Page 45 - Executive Warfare

Attitude, Risk, and Luck

get the big chair. So, if you have a drinking problem, by all means keep it
to your off-hours and conceal it.
Conceal it even if you don’t have a problem. My theory is that if some-
body sees you with two tumblers of scotch in the same night, it’s prob-
lematic. Despite the great popularity of large martinis, you should never
have a martini at a company event. Ever. Once you embarrass yourself in
public, you will never get rid of that aura of doubt.
The same is true if you distract people with your messy sex life. Let me
tell you a story. One day, I came back from lunch and passed by a woman
waiting in my foyer. Let’s call her Brenda. She was the secretary of a senior
executive who worked for me—we’ll call him Oscar—and she was crying.
I said to my secretary, “What does Brenda want?”
My secretary shrugged.“She says it’s an emergency, and she has to talk
to you.”
So Brenda came in and told me that she was sleeping with her boss.
Which, by the way, I could have cared less about. The company had no
nonfraternization rule. It was highly
discouraged, but it was not against the
rules.
I HIGHLY
However, since she was weeping and
RECOMMEND THAT
choking and sobbing to the point that I
YOU KEEP YOUR
was scrambling for Kleenex, I had to
PERSONAL LIFE
address the situation.
PRIVATE. TAKE THE
I was very careful not to pry. I said,
RISK OF PEOPLE
“If you are filing a sexual harassment
NOT KNOWING YOU.
complaint, we’ll call Personnel right
now, and they’ll come and interview
you. If that’s not the issue, this is just something you and Oscar have to
work out.”
She said, “I don’t know what to do. I love him so much.”
And now Brenda’s starting to pour her heart out to me. The affair has
been going on for three or four years. She’s so in love. But Oscar is reject-

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