CHALLENGE

THE BOSS OR
STAND DOWN
 Thomas Green, an employee at D7 Displays, is the Protagonist of the Case Study

 D7 Displays is ATM service provider since 1990 and a dominant player in the self service

kiosk business.

 Thomas Green, aged 28, was successful as Account Executive; He catapulted to Senior

Marketing specialist position by the grace of Shannon McDonald, Vice President (Travel THE PLOT
Division) who was impressed with his work. AND THE
 Ms McDonald knew that Mr Green had no management experience. However, she thought
CHARACTERS
he would figure it out and will work his way through the layers of Management.

 Frank Davis, the Marketing Director and Mr Green’s new Boss was upset with placement of

Mr Green to the position which he once held. Mr Davis was not taken into confidence

before positioning of Mr Green, whom he thought was a misfit..

 The relationship between Mr Green and Mr Davis started with mistrust and bad

communication

 Mr Davis wanted Mr Green to do things in a certain way such as keeping him updated on

tour plan, specific client communication strategies, periodic review of sales. Mr Green not

only failed to comply but also did not seek Frank help or advice in execution of his job. THE PLOT
 To add insult to injury, Mr Green openly challenged Mr Davis in a strategy meet in front of AND THE
senior sales and marketing team on the sales growth projection which infuriated Mr Davis CHARACTERS
further.

 In a series of emails, Mr Davis reported to Ms McDonald about Mr Green’s performance

wherein he articulated his expectations for improvement in Mr Green’s performance

especially his “poor judgement and ‘questionable behaviour” and raised doubt about his

suitability for the position.

 The conflict could have been avoided if there was proper communication between Mr Davis

and Ms McDonald before hiring of Mr Green for this position

ROOT CAUSE
 Mr Green’s unwillingness to adapt to his new position and not been able to come out of

‘lone-gun account executive’ role and don the cap of marketing specialist and focus of
OF CONFLICT
regional strategy development, teamwork and respect for the chain of command.

 Ms McDonald had unknowingly sown the seed of mistrust in the mind of Mr Green by • Communication Gap
indicting Mr Davis dislike for Mr Green’s type. This mistrust is often reflected in Mr • Unwillingness to Adopt
Green’s attitude towards Mr Davis .
• Trust Deficit
 Mr Green seems to under false notion that Ms McDonald will be willing and prepared to

help or defend him, might have contributed to his audacious move to challenge his boss in
open meeting.

 The onus was more on Mr Green to cement the relationship and gain the confidence of his

new Boss but all his actions were anything but confidence building measures
OPTIONS TO
STAY IN THE JOB
FOR MR GREEN
 This option would prove to be counterproductive to Mr
Green
 The possibility of Ms McDonald siding with Mr Green is remote as he had done precisely opposite of what Ms

McDonald had cautioned and advised him which is to:

 “think strategically as well as tactically” OPTION 1

 “work across layers of Management”
Challenge the Boss
 “Seek guidance from seasoned Managers”
Expose full extent of
 Also, Ms McDonald had given heads-up to Mr Green that Mr Davis has aggressive growth goals which is
Frank’s dubious
beyond what market data warrants. Therefore, the exposure contemplated on ‘so called’ dubious projection is
Projection and Strategy
nothing new for Ms McDonald and less likely to receive any traction.
to Shannon and hope
 Ms McDonald is also in a fix as she, in many ways, is responsible for this “regrettable situation”. Having

positioned Mr Green in the ‘Senior Marketing Specialist’ much against the wishes of Mr Davis , bypassing
She’d rescue
other colleagues and giving 50% raise, she cannot be seen to be openly taking sides.

 Mr Davis has always played by the Book. The mails were purely transactional without any display of emotions

or bias. The possibility of Mr Davis garnering support from others in the division w.r.t his accusation on Mr
Green’s manners, attitude and outlook per se, is more, as many of them would be envious of his meteoric rise.

 Mr Green should not consider this option. Having invested in House and Car, it would be “hell of a time to be

out of Job”
 It is in the interest of Mr Green to stand down

 Mr Green has clearly misread the situation. It was never about growth targets but the trust
OPTION 2
deficit Stand Down
 He should meet Ms McDonald and discuss with her where things went wrong and how he Do as he was told;
plans to do the course correction. change the style to suit
 Mc Donald should meet up with Mr Davis and explain why she felt green was the right Frank’s agenda and
candidate for the senior marketing specialist position and seek his support in grooming execute on the strategy
him. he believed was flawed
 The expectations from Mr Green should be clearly spelt out and emphasis should be laid

on maintaining good working relationship and learning from peers

 McDonald should suggested Mr Green and Mr Davis to meet more often in order to

maintain a strong level of communication