The Art of Strategic Leadership

Chapter 6The Art of Ownership

The Story: Robert

On a brilliant morning in the last week in July, Alex backed out of the driveway of his leased condo in Dallas, eased his SUV into traffic, and headed west. For the first time in nearly two months, his destination wasn't the PSI plant in a sprawling industrial park north of the city or the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport for the three-and-a half-hour flight to Seattle for a weekend with Julie and their two sons. Today, he was setting out for Seattle by car, a trip of well over 2,000 miles. He had packed just enough clothing for the next few days, and his favorite mountain bike was mounted on the rear. Ten days from now, he'd be returning with the entire family to Dallas. While the family settled into the house they'd rented near Grapevine Lake and Julie and the boys prepared for the opening of school, Alex would usher in Phase Two of The Plan to transform PSI Dallas.

Fifteen minutes later, he was passing through Irving, where Robert, who was filling in as plant manager in Alex's absence, grew up. The morning shift wasn't due at work for another hour, but Alex was certain Robert was already on the production floor, debriefing the overnight shift leader and reviewing the schedule for today's production runs. He had been head of operations in Dallas for more than four years, so Robert was the logical choice to run the plant for the next week. And yet, Alex suddenly found himself worrying whether the pressure would prove to be more than ...