Athena 11 - Why Do I Work Here?
Monday morning.
Athena has just arrived
at her office.
Before sitting down,
she goes to her special place.
At the window.
It is a beautiful day.
What a start to the week.
Stark blue skies.
Swallows having their fun.
Athena realizes
this window is her place
to pause.
…
She feels grateful
for the outcome
of yesterday’s family breakfast.
She recognizes the importance
of this new way.
All four having an equal say.
Victor and she know
they need to adjust.
Yet…
Athena feels these new dynamics
are indeed what all four need.
…
Athena is grateful
for the opportunities
and possibilities
which appear in the pause.
She feels confident
about the week ahead.
And about the new start
she is making here
with Mary, Sarah, and Peter.
Today.
…
Athena knows she needs
to continue the road
she took last Friday.
Looking out over the trees,
she visualizes the meeting.
And the outcome
comes to her.
Athena takes a deep breath.
And smiles.
She remembers why
she started the company.
…
Mary has arranged lunch
in the conference room.
Athena goes early
to meet with her.
And tell her about
Sunday’s family breakfast.
And the pact
they made together.
…
At 12:30,
Sarah and Peter join them.
They are excited
about this meeting.
About the week ahead.
And about what they
will celebrate on Friday.
They are looking forward
to contributing.
After realizing
they can speak up more.
…
Athena begins.
“You remember we spoke last Friday
about my need
to control and direct.
I was not open to listen.
Really listen.
I put too much pressure on you.
…
I would like to say once more:
I want us to work together.
Really together.
And I need your help.”
…
Sarah and Peter smile
and nod.
“Athena,” Sarah says,
“we thought a lot
this weekend.
And we met this morning.
We are ready to build.”
…
“Mary, can you share
with Sarah and Peter
what you shared with me?”
…
“I would like to start
with a question,” Mary says.
“How do you look at
our objective setting?
Annual objectives.
And quarterly objectives?”
Peter looks at Sarah.
Then he begins.
“You know, we often wonder
why we have these objectives
when they often disappear
into drawers
and are rarely looked at again.
We should use them
to guide what we do
and how we do it.
But, in practice,
that is not happening.
Sarah and I were talking
this morning
about the tremendous opportunities
we have in our market.”
…
“There is a better way,”
Athena says.
“Mary, shall we continue?”
Mary stands up
and speaks enthusiastically.
“We turn the world upside down.
Instead of setting objectives
and hoping we reach them,
we declare the results.
And then work backwards
to make them happen.
It is called
reverse engineering.”
…
“Look here,” Mary says.
She points at the screen
she has projected.
“Where do we want to be
in 90 days?
And to get there,
where do we need to be
in 60 days?
In 30 days?
And what can we celebrate
on Fridays,
when we have delivered
what we set out to do
that week?”
…
“Wow,”
Sarah and Peter react
with enthusiasm.
“This is different.
Exciting.
Working in quarterly intervals.
And, when necessary,
we adjust during these
three months
and the weeks within them.”
…
Athena looks at the three of them.
Then gets up.
She smiles and says:
“I know this will be
a significant change
for all of us.
And I love
your first reaction.
…
I know you have
many questions.
And I would like
to suggest the following:
Mary will send you two files.
One is about HOPE_A,
the daily practice.
The other is a section
about HOPE_A
from The Freedom Warriors Way.
I would like you
to go through them.
And then, Friday afternoon,
we will celebrate
this first week.”
…
“I would like to share something.
Before this meeting,
I was standing at the window.
Looking out over the trees.
Taking a pause.
And I recalled why I started
the company.
Why I work here.
Now, for this Friday,
I would like to suggest
that each one of us
talks about that question:
‘Why do I work here?’”
…
Mary, Sarah, and Peter
react with surprise.
And already begin to think
about how they would answer
the question:
“Why do I work here?”