minutes. Harwick called first.
He didn't waste time with preamble. I need to understand what I'm reading. You're reading a decline of the relocation component. The expansion itself I'm fully committed to. I want to build the West Coast Division.
I want it operational within the timeline. The board projected. I'm proposing a model where I oversee it remotely with a strong on-site general manager. I have three candidates in mind already. The board's expectation was founderled in person for the first 18 months.
The board's expectation was designed around a version of this company that exists 18 months ago. We have the infrastructure now to execute this differently. Natalie, a pause. His voice shifted into the register he used when he was genuinely concerned and trying not to show it. Is everything all right?
She looked out her window at the city. Everything is very all right, Richard. That's actually the issue. A silence I don't follow. I've spent 6 years making decisions in the negative space.
What do I need to do to not fail, not stagnate, not fall behind? This is the first decision I've made in a long time in the positive space. What do I actually want to build? Where do I actually want to be? And you want to be in DC?
I want to stop treating every city I'm in as temporary. Another silence longer. You understand the optics. The board will see this as a loss of momentum. Then I'll show them what momentum looks like from here.
Her voice was steady. Not defensive, decided. I'm not asking permission, Richard. I'm informing you of my decision and offering a path forward that achieves everything the board projected. If the board decides that's insufficient, I'm prepared to have that conversation.
She heard him exhale. Send me the three candidate profiles by Wednesday. You'll have them Tuesday. Of course, I will. A pause and then unexpectedly something that was almost warmth.