Page 76 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

fallen asleep one night as an employee of a public company, only to wake
up the next morning and find that they now work for private equity play-
ers. And in the aftermath of a merger or a leveraged buyout, the promises
of even the most well-meaning bosses can be worthless.
Unless they are willing to put it in writing, don’t believe it. So, when-
ever you can, get the promise in writing, and preferably on paper that
comes out of a lawyer’s laser printer rather than on a cloth napkin.

PROBLEM BOSSES ARE NOT RARE

One more Fred story: After I’d been with the advertising agency a few
months, he threw a Christmas party for the office, spouses invited, at
an artist’s loft in Soho, a wonderful space. On the list of amenities was
a hot tub. However, this was a formal party, suits and cocktail dresses
with a lavish spread of food and drink, and nobody gave the tub a
glance.
Within the first hour, our pasty, corpulent boss emerged from the back
in a Speedo bathing suit, to the general astonishment. He mounted the
wooden steps to the hot tub in Nero-like fashion and dropped himself into
the tub, only to swear angrily. The tub
was as cold as ice.
PEOPLE’S HOPES
Of course it was as cold as ice! The
ARE OFTEN
loft’s owner didn’t think it would be
DASHED BECAUSE
used for a formal Christmas party. Nei-
THEY DEPEND ON
ther did any of us.
THE WORD OF
But Fred was beside himself with
PEOPLE ABOVE
rage. One of his minions scurried for a
THEM.
giant towel, and as he was being
wrapped up, he insisted that we all
leave. So somebody found a big German restaurant that could take all of
us, and the entire party moved. Three hundred people had to act as if

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