The following is the diary of a fictional manager. The incidents described in the diary are drawn from court cases and conversations with actual managers.
For the past nine years, the alarm would have sounded at 4 am on any given Monday. I would have jumped up, showered and then caught a cab to the airport to fly off to wherever ControlTrix's latest client was located. But no more. This morning the alarm went off at a relatively civilized 6 am. Made the 8:15 train downtown and walked the few blocks to the glass and steel tower in Chicago where our offices are located to begin my new assignment as Vice- President for Strategy. Before, I was ControlTrix's top road warrior, the "can-do" team leader who could master any engagement. Now, I've become part of the overhead.
Pete (the CEO) is pretty intuitive about what is going on with people in the company and must have noticed that I'd started looking for the exit. Out of the blue, he called me in July and started talking about how we needed a better handle on how we were expanding the company. He asked me if I would be interested in coming back to headquarters and becoming vice-president for strategy. My first reaction was, "No way." I was a road warrior, not a bureaucrat. But then, I realized that this could be exactly what I wanted - a way to reduce my travel while keeping active at a firm I really loved. So I kicked my overnight bag to the back of the closet and began my life as a company man.
Published Date: 14/01/2008
Suggested Citation: Jaan Elias, Ben Flaumenhaft, and Constance E. Bagley, "Jim Flores, ControlTrix," Yale SOM Case 08-015, January 14, 2008
Keywords: Women in Leadership