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I’m pissed. “You realize that every other time the role has changed hands, it’s been to a green presenter, right? And if I keep doing this, you’re guaranteeing the same outcome.”
“William Wallace Power,” Mother says. “I am so tired of your fatalist attitude.”
“And Mom, I am so tired of your delusion that I can keep doing this.” My tone has no anger, just fatigue.
The man who abstained interrupts what might have degraded into a very personal discussion. “I will gladly vote in favor—once Aiden proves himself.”
“And to be clear, what will you consider proof?” Aiden asks.
He tents his fingers and squints at me, then smiles at Aiden. “If you can deliver a full run of seminars without anyone asking for their money back, I’ll change my vote the next time this comes up.”
“Sorry, and how am I supposed to achieve this perfect tour if I’m not delivering the seminars?” Aiden asks.
I’m wondering the same thing.
“You can’t, obviously. Deliver them with your brother. Get the training you need, make it flawless, and I’ll vote aye.”
Horse, being the brilliant facilitator he is, jumps in while the energy is positive. “And that is a perfect segue to the next item we need to vote on: a total makeover of the Power Broker coaching program, which Will and I will oversee together.”
A different suit chimes in. “That program generates a significant percentage of the company’s income. It’s working. I am absolutely not in favor of any changes.”
“But it’s not working as well as it could be,” Brian says.
“The financials suggest otherwise.”
“Sure, if you’re thinking with your dicks,” Brian argues.
“Bri-an!” Mother scolds.
“Mo-ther!” We brothers respond as one, just as we have for over thirty years. We are a Borg—pick on one, answer to four.
“You’re going to love this, Mom. We have a plan that we believe could double the income of the coaching program in the next ten years.”
“Impossible. We’ve saturated the market,” says a third suit.
“Like I said, if you’re thinking with your dick, that’s true. But a simple review of the businesses, theindividuals,” he emphasizes, “who engage in the program make it clear that there is a massive, underserved market who does not approach business with dicks swinging.”
“Bri—” Mother only says half his name. Her eyes dart to each of us.
“Mo—” Despite the pause, our hive mind allows us to answer in perfect time and tone.
Brian doesn’t miss a beat, continuing as if nothing happened. “Female entrepreneurs. They are woefully underrepresented in our seminars and in the coaching program. That is money on the table. Data can be found on page twenty-five.”
The suits and Mom flip to the page that delivers the stats and outlines the rationale.
This prompts the most controversial and challenging arguments—discussions—of the meeting. The old guard doesn’t believe successful women approach business any differently from successful men. They come from the same school of thought that all our coaches have been trained in—that being the biggest (dick) and pushing the hardest (like a good dick does) is the only way to succeed.
I’m certain that we’ll have Mother onside for this vote since she’s the one who hired that artist, Catherine Clay, to build her nest in our lobby as a way to remind us that female entrepreneurs juggle more home life responsibilities than most men do. We all get that.
But until Virginia explained her perspective using a lot of flowery, earthy language, it had never occurred to me or Horse or even Brian that there might be a more holistic way to look at business development. That relationships, not transactions, can be the bellwether of success. That looking to nature’s rhythms of growth and restoration can be applied to businesses to make them more sustainable and reduce founder burnout, which is a huge issue in successful enterprises.
Hell, I’m a walking, talking, time bomb example.
We brothers vote in favor of a virtual dismantlement and rethinking of the coaching program. The dicks vote as expected, all against the known quantity that has kept them all very wealthy. And Mother, goddamn it, joins them.
And it’s not enough that she votes against her family, but she explains her rationale. “I don’t disagree with you. I think it’s an excellent idea that, as you know, I’ve invested my own money in trying to make happen. My issue is that you men are not the right people to lead that change.”
“And again with the staggering support from Mother Dearest,” Aiden grumbles. “Who, pray tell, wouldyouhave lead it?”
