Chapter 20
20
She’d done the sob story part, got her voice heard, hopefully made her meltdown understandable. Now it was time for the business pitch.
‘While governments aren’t doing their jobs properly, it’s up to companies like yours and mine to lead the way.’ She brought up the next slide. ‘This is the time to stand up and be counted as leaders, not only in in our field of work but on the impact it has on the environment too. You can buy trainers made from recycled sea plastic now. Sunglasses as well. We can be up there with these pioneers. We can be leading the way, showing how a green company should operate. I’m not talking about meat-free Mondays, or charging five pence for a plastic bag. I mean strip it back. Strip everything right back.’ She paused. ‘Take your event next month. How many of the delegates will have tablets, iPads, smartphones or some such?’
‘Well, all of them I expect.’
‘Yes, so do I. So why are Annabel and I filling goodie bags with paper pamphlets and plastic wallets with the day’s schedule?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘How many of them own a pen?’
‘Now you’re being ridiculous.’
‘Precisely!’ She was starting to react like Annabel now, her body bouncing with excitement. ‘It is ridiculous. What’s the point of giving them something they already have, they don’t need, and that’s using precious resources to create, whilst damaging the planet when they dump it? I say we scrap it all. We scrap every piece of plastic, other than the chairs they’re sitting on – for the moment, anyway!’
‘You’re not serious?’
‘I am. We could send a notice out now, telling people that this is going to be the most environmentally friendly conference they’ve ever been to. We’re not even going to provide them with plastic water bottles; they can bring their own refillable ones.’
Dominic’s face pinched. ‘I know what you’re saying, I get it, but it won’t work.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because,’ he said, ‘people have come to expect these things, you know they have. We have a certain standard to uphold. Do you know how much people talk about the quality of service we provide? And they’re not just talking about the sessions and the personalised feedback. It’s the whole package, including the goodies they pick up when they sign in. We offer a wellbeing service that’s the height of luxury and we’re the company that’s setting the standard. That’s the whole point of these conferences, isn’t it?’
‘But what if that wasn’t the point? You trust your process, don’t you?’
‘You know I do,’ he replied, brusquely.
‘Then hear me out. How many companies have given you a branded pen or gadget over the years?’
‘How many? I’ve no idea. Most of them, probably.’
‘But which ones? That’s what I want to know.’
‘Well, probably every conference I’ve ever been to. All the hotels do, for a start.’
‘Okay, which hotels?’
‘ Which hotels? All of them.’
‘And you can remember each item? What it looked like? How it wrote, if it was a pen? Anything at all?’
Dominic steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them. Then recovered. ‘That’s not the point.’
‘That’s exactly the point! You don’t remember who gave you what, when. Because you don’t care about any of it. It had no personal, enduring significance. Just another piece of tat you discarded at some point, probably the next day.’
‘I wouldn’t say?—’
‘It’s your company that sells itself. This amazing business you’ve built up from scratch. The online reviews. Word of mouth. They’re what sell you. Your branding is your company and what you help people achieve. It’s not some tacky plastic pen. That way of thinking is obsolete. Don’t you see? That’s why it’s so important I have you to lead the way with me on this. You’re better than that and you don’t need it any more. That’s why I’m asking you to jump on board with me here. I want to do it with you.’
That was it. She was done. Sitting back in her seat, she felt totally spent. Whatever the outcome, at least she knew she’d done her best. She’d given it her all, presented every useful fact she could come up with. Now it was up to him. It was on Dominic, a man who prided himself on his principles and putting his money where his mouth was.
‘Maybe it’s something we can start to look at next year,’ he said eventually.
She frowned. ‘Next year? No, it has to be this year. Next month. Your very next seminar. It’s now or never.’
‘People won’t be expecting a change. This is something we need to prepare them for. We could consider launching it, maybe touching upon it at the next conference.’
She rubbed her eyes, as if clearing her vision would somehow make the things she was hearing make more sense.
‘But I don’t understand. Nothing has been finalised yet. All the orders can be cancelled.’
‘I’m aware of that?—’
‘Then why? What’s the point of sticking with it?’
‘Because it’s what people expect.’
She stared at the man in front of her.
‘Then teach them to expect something different!’
‘Fiona, it’s not that simple.’
‘It is. It really is. Look, if you give me the go ahead on this, you won’t be disappointed. The next seminar will be a trailblazer.’
‘I just don’t feel we’re ready.’
‘But you will be after giving out a busload of rubbish?’
‘Pardon?’
Her mouth was drying.
‘I just don’t understand you. I don’t. I thought your whole line was we give you the skills ? Not we give you the rubbish .’
‘I can tell you’re upset by my decision here, Fiona. But it’s my final answer. We’ve got too many new themes we’re bringing to the next meeting to throw in another one, on a whim.’
‘On a whim. You think this is a whim?’
‘Look, if you’re still convinced about this at the end of the year, then maybe we could start discussing it more seriously then.’
‘No.’ The certainty in her voice came as a surprise even to herself but, as soon as she had said it, she realised it was exactly what she had to say. And, as such, she said it again. ‘No.’
‘What do you mean, no?’
‘I mean no.’ She rose to her feet. ‘I won’t be doing next year, or even this year. I won’t do any of it. The workshops, training days, Christmas parties. The lot. If I don’t get to make this change and do it now , then I’m out.’
‘Fiona.’ Dominic’s laugh was half threatening, half nervous. ‘You can’t be serious. We’re your biggest client. I must provide half your revenue. You’re honestly willing to throw all that away because you’re having a crisis of conscience?’
With fists clenched, the consequences of her words flashed before her. She hadn’t realised she was going to make the threat until it actually came out of her mouth. She hadn’t thought that he would actually say no to her, after all the evidence she’d presented to him.
‘Fiona,’ his voice softened, ‘I think you need to take a break. What with everything that’s going on with Stephen. Why don’t you give me a ring at the start of next month? When you’ve had a little time?—’
‘I don’t need time,’ she interrupted, her voice low but firm. ‘And this is not about Stephen. I need people like you standing up. People like you pulling their heads out of their soft, money-stuffed arses so that we can achieve something together. That’s what I need. And you’re right. You’re at least half my revenue. You leave and there’s a good chance the company will fold. And that’s going to hurt like hell. But I can live with that. The other option, I can’t.’
The two of them were locked in stalemate and her mind roiled, yet seemed frozen at the same time. Her thoughts went to Annabel. There was no way she could keep her on full-time if Dominic walked. But that was the fate of one person and, on the other hand, there was a whole planet that needed saving.
‘I’m sorry, Fiona.’ He levered himself out of his chair and reached a hand across to her. ‘You really were a wonderful person to work with.’