Perhaps Dan would have been helped by a few tumbleweeds rolling through the carpark to a Morricone motif.
Circling vultures may have been too subtle. Mia and Tony sitting in a corner looking all ruddy and peeking out from under sombreros may have caught his attention.
But Dan, oblivious, strolled into the office and greeted colleagues cheerfully as always. Maybe the return greetings were shorter than normal. Again, Dan was blissfully ignorant.
Bag down, computer on.
Reminder: One-to-one discussion 8:30am (Organiser: George Kidston)
What!!!??? That’s in three minutes! Where did that come from!? Should have looked at your phone earlier! He noted the invitation had been sent at 6:24am. ‘Arrgghh!’
Dan realised his pulse was racing. This wasn’t an ordinary meeting.
Slow down Dan, he said to himself. Give me peace.
Suddenly Charis appeared. ‘Hey Dan. You’re under pressure.’ Placing a hand on the side of Dan’s shoulder, she added, ‘Just want you to know you’ve got the skills.’
And after the briefest pause, ‘It’s a negotiation.’
Walking away Dan’s colleague added, ‘See you Friday.’
Dan walked to George’s corner office, and just out of sight, stopped for one more deep breath. George’s assistant, Patricia, waved him straight through with perhaps the hint of a nervous smile.
‘Dan, sit down.’ George looked like he’d been pacing since 6:24am. He wasn’t going to sit.
‘Dan, I’m hearing “We sell freedom” all over the place. It’s not good! It’s misleading and probably dangerous. We don’t sell anything! We offer, we serve, we recommend, we support, we nurture, we walk alongside! We’re not some shonky used car saleyard or telemarketer. We don’t force people down a path with our carefully honed questioning technique. I don’t want our reputation cheapened.
I agree, we show people how they might be free. We point them to the future, and we speak with confidence about release. We have this treasure that we steward, this holy prize if you like – it’s our privilege to describe it, to teach it. But you don’t sell moral values!
You’ve been here for what, six years? I thought you’d know that.’
Dan wasn’t about to correct the tenure error. He just reflected, ‘It is a treasure that we steward.’
‘A great treasure!’ George continued. ‘Someone was trying to tell me about the origin of the word “sell” the other day’, George continued. ‘I appreciate that it’s as old as human civilization and it’s really just an exchange, but you can’t get past the polluted corruption that is modern selling.’
Dan was vaguely aware he was in a sliding doors moment. A younger version of him may have only seen one outcome from this perceived dressing down. The older version of him could see several outcomes…at least it could in a moment of calm reflection.
Perhaps it was too soon to tell which path this interaction would take, but what was that thing Charis said?
…and how did she come to turn up at just that moment anyway?
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