"
The attendees were leaning to one side or the other, whispering
back and forth. What Matthew was able to discern sounded
positive, and, sensing no opposition, he placed the next slide, a
proposed schedule. Midway through the his timeline breakdown,
Graham Stevens, vice president of personnel, spoke up.
"Pardon me for the interruption, Matthew." Stevens removed his
glasses and folded his hands on the table. His face bore the
troubled look of a professor deliberating a complex formula.
"There's one thing that concerns me. Something that does not
appear on the schedule."
Matthew took a step away from the projector. "Please, go on."
"This company, as you pointed out when you started, was trained
to think of ICP as the enemy. Do you really believe we can get
the employees to support a strategy that slants us toward our
biggest competitor?" His question was supported by contemplative
murmuring throughout the room.
"That's a very important question," Matthew said. He tucked his
hands into his pockets. "Perhaps the most important of all."
In fact, it was. He had asked himself the same question a
thousand times. And he knew he had to be very careful with his
response. Both the reason and the solution had come to him when
he had asked himself why, all along, ICP had never simply
threatened Wallaby with a hostile takeover.
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