Intention

CHAPTER 21Spotlights at Work

“To lead people, walk beside them.”

—Lao Tzu

In a small, colorless cubicle within a sprawling corporate office sits Brian, an unassuming middle-aged man. For the past two decades, Brian has been the company's most reliable data analyst. His days have revolved around numbers, charts, and spreadsheets: a world he has always found comfort in. But he's also on the company social committee and helps to organize the yearly holiday party and other events.

As he sips his coffee and opens his computer, he notices an important-looking message. Seems to be a new memo from management. They are launching a new initiative, a company-wide race to increase utilization by 25% over the next quarter. The memo is filled with buzzwords like synergy, optimization, and growth hacking. Brian's heart starts racing. He's fuming. He's been trying to tell senior management that blindly looking at utilization without considering employee engagement and retention is a terrible idea. In general, he knows they understand, and he fully supports the company's mission to be the best in its industry. But this message is so tone-deaf. He knows exactly who came up with this terrible idea and has half a mind to march in there right now and tell them what he thinks! Instead, he takes a deep breath, shrugs it off, and does his best to avoid this deluge of stupidity.

Usually he would raise a point at the next town hall. But this time, something's different. There's a sense of disconnect ...