Positive Batteries

The first time he heard about the assignment, Alex thought it was mission impossible! After some deliberation he decided to take up the challenge. The next few weeks were one of the most harrowing in his career. Numerous meetings and discussions, lot of new faces, heated arguments and finally at the end of the third week he had a feeling that he conquered the Everest. The project report was ready, sitting in a beautiful blue office file smiling at him.

Alex was confidence personified when he presented the report to the top management. He was more than sure about the decision in his favour to award him the work and was all set to start immediately. He even had a plan of action charted on how to execute this project over a period of next six months. The conference room was filled with positive vibes.

It didn’t take too long for the picture to turn gloomy. The management soon found reasons not to approve the financials proposed for the project. They asked Alex to rework on the whole proposal and submit it again. All what it took to water down the tireless effort of many weeks was just fifteen minutes. Devastated was an understatement to describe his mental state.

Alex couldn’t believe what just happened. To him, it was one of the most fool proof project plans he ever worked on. He signed the report in his blood! Yet…

Derailed with the thoughts he returned to his seat as a lost warrior. It was a sore sight to those who knew him. None of them had seen him in a state like that. Nisha, one of his colleagues, was the first one to approach. She had seen him work on the project and in fact helped him many times to get some contacts and data required. Alex had shown her a draft version of his report and she was equally confident that he’ll come out of the meeting in flying colours.

She convinced him to go down to the office café for a coffee. Neither of them spoke a word. She ordered his favourite latte and waited till he opened up. And when it happened it was nothing short of a downpour. Nisha acted very well the part of being a good listener. Alex appeared quite relieved at the end of his rambling.

She then convinced him that not everything was lost and asked him to look at the brighter side of things. With the work done, he now has direct access to at least ten new people in the organization and a couple of them at CXO level. In addition, he delved into an area which he always wanted to learn, but never got an opportunity and this is exactly what happened this time. On top of all this he got a slot to present an innovative idea to the top executives. The best part was, they didn’t reject his idea which happened for many and was the end of journey for most of them. On the contrary they wanted Alex to review the proposal from a different angle and present again. The door was still open!

He looked up from the latte cup. Nisha could see the sparkle on the coffee foam reflecting in his eyes. The energy that seemed to have lost started making its way back and with a stronger conviction this time.

Soon enough, Alex was back at his desk and in a matter of days he presented the revised proposal to a larger group, the Board of Directors. This time, there was no turning back. The Board unanimously approved his plan. The project was launched and was completed in record time. The return on investment was unprecedented in the history of the company that Alex soon found his name in the list of Chairman Award winners that year!

Standing on the podium, after receiving the award, Alex just made one statement, “Thank you Nisha, for being a positive battery in my career!”