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ELLIOT
JAMISON
“Elliot,” Matt said to
Elliot Jamison, “let’s start with you. Overall, how does
Haskell’s marketing division look?”
“Not bad, but not great
either. They have too may managers here, as well as in the
regional offices, and too few sales reps out in the field
selling the products. Their existing customers get
lavished with attention, but the reps don’t have time to
open up new accounts. Considering the high quality of
Haskell’s product, Haskell should have three or four times
the number of customers they have now. At this point, I’d
tentatively suggest adding fifty reps to their sales
force. Once you have the Southville plant constructed and
operating, I’d suggest adding fifty more.”
Matt jotted a note on
the yellow legal pad on the table in front of him and
returned his attention to Jamison.
“What else?”
“Paul Cranshaw, the
marketing vice president, will have to go, Matt. He’s been
with Haskell for twenty-eight years and his marketing
philosophy is antiquated and foolish. He’s also inflexible
and unwilling to change his ways.”
“How old is he?”
“His file says
fifty-six.”
“Will he take an early
retirement if we offer it to him?”
“Possibly. He’s not
going to quit on his own, that’s for sure. He’s an
arrogant son of a bitch and openly hostile about
Intercorp’s takeover.”
Tom Anderson lifted his
gaze from an admiring study of his paisley tie. “That’s
not surprising. He’s a distant cousin of old Haskell’s.”
Elliot looked at him in
surprise. “Really?” he said, reluctantly fascinated with
Tom’s ability to ferret out information without ever
seeming to try. “That fact wasn’t in his personal file.
How did you find it out?”
“I had a delightful
conversation with a charming old gal down in the records
section. She’s been here longer than anyone else, and
she’s a walking diary of information.”
“No wonder Cranshaw was
so damned abrasive. He’ll definitely have to go –he’s a
tremendous morale problem, among other things. That’s it
for generalities, Matt. I’ll meet with you next week and
we can go over specifics.”
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