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“It was enlightening. I can’t say that it’s what I expected.”
That’s because it’s not what most weekly meetings are like in the corporate world. It’s just one more way that I’ve made Aspire different from the rest.
“We’re different from most companies. My partners and I started this company to break the mold. We take care of our employees in ways that no one else does. Each ad campaign is their baby, and they’re compensated appropriately. I’m not really the boss here as much as a guide.”
She cocks her head, and confusion is etched across her face. Not surprising. “I trust my employees completely. After they’ve finished out their first three months here, I stop checking over their shoulders. I give them information on their assignments, and help them understand their clients, but then they’re given free rein over the campaign. The budget, the pricing, and even the style of the ads. But their pay is based almost entirely on commission. If their clients leave because of an ad’s failure to deliver, they stop making money.”
My explanation doesn’t seem to resolve her confusion. “You don’t tell them what to do? You don’t proof anything to make sure that it fits the client’s expectations?”
I shake my head. “No. Each employee is hired for their specific expertise, just like you. They’re the expert, but if they fail too often, then I have to accept that maybe their expertise doesn’t fit with their role. I’m extending that same trust to you as an expert in ChitChat.”
Sliding my drawer open, I pull out a bag of Bronze Goddess self-tanner. “This is your first assignment. They’ve set a deadline of three weeks for a first run of videos for their campaign. That means that we’ll set up a shoot in two weeks and spend the third week in post-production. You need to get a list of necessary supplies, model descriptions, and a shoot location by the end of the week. I’ll do all the logistics this time around.”
Madison looks like she doesn’t believe it. “I haven’t even finished my hire-on paperwork yet, and you’re giving me a product to create an ad campaign in two weeks? I didn’t go to school for creative advertising. Everything I learned was about marketing analysis.”
I give her a smile. “I didn’t hire you because of your degree, Madison. You have over two thousand videos worth of experience. Just do the same thing for fake tanner that you did for books.”
She stands up. “Emery, you don’t understand. I’ve been a part of the book community for as long as I can remember. I read a book a day, and I have for nearly my entire life. My videos were successful because I knew what people wanted to hear about. How the hell am I supposed to do that with something I’ve never even used before?”
She holds her pale arms out to me and says, “Does it look like I know anything about tanning or fake tanning? I wear the bare minimum makeup, and I spend as little time in the sun as possible. Hell, I’m not even sure I agree with using this stuff!”
That’s an unexpected reaction. I figured that self-tanner was an easy first assignment since the beauty industry has straightforward expectations. I purse my lips as she stares me down, waiting for my reply. Maybe my faith in her experiences to translate to other industries is unfounded. It wouldn’t be the first time, but we need someone to take this product and start our transition to the new world of ChitChat marketing.
I stand up and slowly walk around the room, closing the blinds one by one and lock the door before sitting back down in my chair. Madison’s eyes follow me silently as she waits for my reply.
“Sit down,” I growl, the mask slipping away once again. Everyone outside this office will look at the closed blinds and suspect that this is happening, but they won’t know for sure. I’m very careful about never letting the cheerful boss façade fall around more than one person at a time. It’s mostly for show since my office was soundproofed when it was built, but this way, no one knows exactly what happens behind closed doors.
She sits down hesitantly. Everyone is happy when I’m smiling and cheering them on. My customers and clients, and even my investors, know me as the man who can get whatever he wants without breaking a sweat, without ever really having to try. Everything seems effortless, and it gives them confidence.
Sometimes smiles don’t work, though. Sometimes people need a kick in the ass.
“Then get the fuck out. We’ve had two conversations so far, and both of them are you whining about this job being too hard. If that’s the case, then I’ll find someone else.”
She shakes her head, still angry. “You make it sound like it’s so simple to do something like this. Like I’m some kind of marketing fairy who can snap her fingers and sell things. It doesn’t work like that. You have to understand what all these millions of people are looking for.
“Maybe that’s why ads on ChitChat are so terrible. It’s people like you who push people into it without understanding the viewers. They do the thing they think will draw people in without ever paying attention to what actually gets people watching. You can’t force people to watch ChitChat ads. They have to want to watch them.”
I listen as she rants, and I manage to keep the serious look on my face even though I want to smile. She’s the only person in this entire office that I’m going to have to fight with to get her motivated.
“I’d have to understand them and the successful videos along with all their pieces. I’d have to get into their heads and understand the common desires of millions of viewers in two fucking weeks. Do you know how hard that is?”
I lean back. “Do you know what’s even harder than that? Trying to convince me to give you more time or give you a different campaign to work on. The deadline is set. If you can’t do it, then I’ll find someone else willing to give it a shot.”
Madison clenches her jaw. “Why’d you hire me?” she finally asks.
“I already told you. You have more experience than anyone else I could find.”
As she takes a deep breath, I study her. She’s so different from the rest of the people in my world. She’s not afraid of me, and she doesn’t idolize me. There’s a lack of confidence, but it’s because she knows more than other people rather than less. It’s such an odd combination that it makes her incredibly interesting. “You’re setting me up for failure, Emery. But we may have different ideas about what failure is.”
“I’m not expecting the best campaign you’ll ever run. I’m expecting better than the rest of the office could do. That’s all.”
She chews her lip as she contemplates that. “I need a team that understands the product, and I need complete control over how things are done.”
I nod to her. “Done. I’ll have your team report to you in an hour with an official notice that you are in charge of the project.”
She thinks about it and nods. “I can’t promise you anything with this little time, Emery. But I will throw myself into it. If I fail, then I can at least say that I gave it my best shot. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
She doesn’t say a word as she unlocks the door and walks out. I have never had an employee act like this, and if it had been anyone else, I probably wouldn’t have let it slide.
