Beyond the Window
He was talking about the I.T.A. numbers. He was always talking about the I.T.A. numbers. I was seated in front of him in the chair he kept - I just know he did – purposely lower than his, so that sitting behind his massive desk (seems somebody was trying to compensate for something), he would always be looking down at you. Through the big window behind where his pointed head was jabbering about the I.T.A. numbers, I caught a glimpse of a squirrel scooting up an oak tree.
Industrial Truck Association. The Association compiled all of the sales figures from all of the member companies and published quarterly reports (maybe they were monthly, I don’t know) and so you could tell (if you were a sales manager, for instance) just how anybody was doing against their competition in any given territory. I wasn’t doing very well in mine, but the squirrel was being chased, I noticed just then, by another squirrel.
“It’s just not satisfactory. Now, look, you’ve been here five years and we like you. But I sometimes wonder how seriously you really take this.” Male chasing a female? Is that the squirrel mating ritual? Do they chase? “The customers all seem to really like you. You’re a likeable guy. But the problem is you just don’t seem aggressive enough when it comes to picking up new customers.” Just playing, maybe. Maybe a couple squirrel buddies just having a fun time playing. “We need to always be growing the customer base.” Yeah, it must’ve been because just at that moment, the squirrel being chased stopped, spun around, and started chasing the other one! Cripes, it was hilarious.
“You want to be a better salesman, don’t you, Jerry?” Then they both stopped at the exact same moment and – I swear – turned their heads towards me simultaneously, like it was some kind of synchronized squirrel event. “We want to help you to be better. That’s all this is really about. We want you to be the best you can be.” I half expected them to smile at me, and I felt compelled to smile back.
“Well, I’m glad you can find this amusing because I have to tell you, we’re considering putting you on a probationary period.” Wait – one had an acorn in his…hands? I guess they’re feet, the front ones, but when they stand there holding something like an acorn, it really looks more like hands. “We don’t want you saying you hadn’t been warned. If we don’t start seeing the results we need…well, I don’t think I need to really spell it out, do I?”
It was important, what he was saying. I know it was because he kept telling me so. Improving market share is important. Very important. He worked his way up to the corner office with the big window and the massive desk because of it. The least I could do was listen. I wonder where squirrels go at night. Don’t they have nests or something?
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