"It's too early for this." Alexander groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
The entire office had been gathered together that morning. The auditorium - which was usually only used during office parties - was now full of people. The hour was very early, but fashion never waited for anyone and it wad usual for people to have stayed the entire night through, working on projects. But now everyone had been gathered, and the manager stepped onto the stage in fron of everyone.
"Thanks for coming here this early. I'll try to be very brief." He shuffled some papers, looking for something and then pulled out one piece and gestured around with it. "This is a missive from the main office, from the boss CEO himself. Apparently one of our competitors has stolen the idea for one of our clothing lines meant for children."
Behind him a projection came alice on the big screen. It showed several pieces of children's wear - which was normal - but the art on the clothes, the words, the colours, even the names were absolutely the same as their fompany's proposed line which was to have launched into production in less than a week.
That brought forth a storm of protests and angry grumblings from the audience, so much so that the manager had to stop and let the storm of noise die down. Fashion was a highly competitive field, but rarely did anyone outright steal without actually changing things around.
"Yes, yes, I know, it's a very bad situation." The manager waved the paper around again. "But the mail from the CEO didn't stop there. He wants us to start up a sort of rapid-response team that will deal with situations like these. And I'm not talking about shooting the culprits or suing them. Rather the team will come up with new ideas and change our poached projects enough so that they will again be considered original, leaving our competitors (and thieves) in the dust. But they also have to keep themselves as much as possible inside the budget alotted to the original project."
People were now murmuring about this instead. It sounded like an incredible opportunity, but it also sounded much more stressful than any other job in the company so far. Everything would stand and fall on the people in this new group, and that was a lot of heavy responsibility.
"Their first project will be to turn this disaster around in the two weeks before the brand was supposed to launch." The manager added, and people went quiet in surprise and shock. The manager smiled. "Yeah, I know, that was my reaction when I got the news. This is why oir rapid-response tesm will consist of only the best and the brightest, and those people have already been picked so listen up and come up here when I call you up. Now, let's see. Thomas Higgins from accounting will be part of the group, as will J.D. Lawrence from design. Alexander Stross will be the team leader. Stross! Come up here so that everyone else can see who they're supposed to complain go when the time comes."
Alexander, having been standing almost completely in the back of the room and furthest away from the stage, blinked and stared. He had a cup full of piping hot coffee in one hand, and an enormous folder in the other, and there were close to a thousand people between him and the stage. He had to salvage the situation fast or lose his sudden promotion.
"If you don't mind, sir, I would like to stay where I am. From here it is easier to get out and get to work, and the people on my new team can meet me in the meetingroom on the sixth floor right after this meeting." He called out.
"Good idea, Stross, I knew there was a really good reason I picked you for leading this team." The manager said, nodding. "There's just one more person on your team, and she is... right... there! You! You are the last person on the team, now all pf tou get going and save pur company! No pressure!"
Alex rolled his eyes and exited the auditorium. No pressure. Right.
The entire office had been gathered together that morning. The auditorium - which was usually only used during office parties - was now full of people. The hour was very early, but fashion never waited for anyone and it wad usual for people to have stayed the entire night through, working on projects. But now everyone had been gathered, and the manager stepped onto the stage in fron of everyone.
"Thanks for coming here this early. I'll try to be very brief." He shuffled some papers, looking for something and then pulled out one piece and gestured around with it. "This is a missive from the main office, from the boss CEO himself. Apparently one of our competitors has stolen the idea for one of our clothing lines meant for children."
Behind him a projection came alice on the big screen. It showed several pieces of children's wear - which was normal - but the art on the clothes, the words, the colours, even the names were absolutely the same as their fompany's proposed line which was to have launched into production in less than a week.
That brought forth a storm of protests and angry grumblings from the audience, so much so that the manager had to stop and let the storm of noise die down. Fashion was a highly competitive field, but rarely did anyone outright steal without actually changing things around.
"Yes, yes, I know, it's a very bad situation." The manager waved the paper around again. "But the mail from the CEO didn't stop there. He wants us to start up a sort of rapid-response team that will deal with situations like these. And I'm not talking about shooting the culprits or suing them. Rather the team will come up with new ideas and change our poached projects enough so that they will again be considered original, leaving our competitors (and thieves) in the dust. But they also have to keep themselves as much as possible inside the budget alotted to the original project."
People were now murmuring about this instead. It sounded like an incredible opportunity, but it also sounded much more stressful than any other job in the company so far. Everything would stand and fall on the people in this new group, and that was a lot of heavy responsibility.
"Their first project will be to turn this disaster around in the two weeks before the brand was supposed to launch." The manager added, and people went quiet in surprise and shock. The manager smiled. "Yeah, I know, that was my reaction when I got the news. This is why oir rapid-response tesm will consist of only the best and the brightest, and those people have already been picked so listen up and come up here when I call you up. Now, let's see. Thomas Higgins from accounting will be part of the group, as will J.D. Lawrence from design. Alexander Stross will be the team leader. Stross! Come up here so that everyone else can see who they're supposed to complain go when the time comes."
Alexander, having been standing almost completely in the back of the room and furthest away from the stage, blinked and stared. He had a cup full of piping hot coffee in one hand, and an enormous folder in the other, and there were close to a thousand people between him and the stage. He had to salvage the situation fast or lose his sudden promotion.
"If you don't mind, sir, I would like to stay where I am. From here it is easier to get out and get to work, and the people on my new team can meet me in the meetingroom on the sixth floor right after this meeting." He called out.
"Good idea, Stross, I knew there was a really good reason I picked you for leading this team." The manager said, nodding. "There's just one more person on your team, and she is... right... there! You! You are the last person on the team, now all pf tou get going and save pur company! No pressure!"
Alex rolled his eyes and exited the auditorium. No pressure. Right.