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I’m unable to stop a snort of disbelief escaping.
‘I’m serious,’ Sarah continues. ‘Look, Jeremiah has worked here forever. He practically grew up in this company and he knows it inside out. If you cut him open, he’d bleed the colours of the company logo. But, and this is his weak spot, it’s all he knows. We do things the way we do them because that’s the way we’ve always done them and, so far, we’ve got away with it.’
‘Lots of companies operate that way,’ I agree. ‘But that’s the whole reason I’m here.’
‘Exactly. And that’s why Jeremiah is terrified of you,’ Sarah says emphatically. ‘Because he doesn’t know what the industry best practices are, and he doesn’t want to be made to look like a fool in front of his team. So how does he ensure that? By attacking your credibility.’
I take a moment to consider her point. On the surface, it seems ludicrous. If there was one word I wouldn’t use to describe Jeremiah, it’s insecure. However, as I let the idea sink in, I can see there might be some merit in it, bizarre as it seems.
‘So what am I supposed to do?’ I ask eventually.
‘Ah, that’s where my psychology runs out, I’m afraid. I just thought the insight might prove useful. I did contemplate sitting in on some of today’s sessions to see if that might help, but I’ve got back-to-back meetings and I think Jeremiah would smell a rat anyway.’ She gets to her feet. ‘I do hope you find some way of reaching a rapport with him, though. It will be very difficult for this project to succeed if you don’t.’
I’m still digesting her words as she starts to make her way over to the door but, just before she opens it, I realise there’s something else I need to know.
‘Can I ask you one more question?’ I say.
‘Of course.’
‘What’s the deal between Jeremiah and Leon?’
She smiles again. ‘Old-fashioned office politics. Leon manages the team that will be using the software, as you’ve probably gathered.’
‘Yes.’
‘In Leon’s world, the bigger your team, the more powerful you are. He’s very protective of them, and they’re loyal to him in return. He’s worried that this new solution will lead to job losses.’
‘Will it?’
‘If I’m brutally honest, I need it to. The leadership team are expecting to be able to get significant cost savings out of this system and that includes a reduction in the number of people.’
‘But Leon’s never going to get on board with that.’
‘He isn’t, but he won’t have a choice. The good news for you is I don’t think that’s your problem because Jeremiah can’t wait to cut Leon’s team down to size. Focus on cracking Jeremiah and let Jeremiah deal with Leon. Does that help?’
‘It really does. Thank you.’
‘Jeremiah may be a blunt instrument, but his heart is in the right place.’
Inspiration finally strikes as Sarah reaches for the door handle.
‘One final question,’ I ask her. ‘What hobbies and interests does Jeremiah have outside work?’
She considers for a moment. ‘His first loves are definitely his wife and daughter – he absolutely dotes on them. He’s also into his wines, especially South African ones as you’d expect. He considers himself a bit of a braai expert – that’s a barbecue to you and me – and he used to be really into those endurance cycling events, although I think that’s taken more of a back seat since his daughter was born. Get him on her, wine or braai though, and you’ll struggle to shut him up.’
As I sip my coffee after Sarah leaves, I’m trying to work out how I can use the information she’s given me. It’s obvious that I can’t openly say anything to Jeremiah about what I’ve learned. He’d hit the roof and it would probably make things worse rather than better. I’m also extremely pissed off that he went behind my back in the way that he did. Thankfully, Sarah seems to have seen through it, but that could have done a lot of damage.
This place just keeps on bloody giving.
10
‘Are you OK? Did I say something I shouldn’t the other morning?’ Nathan’s voice is laced with concern as he steps onto the treadmill next to mine.
I can’t really answer his first question. In the absence of an obvious solution to the Jeremiah problem, I let him pretty much take the lead again in the workshops yesterday. Thankfully, Leon had some other meetings he had to be in, so we were spared a repeat of the previous day’s hostilities. I’m still very much on the back foot though, which is making me feel decidedly tetchy. At the moment, all I can think about is the fact that I’ve got two more days of this week to endure before I have a weekend where I can hopefully decompress and make a proper plan to take control of this situation. Sarah’s insights have been useful, because some of the features Jeremiah was describing as absolute must-haves were things I would describe as ‘unusual’ if I were being tactful and ‘downright mad’ if I were being direct but, rather than challenging him openly in front of everyone and getting his back up, I’ve noted them down to address quietly later.
‘What makes you think you said something you shouldn’t?’ I ask as he fiddles with the control panel on his treadmill. If I’m honest, I’ve been so caught up in the toxic office politics, I’d kind of forgotten Nathan existed, and I’m not really in the mood to soothe his bruised ego, if that’s what he’s after.
‘I saw you leaving when I was coming down yesterday. I wondered whether maybe I’d made you uncomfortable somehow and you were avoiding me. If I did, then I’m sorry.’
