Dahlia woke up to ringing music when she found it was already a snoozed alarm - which she had hit the ninth time! She collected all her laziness and put it to sleep - made up her mind to wake up. Dahlia wore her bike shoes and track pants and set her gears for running 10 miles up the hills near her town. It was early 6 in the morning, and she was breathing fresh air and singing to her favourite track song on her playlist. Dahlia always loved the adrenaline rush, received from running and cycling. After reaching the hilltop, she wanted to breathe in peace for a while. She drank some water, removed her shoes and lay on the greener grass, staring at the sky. Several minutes passed, and she was still gazing at the shiny and bright blue sky, with birds singing at the peak of their voice. Dahlia asked the sky, "what is the divine message you would like to deliver to me today?"
As no one answered her in return, she started finding her answers on her own by looking at the white skies through her creative eyes. She looked up in the sky to find a girl riding a bike, to dancing with a mysterious partner, and even finding a cloud that looked like a seahorse, imagining all of it in those white clouds. After she finished her imaginative session, she thought to head back home. She took a couple of breaths, sang along the way back home and then had freshly made vegetable juice in her kitchen. A little later, as the sun rose to the east, she removed her jeans to enter her backyard swimming pool. Dahlia loved to swim underwater, feeling the greatness of her life and knowing that she had nothing to worry about in her life.
Dahlia had a cup of cappuccino and a bunch of files in her other hand, with a sleek blazer in white, headed towards her Maserati to drive her way to Washington for her work. Dahlia entered the office premises, where her assistant Cleopatra was waiting to take her coat off and get her cappuccino brewing to serving it hot on her table. Dahlia made several phone calls to her potential investors to launch a new product in the market. Dahlia had been staggering for a while to get the required magic figures. However, she had been working lately with her team to create an entire product range- for which the top management had an eye on her and was impressed by her quality and dedication to her work. Two days later, the board meeting was coming up, where the next senior partner to the firm would be declared. Apart from Dahlia, Bella and Jackson were the top contenders to become partners at the same firm. Dahlia was managing the media partners, while Bella and Jackson were looking after the food distribution channels, which would help them scale their firm's business to the next level. Dahlia, Bella and Jackson were reporting to the CEO, Mr Oliver. He was very particular about Dahlia being the best one. Mr Oliver wanted to know whether he was counting on the right person. He called all three potential partners to brief them about what this partner's meeting would mean if one was selected to be a partner at their firm.
Mr Oliver asked Jackson, "Tell me why the management will select you as a partner. What is the best that you can bring to the table?" Jackson replied, " Mr Oliver, first of all, I feel that I am privileged to get this opportunity. If you take a look at the previous data for the last 5 years, you will realise that our customer database had shot up by 45%, which does not happen overnight. Understanding the dynamic market and approaching the right set of people at the right time frame can make a huge difference. You see, no matter what the market brings to us, we will rise only, and the customer database will only increase. You see, that's what I can bring to the table, more customers mean more cash flow to the firm and wallah, the delicious recipe for success is ready to serve."
Oliver was astonished by what Jackson told, and now he turned to Bella to say, "How about you? How would you turn people around?" Bella put on her quirky smile looked straight at Mr Oliver and said to him, "Jackson was good, but I think he is missing on the bigger picture, of what truly drives the customer to buy our products. The unique attributes are what attract the customers. Easy to carry, delicious and nutritious all at the same time, makes people eat it every day, whenever they want. The unique feature is what we can bring to the table that takes our customers to the world of a luxurious and royal feast, affordable too! The phenomenal out of the flavours - oozes the customers to take our products more. Every time we release a new product, the same customer buys the product 20 times more than he used to purchase earlier."
Oliver asked Bella, " So what exactly do you mean to throw light on?" Bella replied with her assertive tone, "My pleasure, you see Jackson and Dahlia might be focused or say responsible for getting the word out in the market, but if we don't appreciate our product or try to express it through innovation, we might not quite survive in the market for long, considering our competitors are just around the neck." " Very well said, Bella. Quite impressive, you have a pretty convincing approach, I must say - keep it up!" replied Oliver.
Oliver turned to Dahlia and asked, "anything that you would like to add? What could be your why, for becoming a partner at this firm?" Dahlia rose from her seat and walked towards the drawing board, facing the crew she said, I firmly appreciate, what Jackson has to say, let's assume that the chiffon cookie database coming from Jackson accounts for 20%, with an average annual growth rate of 10%, putting the uniqueness of flavouring substances gets us another 60% of our customers to retain and purchase these crazy cookies, but would they even know - if crazy chiffon cookies even existed in this world? Next, our media accounts for another 45% of customers fetched through events, publicising and ad campaigns. And I don't think, that's my cup of tea to do all of it at once."
Oliver seemed confused, and so did Bella and Jackson. Jackson asked, " That's good, if you are not interested to be a partner, huh at least the competition to become a partner will be reduced." Dahlia looked immediately at Oliver and said to him, " No Jackson, running a business is not about internal competition, it is about using the right people for the right set of work, that sets out apart. "Managing People" is exactly my cup of tea, that's what I intend to highlight here!" You will be amazed, by the people's true potential, when you see right through them, just like you do for the customers. Oliver said immediately, it's time we take a break and get back to it again once the break is over. He walked to his cabin and asked Dahlia to come into his office right at that moment. Oliver was facing a dilemma with the answer received from Dahlia.
Dahlia was wearing a white shirt paired with a bright yellow skirt, contrasting with her blue stilettoes inspired by the morning run to the hill. Oliver was re-iterating what Dahlia had said about her why for becoming a partner. Oliver looking outside the window, without turning his back asked Dahlia, "What is it that you are trying to prove? Why are you throwing caution to the wind? You know, I have been counting on you to become the partner, and how much I have put you forward before the management to consider you instead of Bella or Jackson.
"Look Oliver, I know that you have behind my back at every step of the hour, but I don't think I am suited for this job so well. I know, I have given 20 years of my life to this firm, dedicatedly, but I think I need to step down and do something of my own that I have been waiting for...for such a long time. Today, when I ran up the hill, I realized that becoming a partner at a firm will change my designation and the salary perks, but what about my satisfaction?"
Oliver said to Dahlia, " Don't do this to me, how can you leave me at the peak of our time when I can be soon the Chairman of this committee board if you get selected as the CEO and the Managing partner? Please give it a thought for me, that's the least you can do for me."
"Dahlia, here's what I want, gimme a break for two months and let me get back to it again. If I still want to continue as a partner at this firm, well Kudos to you, else it's goodbye forever! Dahlia kissed Oliver on his right cheek and left his office. Dahlia walked out of the building realizing that she just had a moment of epiphany, she broke her inner walls of rigidity to set her foot in the outside world, which she had never been part of. All her life, she had done nothing more than home to workplace and workplace to home - just going back and forth with nowhere to reach. But now Dahlia was in for a retreat of her lifetime. The world was her stage, and she could do anything she wanted!