Story: Replacing John

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1

“Hi, Red,” John’s pleasant voice said on the telephone. “I was wondering if I could come right over.”

That’s odd, Red thought but he simply replied. “Sure, John. Come ahead.”

John Kinolden was one of Red’s best supervisors. He had almost twenty years experience, ten of which he had collected working for Red. He was knowledgeable in his field and good at his work. He was loyal to the organization, demanding both of his staff and himself, and well-liked and -respected by just about everyone. He also worked well with Red and his vice-presidents, accepting direction amiably, yet not hesitating to express and explain any concerns he might have. His suggestions, moreover, were always reasonable and practical; Red took most of them.

So, it was with mixed feelings that, later that day, Red accepted John’s resignation, with an unheard-of six months notice, so that he could move up with a larger firm in a city about three hundred miles away. Replacing him seemed impossible; appointing a suitable successor would be difficult enough, especially in the small town where Red had his little business.

“John, you know we have come to depend on you and I’ll be sorry to lose you,” Red said, trying to focus on saying just the right things for his long-time colleague’s benefit rather than expressing the wave of disappointment (and panic) that swept through him at first. “But it sounds like a great opportunity for you and your family.”

“I sure think so, Red,” came the reply. “You’ve been just about the best boss I ever had, and I wouldn’t take just any old thing that came along.”

Red acknowledged the comment, and started a brief discussion on how to break the news to John’s staff and then other colleagues. John wanted to meet separately with each of the four professionals who worked with him and then meet with the six hourly staff as a group. Red could inform the others however he thought best after that had been taken care of.

“I could be there, you know John, to show my support or address any fears…”

But John wanted to handle it himself. Fine.

No one else in the department, Red thought, was in a good position to be promoted to the supervisor position, even Vera Marjotes, his long-time second-in-command, and John said – as Red was later able to confirm – that none of them would want the extra responsibility, despite the raise that would come with it.

So the search began right away, with detailed ads placed in the appropriate regional papers and trade journals. (This was in the 1980s, before the Internet was a primary resource when recruiting.) John helped write and place the ads. Red knew he could be counted on also to provide detailed information about the position to prospective successors as the search went on.

“I only hope,” he said to his wife, “that we’ll be able to have someone on the job before too long after John leaves.”

“Would you have to step in yourself, Red,” she said, “if the search goes on too long?”

“You know it, kiddo!”

2

Slowly, it seemed, applications began to come along. Most were from people just out of Business School and who lived far away, or from close-by but without the required credentials. That was the result Red had expected, but he didn’t feel good just because he had been right about that.

Then there was one, two, and finally three applications that looked pretty good. All were folks younger than John but who had enough of the right sort of experience to be considered seriously. Things might be turning around, Red thought cautiously.

Hiring the right person for a middle- or high management position, Red felt, was just about the most important work he did. He had telephone conversations with each of the three promising candidates. Two seemed a good long-term match for the community; the third less so, but she said all the right things about wanting to move and so on.

But the fact was, Red had to acknowledge, that one of the top three stood head and shoulders above any of the others, both on paper and over the phone. Red called this young man’s references first, then references of the other two. All recommendations were fine; none were blow-aways. So, Red selected the two he liked best to invite for interviews.

The front-runner was a young man with about 10 years experience in the field. Philip Temple was working just up the road in the only nearby city; his wife had decided to stay at home with their two young children, at least until they were both in school. When that happened Philip said she would be happy to commute up to the nearby city, since they both agreed that a small country town was the best place to raise their family. He was currently manager of only a unit within the comparable department, but his staff was the same size – perhaps one larger – than John supervised in Red’s business. The salary Red had in mind would be a modest increase for him, so Red’s hopes were high – despite his usual caution –going into the interviews.

The second-ranking candidate seemed okay and had grown up in a small town. He and his wife were childless but were said to be looking for a country home where they could garden and maybe even have a horse. But neither Red nor the staff were really excited about the prospect of his taking over. One of the professionals thought he didn’t seem as committed to the team approach to “supervising” as John had been; John himself articulated Red’s own feeling, saying it was good to have identified a real possibility, but looking ahead to Red’s front-runner. Red had not identified him as such, except in his own mind; he hadn’t even told his wife.

So the young fellow came down for a full morning the following week. John had still about a month left before moving on.

3

“I think we’ve found our man,” Red sang out to his wife when he came in for lunch early that afternoon.

“He worked out?” she said.

Red briefly reviewed the interview, and went over it in his mind again in more detail back in the office. John was expected to come in for a wrap-up late in the afternoon.

“I’m Philip Temple,” the young candidate had said cheerfully, sticking out his hand as the secretary ushered him in. He was good-looking, fit and energetic. He and Red exchanged preliminaries before reviewing the essentials of the proposed position. John was brought in after a few minutes, and introductions made; then, the two of them went off to the plant to look things over and to meet the others in the department. Red would join Philip in John’s office in a couple of hours.

That private exit interview had also gone well, Philip asking good, relevant questions as Red gave him the opportunity. He did verify that his wife and family would be covered by the company health insurance plan, but other than that, all his interest seemed focused on the work to be done. On his side, Red asked him – casually – if he’d ever had a “boss from hell.” He had found over the years that was a good way to see whether or not the applicant had any major authority “problems.”

“No,” Philip replied, laughing, and then added, “I guess some would say I’ve been lucky that way. I’ve always thought I was there to help the ‘boss’ rather than the reverse. So no, no ‘bosses from hell.’”

After 35 minutes of spirited conversation, Red told Philip he would telephone him in two or three days to see if anything had come up and sent him on his way.

That afternoon, John said Philip seemed like a very good candidate and mentioned that his staff thought so too.

4

And indeed, everything went well at first, better than Red had thought possible in the first weeks of John’s replacement’s tenure. Red’s wife invited Philip and his family over for a picnic supper in the second week, and all the adults took on the project of finding the newcomers a suitable home there in town. The kids were well-behaved too, and seemed to have a reasonably good time.

Red and Philip established a regular routine of weekly meetings, as Philip settled in. After an uneventful first two weeks, Red suggested the meetings take place in Philip’s office at the plant, thinking it would give him a regular reason for personally looking things over in that area. He’d gotten a little out of the habit…

“Hey, Red,” Philip said when he stuck his head in. “Could I ask you to walk around and say Hi to the staff before you go?”

“Great idea!” said Red, his usual reply to any suggestion he had already decided on.

First, though, they sat down around Philip’s old steel desk. Red noted that everything looked exactly the same as in John’s day. Tidy, neat. Even a couple of small framed family photos occupied the same spots on the desk. As usual, Philip mentioned a couple of upcoming activities, saying – when Red didn’t immediately offer his advice – what he was thinking of doing. Red was supportive, even when he made different suggestions. Philip was catching on quickly, he thought. One thing he brought up was a visit they were expecting from a new prospective client the next week, going over what he wanted Philip to do.

Afterwards, Philip walked around with Red but he hung back and let everyone have the opportunity to chat with the boss. That went well, too.

5

“Yeah, you’re right,” Vera, Philip’s second in command, told Red later that week. He had taken the initiative of seeking her out to check to see if Philip was doing as well as he seemed to be. ‘It’s still early on,” she said, “only about a month… But he’s a real nice person.” Red thought she was hanging back a little, so he made a mental note to continue to seek Vera out now and then to ask her how she thought things were going.

He didn’t have to seek her out two weeks later. Red had sent Philip to a one-day management seminar in the near-by city where he used to live. Vera appeared at his office door. “Got a minute?” she asked.

Red waved her in and finished a note to himself. “And how is Vera this morning?” he asked.

“Well, I’m fine, I guess,” she said looking intently at Red’s eyes. “I’m okay, but it’s really bad, Red. I thought I should tell you.”

“Vera, I’m glad you came by,” Red closed the office door. “You know, every time I’ve seen you around I’ve asked you how it was going – I asked a couple of others over in your operation too – and you all said Fine. …So is it Philip, or something else?”

“Did you hear what happened when those visitors were here last week?”

Red was again surprised. “Well, everything seemed to go well. We’re expecting a sweet contract in a couple of days…”

“No,” Vera said. “I mean with Philip.”

“He said the tour had gone well. The visitors seemed well-disposed.”

“You didn’t know he had fallen down, right there in front of them?” It was evidently Vera’s turn to be surprised.

“He didn’t mention it,” Red said.

“Well, everyone knows it,” she replied bluntly.

What she was referring to, it turned out, had happened as Philip escorted the three visitors from the opening little welcome in Red’s building to Philip’s plant across the campus. Apparently on the uneven ground in the little park there, Philip had gone right down. He popped up immediately and laughed it off.

“So, did he hurt himself, Vera? Made a bad impression, or something like that?”

“No, no. We don’t know anything about that. It’s a bad sign, you know. He just fell over.”

6

“So, how was the seminar, Philip?” Red poked his head into Philip’s office the next morning. He hadn’t gotten much from Vera, but thought he should check it out anyway. No one else from the firm was with them when the fall had taken place, so there was only one he could ask.

After a few brief sentences exchanged about the seminar, Red added: “Oh, you know, don’t you, it seems to be going well with our visiting dignitaries from ten days ago? You told me that was your impression. Marianne says they were very complimentary and appear ready to sign up with us.”

“I did know that, Red. Good news.”

“I heard you took a tumble,” he asked, smiling.

Philip seemed a little surprised, perhaps a bit embarrassed. “You knew about that, did you? Ha! well it wasn’t my finest moment,” he laughed. “I tripped over something, I guess, but… no harm done.”

“I just wanted to check if you were okay… ‘Are okay,’ I should say.”

Philip said he was fine. His tennis game was no worse, he said.

Why, Red wondered, had Vera thought Red should know about the incident? For himself, he had no lingering questions.

Then, a month or so later, Vera called to ask Red to come over when he got a chance. Philip was again away on a company errand, Red went over to Vera’s work area a couple of hours later, wondering if the young new supervisor had stepped on a few veterans’ toes. He was grateful to have Vera keeping him informed.

7

“This is serious, Vera, and I will take appropriate action,” Red was saying as his conversation with Vera was coming to a conclusion.

Vera had looked grim when he had come over to her area. There was enough surrounding noise that they felt comfortable being frank with one another without having complete privacy.

“It’s as bad as I said,” Vera started out.

Red didn’t think she had told him it was particularly bad, but he just waited for her to continue.

“We just can’t go on like this,” she said.

“The staff is having trouble getting along with him?”

“Oh no, no. He’s so nice. He’s kind and sweet. We all love him. But…”

When Red asked Vera to give him some examples of what Philip was doing wrong, she replied: “Well, he just shuts himself up in that office. For hours at a time.”

“Is this a problem because you don’t have access, he ignores you, doesn’t provide the leadership we need? That kind of thing? I’m just trying to understand, you know, Vera.”

“Well no, not exactly…”

“Doesn’t he do any work? Has he dumped his work on you or on everybody, something like that?”

“Umm, no. He gets the work done, I guess. He’s got the team operating efficiently. He knows what’s going on, and he tells us what he wants…” and she paused again. “It’s just… What does he do in there? He locks the door, you know. Why is that? We’re all worried about him, Red. He has a great wife and two young kids…”

“Vera, what are you afraid he might be doing? Is he alone in the office.”

“Well, drinking, Red! That must be what it is. Remember his falling down?”

“Does he ever smell of alcohol?” She shook her head. “Slur his speech? Or seem ‘out of it’?” She was still shaking her head, looking sad and frustrated.

Philip’s secretive behavior did seem odd; so Red said as he stood up to leave: “This is serious, Vera, and I will take appropriate action. But, you know, I won’t be able to tell you exactly what I am doing. That will have to be just between the two of us. But you can be sure I will not be doing nothing. Okay?”

He must have said that a dozen times over the years, whenever there had been a personnel complaint.

“In the meantime,” he added. “Do let me know if he gets any worse or anything like that. Can I count on you for that, Vera?”

8

Fortunately, the next weekend was one when the whole operation at Red’s firm shut down all the way through Monday. Philip had checked in with Red when he got back from his errand, saying everything was on track. On Friday, too, the new contract had been finalized. The future looked pretty good.

After thinking it over, though, and without mentioning the concerns about Philip to his wife, Red told her Sunday evening he had to go over to the office for an hour or so. He had decided he’d better check out Philip’s office for himself, just to see what there was to see… if anything.

Everything was as quiet as Red had expected. It was dark enough at twilight for any offices occupied to be easily visible. If he ran across the watchman, it wouldn’t be the first time he had been in for a private look-see.

Everything was on the master-key plan. The watchman crew and Red had the only Grand Master keys, so Red was outside Philip’s office upstairs in no time. He waited at the door and listened carefully. Nothing. How long had Philip been on the job, he asked himself, a little over a month now?

“Hey, Philip,” he called out as he softly rapped on the door. “Philip, are you there?” Again, nothing.

So he turned the key and flicked on the flashlight he had brought from the glove compartment. He closed the blinds over the one window behind the desk, and then turned on the desk lamp. Everything looked just as it always did when he came over for his weekly confabs with his new supervisor.

The desk was clean. No papers or files left out (as Red always did himself!). So he glanced around at the one metal bookcase across the room. It too looked just the same as usual; Red had checked it out before, noting a couple of popular management books and a few small stacks of trade journals. The family photos were only those two on the desk. The framed print on the one wall was the one John had left, but was hung in a different position and not so high.

Trying not to make even a slight noise, Red hesitantly pulled back the lap drawer. That’s where the photos were, rather a lot of them. But they weren’t of family. They were of sexy naked women, cut from men’s magazines. That was a surprise. Were there other secrets to be found in the other drawers?

He first opened the bottom drawer, which was about twice as deep as the other two.

It was filled to the brim with empty whiskey bottles. Sh-t, Red sighed. He closed up, turned out the light, opened the blinds, and got out of there.

9

“I’ll call them right now,” Red said into his office telephone. “And thanks, Duncan!”

First thing after the long weekend, Red had called an old school friend, a clinical psychologist. “I’m not asking you to do anything, but I do need some advice. Okay? I’ve got a real good supervisor who’s got a serious drinking problem. I absolutely know it, even though he’s very good at covering it up.

“I know this is a disability and I can’t discipline him just for being an alcoholic, but I can direct him to get help, right?” After that was confirmed, Red asked Duncan if he could recommend someone for Philip to be required to see. He was surprised to learn that the county health service got Duncan’s highest recommendation, and he also gave Red the name and number of another not-for-profit agency downtown that was highly thought of too… in case it didn’t work out with the health service. He told Red how to handle it with the county.

So, without even putting the phone back in its cradle, Red dialed the county service’s number and was put right through to a counselor, a certain Dr. MacDonald. They worked out a plan.

“You know, sir, you’re in a specially good position to help this young man,” Dr. MacDonald concluded. “It seems like a funny thing, but most people with alcohol dependency are willing to give up friends and connections in the community; they’ll even give up their wife and family before trying to kick the habit. It’s too important in their lives.

“But the very last thing they would hang onto… is their job. For some reason. Which puts you, the employer, in the position of having the most leverage that anyone has. So, you’re doing important work here.”

10

“Hey, Philip,” Red said an hour later. “Thanks for coming over. Have a good weekend?”

“Just great,” the younger man replied. “We took the kids up to Teri’s parents’. Everybody had a great time.”

“Sit down, Philip. I have something very important to discuss with you. This is hard stuff now, do you understand? And absolutely private. Just between the two of us, okay?”

Philip seemed on his guard now and had a puzzled look on his face. Red went on: “Philip, you have a great background for your position and you’ve gotten off to a very fine start. You know?”

The younger man nodded slightly, warily.

“Philip,” and Red leaned forward: “I know you have a problem with alcohol. It doesn’t matter how I know. I know it for sure, do you understand? You don’t need to respond. Hear me out.

“We all like you and all of us want you to succeed. I most of all want you to succeed here, but you won’t if you don’t get professional help. I mean it: professional help. And I hereby direct you, as a requirement of your continuing here at this firm, to engage a counselor now, today, and follow all of his or her directions. Do you understand?

Philip was completely quiet, but with a slight nod, he indicated he did understand.

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do, Philip. I am right now going to pick up that telephone on my desk and I’m going to call the county health service. It’s just out of town on the way up to the city. They’re expecting my call. And I’m going to hand the phone over to you and you’re going to make an appointment. See? An appointment for today. You will sign a waiver form there, giving me the right to know if you’re keeping your appointments and following your counselor’s advice.”

He reached for the telephone. “And Philip, you have to keep this appointment, or you will be fired. I really, really don’t want to lose you, Philip. You’ve got all we need… if you can just get this thing under control.”

“If they …,” Philip had to clear his throat. “If they tell you I don’t have a problem…?”

“I’ll take their word for it. But they’re not going to say that, Philip.”

Red placed the call, and Philip very professionally made the appointment with Dr. MacDonald.

“I’m going at two this afternoon,” he told Red handing back the phone.

“That’s a good start, Philip. I’m going to stick with you all the way on this.” And Red and Philip shook hands,

11

Philip and Red touched base every morning. In a conversation in his office Red made it clear he didn’t need to know any details. Just if Philip was okay and was keeping his appointments and doing what his counselor said. Red had talked with Dr. MacDonald himself after that first appointment. He and Philip had made a weekly appointment.

Red asked if it would be contrary to Philip’s waiver for the counselor to tell him if Philip really did have an alcohol dependency.

“I can tell you,” he replied patiently, “that we have made a weekly appointment. …And I can tell you that I think it is likely I will also recommend a weekly support group.”

Red absorbed that. “You mean like AA?”

“Like that, yes.”

“So how are things going today?” Red asked.

“Oh, every day is pretty much alike,” Philip said. “It’s going okay, in other words.”

“Anything unusual going on with the staff?”

“No, we’re fine. The family’s fine too…”

“Good. Well, I’ll be over to your place tomorrow, for our regular business meeting.”

12

And everything did seem to be going well. Vera seemed somewhat relieved, when he purposely crossed paths with her and asked, “Anything going on, Vera? Anything good?”

“Oh, it’s good,” she would say… and then she would mention something specific they were doing over in Philip’s area.

“Well, we’ll keep on truckin’, okay?” Red would say, or something similar.

In one of his reports, Dr. MacDonald mentioned that Philip seemed to think he owed Red a lot. That too seemed positive, didn’t it?

And then, early one afternoon, Philip called: “Say, Red. I was wondering if I could come over for a minute.” Red didn’t know what to expect, but Philip’s tone sounded normal, smooth.

Philip handed him his letter of resignation, telling Red that he was moving on, taking a position as a department head, as he had been before, in a large city in a different state.

“What a waste,” his wife said at supper that evening. “You did what you could, Red.”

“Yeah,” he said. “So much for leverage.”

***