GROWTH

When James Bond meets his new quartermaster (Q) for the first time (see Figure G.1), the conversation goes as follows:

Screenshot of Bond meets new quartermaster.

FIGURE G.1 Bond meets new quartermaster.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Uy9jPxxwI. Accessed 18th June 2019. Screenshot by Chris Adlard & Daniel Bausor.

‘007, I'm your new quartermaster.’

‘You must be joking!’

‘Why, because I'm not wearing a lab coat?’

‘Because you still have spots’!

‘My complexion is hardly relevant.’

‘Your competence is.’

‘Age is no guarantee of efficiency.’

‘And youth is no guarantee of innovation.’

‘I'll hazard, I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pyjamas before my first cup of Earl Grey then you can do in a year in the field.’

‘Oh, so why do you need me’?

‘Every now and then a trigger has to be pulled.’

(Skyfall, 2012)

IT'S THE END OF SALES (AS WE KNOW IT)

Picture the scene: It is close to the end of the fiscal year, and the weekly forecast calls are now held daily. The CEO (Chief Executive Officer); CFO (Chief Financial Officer); CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) are on tenterhooks, waiting for those last few big deals to come in. On the daily sales call, Karsten from Germany explains with clarity and professionalism why Herr Doktor Professor Schmidt is unable to sign the final paperwork until the Works Council has given him approval for this (relatively modest) level of investment in new software. The head ...

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