ANÁLISIS DE LA SOBREVIDA GLOBAL DE LOS TUMORES

“There’ll be two of us,” said Ron to the hostess who greeted him at the door.

“Okay, follow me,” she said, picking up two menus and indicat- ing for Ron to follow her. “Is this okay?” she asked.

“This is great,” said Ron, smiling, as he took a seat facing the door and placed the plastic grocery bag under the table next to his feet. The hostess positioned the menus on the table and removed the extra tableware, leaving two place settings on the table.

“Gloria will be with you shortly,” she said, smiling. “Can I get you a drink while you’re waiting?”

“Two martinis, one dirty and one extra dry,” said Ron, not look- ing up from the wine list. Ron was the best salesperson the company had ever seen. He was a master of the face-to-face sale and had got- ten customers who had had long-term relationships with competitors

to switch to his company. Ron had a carefree lifestyle, enjoying many perks at work such as a company-leased luxury car (significantly above the standard allowed for a field salesperson at his level) and an expense account for entertaining clients. Everyone seemed to look the other way when Ron’s expense reports came in for processing. Occasionally, the liquor bills, visits to gentlemen’s clubs, and other obviously out-of-the-ordinary things were questioned, but with his boss’s signature on the reports, there was little the accounting depart- ment could do, other than roll their eyes and joke about how the West Coast handled business dealings. The few times Ron’s boss Joe, the regional sales manager, pushed back, Ron simply talked his way around it, promising a big sale down the road. Ron was very persua- sive and knew how to play Joe very well.

Joe arrived shortly, a bit out of breath, and found Ron perusing the menu.

“Hey, Ron, you’re looking great—sorry I’m late. Traffic, as usual,” said Joe, extending his hand.

“Joe, good to see you,” responded Ron, rising up briefly to offer Joe a firm handshake. “There’s a New York strip special today; hope you’re hungry.”

“More thirsty than hungry,” he started to say, just as the server returned with the drinks. Ron indicated which drink was Joe’s and waved the server off.

“To another great month,” Ron said loudly, raising his glass. They both sipped their drinks and got down to business. Ron pulled out his latest call report and handed it to Joe. Despite the lack of sales for this month, Ron had made a significant effort “beating the bushes,” meeting almost daily with potentially large clients. Without looking, Joe took the report. “And here’s my expense report,” said Ron, handing it to him with a pen on top. Joe pretended to read it, merely glancing actually, as he signed the report. “Thanks, Joe,” said Ron, reaching under the table for the bag and sliding it across the floor toward Joe.

drinks as they continued discussing baseball scores, the weather, and Joe’s grandchildren. Sipping his second martini, Joe said, “Ron, I have some news for you.”

“Oh?” questioned Ron, motioning to the server.

“Ron, I’ve decided to take my retirement; I’ll be leaving the com- pany at the end of this month.”

“Joe, that’s great. Congratulations! What made you decide?” asked Ron.

“Well, they’ve offered me a package, and with the kids now out of college, my wife and I decided to sell our house and move up to the lake. The stress is getting to be too much for me, as you know, and I guess they realized it, too.”

“So, when are they going to move on your replacement?” hinted Ron with a smile. Ron knew that Joe had repeatedly recommended him for a promotion based on his performance reviews, and given this development, he eagerly anticipated Joe’s telling him he got the promotion.

“That’s just it, Ron,” started Joe slowly. “They’re not telling me. I’ve heard rumors that they want to use the regional job as a develop- mental position for someone on the plan. They may rotate someone in from one of the other regions.”

“What!” exclaimed Ron, his face starting to get red. “What do you mean, someone from the other regions? I’m the best there is, I know the territory, I deserve the promotion; you put me in as your replacement, right? Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Yes, I know. Of course, I put you on the plan—every year when they ask, I tell them you’re ready to move up now, but they—”

“That’s unacceptable!” charged Ron. “Who’s making this deci- sion?”

“Personnel, of course.”

“You know, they have no clue what this job entails. Who are they

to do this? What does Sam say?” Ron asked pointedly about Joe’s boss, the VP of sales.

honest, I did. But Sam hasn’t been able to convince the selection committee. They’re hung up on the sales figures as well as some of the other stuff.”

“Listen, Joe, let me call your wife. I’ll explain to her that your stress is—”

“Ron,” interrupted Joe, “my wife didn’t make this decision; I did.” Joe looked down and then up into Ron’s eyes, saying, “Well, they made the decision for me. It’s the best for all of us.”

“I can’t believe they forced you out after all these years.”

“Times change, and I guess I have to, too. They’re offering to pay for a program, as part of the deal, to help with my problem.”

“You don’t have any problem, Joe,” said Ron.

“Thanks, Ron, but both you and I know I do,” said Joe, lowering his voice. “I think they have my best interest at heart. Few people get this kind of support when they go. They really want me to straighten myself out. The server arrived to take their order, and Ron picked out a special wine to celebrate Joe’s retirement.

The rest of the afternoon was loud and raucous, as all the previ- ous monthly lunch meetings between them. On the surface, Ron ap- peared happy for Joe and talked about visiting him and his wife up at the lake, fishing, and barbecuing. In his mind, however, he was plan- ning his next move.

After lunch, they shook hands and exchanged a big bear hug. “I’ll process these,” said Joe, picking up the paperwork.

“Don’t forget the package,” reminded Ron, indicating the gro- cery bag under the table.

“I won’t be needing that anymore; thanks, though, you’ve always understood. I’ll miss working with you.”

Ron entered his corporate-paid apartment. “Damn,” he swore, falling into the easy chair in the living room. He picked up his cell phone and began dialing. This would be a long night on the phone; time to call in some favors and get some dirt on Jack, his rival for the promotion.

Jack got the promotion into the regional manager position, and was now Ron’s boss. A methodical, focused, and detail-oriented person, Jack spent considerable time reviewing each salesperson’s perfor- mance record and then planned to meet personally with each mem- ber of the sales team to establish objectives, meeting schedules, and new performance measures.

Ron had also done his homework: his friends in personnel gave him the lowdown on Jack’s performance record (stellar); his friends in accounting gave him insight into Jack’s spending habits (which paled against his own); and even his peers in Jack’s old region gave him insights into his personal style and family details. As Jack moved through the region meeting individually with the salespeople, Ron followed up with calls to his colleagues to find out what Jack was say- ing. When Jack arrived for his meeting with him, Ron was ready.

While the others complied with the new procedures willingly, those who knew him waited to see how Ron would respond. Ron’s reputation in the company as a “raconteur” had always been a cause of concern among the sales management committee. He had learned from his old boss Joe, an old-school “belly-to-belly” salesperson, how to gain customers and close deals using personal influence and per- sonal charisma, but this style was growing less effective with the In- ternet’s arrival and a new breed of sophisticated, hard-driving competitors. Sam, the VP, had inherited the Ron and Joe team a few years earlier. Knowing that Joe was close to retirement age, he toler- ated his style, but he never liked the fact that Joe protected Ron, cov- ering for him when he missed targets and approving expenditures that exceeded corporate guidelines. With Joe gone, Ron’s style was fair game, and Jack was going to take care of the problem.

Jack and Ron met for a lunch meeting in Ron’s territory. Ron started with the sweet approach, trying to butter Jack up with a con- gratulatory bottle of wine, small talk about Jack’s kids’ soccer games, and stacks of positive performance reviews, miscellaneous charts, and letters of thanks from big customers (and long-term friends).

Jack was not so easily swayed. When Jack began explaining how he wanted to manage the region and presented Ron with his new re- quirements, Ron started pushing back, eventually raising his voice enough to get the attention of other diners in the fine restaurant. He argued that he didn’t need any more controls than those previously imposed by Joe, and promised to deliver whatever Jack needed to make him look good in the eyes of top management. Jack had heard that Ron would sometimes get loud in order to get his way, so he de- cided to hear him out, but then come back firmly. Ron’s arguments eventually turned into veiled threats of turning the other salespeople against Jack, legal action, and possible damage to Jack’s career.

This guy’s nuts, thought Jack as Ron continued his arguments, al- most ranting and raving. Sensing that Ron was about to end the meeting and walk out, Jack said, “Look, Ron, I appreciate all you have done, but the industry has changed. We’re no longer in the cat- bird seat with our products, and this region—your region—is the weakest link.”

“Then you—they—should have fired Joe years ago!” said Ron, finally. “I’ve been covering for him since I got here. Do you know what it’s like working for . . .” Ron caught himself, paused, and then continued, his voice cracking slightly, “someone who’s never around when you need him to close a deal, can’t get any advice worth listen- ing to, forced to always cover for him. I’ve been all alone here, Jack, fighting for the company and this is how they reward me—with more procedures, more demands, more grief!”

Although Joe’s personal problem had been an open secret in the region, others outside the region did not know, so Jack was taken aback by this revelation. His gut reaction was that this was an inap- propriate topic for them to discuss, but Ron’s persistence and obvi- ous frustration began to get to him. He listened more carefully to Ron’s difficulties in dealing with Joe, trying to apply some of the management techniques he had learned. He stroked Ron’s ego and reflected his understanding of Ron’s dilemma. By the end of the conversation—once Ron had calmed down—Jack promised to help

Ron reorient his sales approach to what the company now needed, and take into consideration all that he had been through.

The conversation ended on a positive note and Jack felt he had accomplished his task. His objective for the meeting had been to turn Ron around or else take the necessary steps to get rid of him. Jack now felt that he could build a relationship with Ron and things would improve. They agreed to meet again in a month and parted with a handshake.

Ron entered his apartment and threw off his jacket and tie. Nestling in his sofa, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed. This will be easy, he thought, smiling to himself.