Executive

…16

It was her fifth day of training. While waiting in the training room for the day to start, she wondered what the day's subject would be and who would be her trainer. Probably they would continue to discuss the pile of books she had read.

Steve walked in and greeted her in a cheerful voice. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She stood up and shook Steve's hand. She was inexplicably happy to see him. After all, he had condemned her to a weekend of reading and no sleep, followed by more homework assignments since Monday.

He started the projector and the laptop and asked, without any other introduction, "Would you ever let that thing touch you? Crawl on your skin?"

She turned and saw on the screen a horrible close-up image of the black, shiny mandibles of a huge bug.

"Is that thing real?" she asked, shuddering in disgust.

"Very real, I can assure you."

"Alive?"

"Alive and well, thank you," he confirmed mischievously. "So, would you?"

"I don't think I would be able to let that happen, regardless of how much money I'd stand to make. Is this for a movie?"

"How about this one? Do you like this one better?" he asked, ignoring her question and changing the slide.

She looked in horror at another close-up image of insect mouths, just as terrifying as the first one.

"No way," she answered.

"Are you sure?" he insisted.

"Yes. Very sure. I'd never let any of those bugs crawl on me. They are equally ugly, and I hate all bugs."

"All right, I believe you. In reality, they are not that big, you know." He clicked his remote and the image started to zoom out. "This is the actual size of this bug, scientific classification: insect, from the order of coleopterans. Its scientific name is Onitis pecuarius, or the dung beetle. Do you like it better now?"

"Absolutely not."

"So you still believe you would not let any bug like this crawl freely on your skin."

"I am positive. If I had a choice, I would not consider it," she said, without hesitation, wondering where all this was going.

"Think again." As he spoke, Steve went back to the first image, and said. "This one, also a coleopteran and a close relative of the one before, is no other than Coccinella septempunctata, by its scientific classification." Zooming out the image on the screen repeatedly, he continued. "I am sure you are willing to reconsider for our little friend, the ladybug."

"Oh," Alex said, completely taken by surprise. On the screen, the terrifying image had zoomed out to show a tiny ladybug in the palm of a little girl's hand, as she was laughing in the sun.

"Our theme for today is the power of preconception," Steve said. "Somehow, someone decided a long time ago that ladybugs are OK, while the other bugs are not. Maybe because ladybugs are not harmful to the crops, but neither are the other bugs, and we wouldn't let them crawl on our skin, would we?"

Alex nodded, captivated by the idea.

"Because we are taught since early childhood not to fear these particular bugs, we accept them. We never think that these bugs are quite similar to others, which we fear in disgust. We never stop to wonder how these preconceptions came to be. We just accept them, and, most important, we act on them. When it comes to deeply set preconceptions, we don't have an open mind, and we never ask why." He turned off the projector and continued. "Alex, can you think of some commonly encountered preconceived ideas?"

"Yes, sure. All Germans like beer; women are worse drivers than men, that kind of thing?"

"Exactly. Those are broad examples, and they affect our judgment on a daily basis. For instance, if I had a German delegate visiting my manufacturing plant, I could assume that he likes beer, and would not ask him what he likes to drink. I could become tempted to act on my biased notion and make a decision for him, therefore offending him. Or I could be the sales manager of a company, in charge of assigning company vehicles to my sales reps. My preconceived idea of women's driving skills might influence my decision, and I might end up assigning the oldest, less-valuable vehicles to women sales reps. What do you think the consequences would be, in this case?"

"Well, the women sales reps would notice, would become demotivated, would feel the discrimination, and this would result in lost revenue for the company. Lower morale in the sales team could potentially lead to attrition, fractures in the team, revolt, and vindictive behaviors. Lawsuits for discrimination are also possible," Alex replied, without hesitation. Steve was nodding his approval for each item she listed as possible consequences. She asked, "Am I missing anything?"

"No, that's mostly it. How would you assign the company cars to the sales reps?

"Ideally, all the cars would be of equal value and in equally good shape. If that is not an option, there are two ways to fairly assign them. Based on previous sales results or based on a draw, with all the sales reps present. I think both ways would work."

"Perfect," Steven said, "and, by the way, statistics prove that women are, in fact, better drivers than men. Did you know that?"

She smiled. "Yes, I did. However, most people are still biased against women drivers."

"That is so true. You need to keep your biases in mind at all times. You have to ask yourself, every time you reach a conclusion, "Who reached that conclusion? Was it your freethinking, analytical mind? Or was it some pre-existing judgment you were not even aware of? Equally, when you see someone else's actions, decisions, or conclusions, you have to assume there could have been some preconceived notion influencing them." Steve leaned back in his chair, his body language saying he was done for the day. "Any questions?"

"Just one. Does superstition qualify as preconception, or should it even be considered a factor in analyzing human motivations?" Alex asked.

"What is superstition? It's a belief. Although irrational, it's widespread in its variety of forms, and it's influencing the human decision-making process, even for decisions of minor importance, such as refusing to pay a bill on a Monday or not walking under a ladder. Superstition is the preconceived belief that doom will follow certain actions. Therefore, it qualifies with flying colors."

"Thank you." Alex stood up, ready to go. She was hoping for another lunch invitation, but that never came.

An uncomfortable silence settled for a few seconds, ended by Tom's appearance. He entered the small office and pulled up a chair, so Alex sat back down.

"I will need just a couple of minutes with you, Alex."

Steve waved goodbye and left, closing the door behind him.

"One thing we haven't yet discussed about this job is compensation. I was actually surprised you took the job without the faintest clue about compensation."

Alex chuckled. "I am sure it's going to be a little better than what I previously earned."

"Correct. You will be making $145,000 per year, plus a significant bonus, conditional on your successful client-case resolutions." Tom paused, waiting for a reaction.

"Wow," Alex said in a soft voice, "that is a little better than before." It was almost three times higher, but instead of being thrilled, she suddenly felt afraid.

"This compensation will be deposited biweekly in an account of your choosing I'd recommend that you refrain from using your regular bank account. Setting up a special account, at a different bank, would be better."

Alex frowned, intrigued.

"In addition," Tom continued, "you will be compensated by each client, for the role you officially hold while working with the respective client. Those amounts should be deposited in your regular bank account. In case someone investigates your financial records, they will find nothing out of the ordinary with the deposits. I trust the compensation package is satisfactory?"

Alex nodded with enthusiasm. "And then some!"

Tom walked out the door, and Alex followed him.

"If you're done for the day, I'd like to walk you to your car," Tom said.