Organizational Changes by Deke Cutter

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Tom could not believe his bad luck. When Ed Jordan decided to retire as CEO of the family company he created, he had a choice to make of which of his three sons would take over. Ed had called Tom in to his office to warn him of the impending changes and, in Tom’s view, fit him with a pair of golden handcuffs. "Tom, I’m stepping down as CEO, but will remain Chairman of the board with 52% ownership stake, with each of my sons receiving 16%. Edward will become CEO, Frank will be COO, and Andy will be CFO. However, you are the one I will depend on to continue to lead and maintain and develop business. As such you are to be President with a 20% raise to your compensation. You will report to Edward, but his control will be over administration and policy considerations. I expect that this may be a difficult transition, but I am going to ask you to give your relationship with him a chance. We can revisit this in a year’s time. I’m taking Marge (Mrs. Jordan) on a three month vacation that will give you all a chance to find your way. What do you think?"

"Ed, I am honored by your faith in me. Edward and I tend to see the world through different lenses, but I am willing to do my best to make this work." In reality, Tom was not too thrilled. Working for a family owned company, he knew that one of the sons would take control, but he had hoped it would be the wise and sensible Frank. Tom understood that the division of power among the three sons suggested that Ed understood that there were strengths and weaknesses among them. Unfortunately, Tom saw Edward as having authoritarian tendencies and a personality that could turn off clients.

On the first day after the transition, Edward called Tom to his office. Tom knew that Edward had been very unhappy with the amount of control Tom had over the essential workings of the company and how his father had cleverly divided the power among the brothers and Tom. "Tom," Edward had said, "I want to set some new standards for the company. As ‘President.’ (Edward made ‘air quotes’ as he said Tom’s title.) First thing is those curls." Tom resisted the desire to touch his well-shaped curly hair that he wore in a neat style that he had trimmed and shaped monthly. "Now, I am not expecting a big change overnight, but I will give you reminders of when you should take it down." Edward’s own hair was cut in a typical businessman’s cut, full in the back, just touching his ears. "Now, off you go to your Barber to get this process going." Tom gritted his teeth and left Edward’s office.

As Tom entered the upscale men’s barbershop, his barber Mike welcomed and said, "hey man what’s up, you are two weeks early? Tom explained the situation at work. "Wow," Mike said, "Mr. Jordan Senior gets his hair cut here and I cannot imagine him being party to something like this."

Tom responded, "I think Ed is giving Edward ‘enough rope to hang himself,’ as the old saying goes. On the other hand, I don’t want to be the one who goes ‘crying to daddy,’ so let’s trim my hair and see what comes next. Mike got him taped and caped. He washed Tom’s hair and then gently, almost reverently, trimmed an inch off all around, leaving the curls a bit closer to the scalp, noticeably shorter, but still a neat and stylish as always. "Tom looked in the mirror and said, "excellent cut, as always, Mike. I have a feeling I may be back sooner than later, and it will be to test your clipper skills."

Mike replied, "I hope not man. You have a great head of hair. I’m certified as a cosmetologist, but also as a barber, so I can use the clippers. You’ve seen some of the fades and buzzes I was doing a couple yeas ago, before this whole ‘messy fringe, modern mullet, and mod-look’ phase came along. But don’t worry. I’ll be here for you."

Tom’s wife JoAnn noticed the haircut as soon as he got home. Tom then had to go through the story with her. JoAnn was very supportive and understood the reasons Tom had complied so quickly. As a High School principal, she was familiar with bureaucracies and the need for flexibility. In fact, it was JoAnn who suggested ‘malicious compliance’ as a strategy. While Tom wasn’t thrilled by what such an approach would entail, he agreed that it would be a way to proceed. The next day, he had a meeting scheduled with Edward’s brother Frank, the CFO. Frank arrived at Tom’s office and greeted him with, "you’ve got a shorter haircut than usual, Tom." Tom smiled and said that he had indeed had the barber take it a little shorter. Frank whose wavy blonde hair covered his ears and reached his collar mentioned that Edward would be pleased because he had been on a rant about wanting all the men who worked for him to have short hair. "Andy and I reminded him that he and I did not work for him and that you had as much latitude as you and dad wanted the President to have. Speaking of which, I wanted to meet with you to tell you that the figures are looking good, and that your leadership is a boon to the company." They then spent an hour going over the financial statement and parted ways.

Two weeks after Tom’s haircut, he found a sealed blue envelope on his desk when he arrived at work. He opened and found a note from Edward that just said, "snip snip-time for you to go shorter." Tom was not too surprised at this turn of events. He had noticed that Andy had not had a haircut since the new organizational structure had gone into effect and Frank was still ‘letting his freak flag fly,’ to use one of Tom’s dad’s favorite expressions. His executive assistant (EA) Barbara had told him that the grapevine (that is her weekly lunches with the three brothers’ EAs) indicated tension was building among the three over (‘forgive me for saying this Tom, but Loretta (Edward’s EA) used these words’) ‘Edward’s delusions of grandeur.’ Tom messaged his wife, "operation malicious compliance begins today. Be prepared for a shock." Tom then called Loretta and asked her to give a message to Edward that Tom was finalizing a contract with a major new client but would take care of Edward’s concerns at the end of the day.

The negotiations were a success and Tom sent a WhatsApp message to the three brothers saying he would brief them all tomorrow at 9:00. He then followed that up with a second message to Frank and Andy asking to meet with them at 8:30 in his office. He then made a quick call to Mike to make sure he could get his haircut and off he went. Mike was sitting in his chair waiting for Tom to arrive. He rose from the chair shook Tom’s hand and prepared him. "So, what’s it to be this time? From the set of your jaw, I have a feeling it’s going to be drastic."

I want the sides and back stubble, no sideburns and the top left just long enough to comb it straight back."

"Tom, that is a brutal haircut."

"Oh, I know, and I may be back for a more brutal one before this nonsense is concluded. JoAnn and I decided ‘malicious compliance was the way to go."

Mike was the kind of barber that took real pride in his craft. But he understood Tom’s decision. So, he slapped a Number 2 guard on the clippers and went to work. Rather than starting at the back, he placed the clippers at Tom’s temple and pushed them back. He continued all the way around Tom’s head to the opposite temple. This left a line of stubble around Tom’s head. Tom looked in the mirror and then raised his hand to touch the denuded line. "Let’s see how this looks when you are done buzzing it down before I decide if it should be shorter." Mike nodded his understanding. Mike then removed the guard and cut off Tom’s sideburns to the top of each ear, before replacing the guard and continuing with the removal of the curls from the sides and back of Tom’s head. Tom looked at the growing piles of hair on his shoulders and in his lap and said, jokingly, "as the late great Muhammad Ali once said, ‘can’t wait until tomorrow because I get better looking every day.’" Mike looked at Tom’s reflection in the mirror and they both had a good laugh.

"OK, Tom," Mike began, I’m going to wet down the top now and we’ll see how short we can go." The curls on top, when combed straight were three to four inches long. Mike suggested cutting half the length and then deciding if they needed the thinning shears. Mike scissors and comb flew across Tom’s head reducing the curls to a much shorter length. They did maintain much of their shape and ‘bulk’, so Mike then did some work with the thinning shears which notably tamed what was left. "OK, now I am just going to clean up around the ears and neck, then we’ll see about combing the top." It had been years since Tom had had a straight razor shave around his ears and neck. He vaguely remembered getting a short haircut for the high school baseball team that involved such treatment. It was an interesting and pleasant sensation. Once Mike had cleaned him off, he chose a hair gel and worked it into the hair left on top of Tom’s head. Then he combed it straight back. The finished product was exactly what Tom had hoped for. "My Italian immigrant grandpa would say that I look like I ‘just got off the boat.’ That’s how they would describe Italian guys with this extreme kind of haircut. Apparently, they were pretty popular back in Italy in the 1940s and 50s." The haircut gave Tom a look of fierceness that was not at all in keeping with his personality. But he smiled at Mike and said, "you hit it out of the park, my friend."

Mike said to him, you know the way your hair grows, if you are going to keep this ‘look’ for a while, you’ll need to come in like every ten days or so."

Tom said "we’ll have to see how this goes. If Edward keeps up his power trip, more decisive action will be necessary, but I will keep you in the loop." He paid Mike and gave him a big tip and headed home.

When Tom got home, he was happy to find JoAnn alone in the kitchen, their kids nowhere in sight. "Oh, my sweet Lord!" JoAnn walked up to him spun him around and then gave him a full on kiss. "You turn me on no matter what kind of haircut you have. She then rubbed her hands on his stubbly head and said, "oh I like how this feels. I’ve warned the kids shall I call them down?" What followed were ten minutes of laughs, squeals and joking threat that 12 year old TJ would be next in the chair, while 10 year old Cara, like her mother, just thought daddy looked wonderful.

Tom got into work at 8:00 AM, hoping to avoid seeing too many staff members before his meeting with Frank and Andy. Captain Anderson, on the security desk, with whom Tom had a very friendly rapport, joked "what happened, did your Reserves unit get called up?" Tom laughed and just said, it was a spur of the moment thing.

By 8:30, tom had coffee brewed and ready for the two brothers. They arrived together and their jaws dropped in unison when they saw Tom. "What the h*ell, Tom, Frank said."

Tom handed them Edward’s note. "OK guys, your brother pushed me to start getting my hair cut shorter as part of some rebranding idea. I had wanted to keep this ‘out of your hair,’ so to speak, until I got this note. JoAnn and I had discussed this and decided that this would be the next step to try to shock him. I’m prepared to go shorter if necessary. But I didn’t want to shock you two by showing up at 9:00 looking like a Marine Colonel."

"It does give you something of an authoritarian vibe," Andy joked.

His brother added, "And d*mned if you don’t pull it off. But look, we have to reign him in. He doesn’t really have the authority to make you cut your hair at all. And he has continued to harp on us about ours. How should we play with him at 9:00?"

Tom said, "I’d suggest that we not say anything unless he brings it up. If he does, I’ll just say, I thought this was a cut he would like. If he pushes it, I’ll leave it to you two. If he gives me anymore ‘haircut reminders’, a flat top is next on my agenda. But what I’d really like to find is a way for Edward to accept the fact that all four of us have equal and equally important roles to play."

Andy looked at Frank and said, "are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Frank replied, "I think I am. Leave this with us for a bit."

At 9:00 they all convened in the Executive Conference Room. Edward was the last to arrive. His eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw Tom. "Good morning, all," Tom said. "I wanted to brief you all on the successful completion of the contract with Hansen Aeronautics. We will be providing them with a full range of management consultation services. I can go through the slides, if you want or you can just review them and get back to me with any questions." Throughout Tom’s remarks, Edward’s eyes had barely moved from Tom’s head.

Frank said, "the buzz was that these were going to be tough negotiations."

Andy added, "yes their folks are known to be the "cream of the crop."

"Yes sir," Frank added, "Old man Hansen knows how to shave a budget right down to its skin." Neither Frank, Andy, nor Tom could dare look at each other during that comedy routine. But at that point, Loretta, Edward’s EA entered the room and looked at Edward and said, Mr. Jordan is on the line for you Edward and Edward rushed out of the room to take his father’s call.

"That will be dad calling about the Hansen contract. We let him know what an outstanding job you did," said Frank. "He and mom will be back from their first real vacation in two weeks which should be just the time we need."

Later that morning, Edward appeared at Tom’s office, entered, and closed the door behind him. "I suppose you think you are pretty clever, don’t you? My brothers embarrassing me in our meeting with their coy remarks alluding to your haircut. When I first saw it, I was surprised but pleased by your proactive approach, but now I suspect you are in collusion with them."

"Edward," Tom replied, keeping his voice and tone steady. When I received your note, I immediately made plans to get my haircut, I did not discuss it in advance with your brothers. If you have a problem with my compliance, discuss it with me. If this is a family problem, discuss it with your brothers. I’ve heard from your father, I should tell you, congratulating me on the Hansen contract."

"Yes, my father called me, as well."

Did he say anything about me or your haircut directives?"

"Well, no." Edward’s face reddened a bit. But know this isn’t over." With that, he stormed out the door.

As the return of Ed Senior approached, Tom anticipated another haircut powerplay by Edward and was not surprised to discover another blue envelope on his desk on the Thursday preceding Ed’s return home. The note inside stated simply, ‘Hair as short as your requires regular barbering. Get it done.’ He barely had time to read the note before Andy appeared in his office. Andy greeted him in his usual effusive and friendly way and said, "Frank and I wanted to check on any new skirmishes in the hair war."

Tom handed the note to Andy and said, "looks like its flattop time for me, just in time for your father’s return."

"The timing is perfect. Dad and mom get home on Friday and we’re planning a little surprise for Edward on Saturday. We’re scheduled to meet at dad’s house and then go out for brunch. If you can get your haircut on Friday afternoon, meet us at dad’s at 10:00. Edward won’t arrive before 10:45."

"Andy, what do you two have in mind?" Oh, don’t worry, this will resolve several issues, and nobody will be singled out."

So, Tom found himself back in Mike’s barber chair. "Jeez Tom, I see you more than I see my brother and he lives down the street from me. Same again?"

"No," Tom sighed. "This time we’re taking the top down flat. Hopefully, this will be the last severe cut and I’ll be able to grow my curls out before JoAnn and I get too used to the stimulation those bristles add to our love life."

"OK, I think keeping the sides at a number two and giving you a nice medium boxy top will look good and should be short enough to get those curls to stand up." Tom was surprised at how long it took for Mike to run the clippers over the sides and back. He was also a bit shocked by the amount of hair that came off after only two weeks. When Mike was ready to start on the top, he wet the short curls and got out the blow dryer and proceeded to brush the hair until it was dry and standing fairly straight. He then applied some kind of waxy product and brushed it again. "OK Tom, hold your head still while I work on flattening the top." Tom’s eyes widened as the clipper and flat top comb did their work. Seeing another inch of hair fall hit home for him on just how short this haircut would be. As Mike meticulously went over the top, Tom felt a tingle of excitement as the clippers felt like they were sitting directly on his scalp. After Mike finished with the straight razor and some more wax, he told Tom to tip his head forward. "I didn’t want to go too crazy with a wide ‘landing strip,’ but I think a flat top has to show a little scalp on top. What do you think of the finished product?"

"Holy crap, I look like Roger Maris on the rookie card my grandpa has. But I like it. I’m used to seeing myself with shorter hair and I can deal with this."

When he got home, JoAnn couldn’t wait to give his head a good rub. "I’ve sent the kids to spend the night with mom and dad. Since this haircut is a ‘one off’ I want to have a chance for us to explore it thoroughly tonight." And they did.

The next morning Tom arrived at Ed’s home, noticing Frank’s sedan already in the driveway. Ed answered the door with a comical look on his face. "Tom, what the heck happened to your curls. Marge, Tom’s cut off his curls." Ed’s wife Marge came to the door, looking as surprised as Ed had.

"Dad, mom," Frank said, "this is your number one son Edward’s doing." Just then, Andy arrived, and the two brothers gave their version of events. Andy said, "Tom went along with this because he didn’t want to rock the boat, as we were all trying to make the new organization structure work. Unfortunately, Edward has issues, and we didn’t want to act before we spoke to you, dad. You remember when we were kids and always fighting over who got more of one thing or another or who got punished for a transgression. You and mom instituted the ‘one for all and all for one’ rule. Basically, you told us we were all equal and would share all things. So, (and Frank ran his hands through his lush wavy hair) we think you should take the three of us to Mike’s and have him give us haircuts as short as Tom’s and put an end to this nonsense about Edward controlling anybody else’s personal appearance and make sure he understands Tom’s role in the organization."

A few minutes later Edward arrived. Tom had been hidden away in Ed’s office. Ed then asked how everything was going at the company and Edward jumped in to explain that he had everything under control. At that moment, Tom appeared, and Edward’s face got quite pale as he noticed Tom’s latest extreme haircut. As prearranged, Tom said, "thanks for letting me use your office for that call Ed. I’ll get out of your hair now and let you fellows get on with your day." With that, Tom left.

As the four Jordans piled into the father’s Land Rover, Ed said, ‘it looks like we need a refresher lesson on our family’s ‘one for all and all for one rule’, so we’re making a stop on the way to brunch and I do not expect a single complaint from anyone in this car, understood." Ed said this looking directly in the rearview mirror at his eldest son, Edward. This was said with Ed’s ‘dad voice’ that all three of his sons understood brooked no opposition. When they pulled up in front of Mike’s, Edward got a sick look on his face. "Come on, in we go, I had Tom call Mike and clear the decks for the next two hours."

Mike could barely contain himself when the four men walked in. While Ed Senior was the only current client, he had cut the sons’ hair on occasion. "Gentlemen, welcome, who is up first?"

"Edward is up first. I understand that he is a big fan of the haircuts you’ve been giving Tom lately. So, he’ll be getting a flattop that is just a bit shorter with a slightly wider landing strip than Tom’s. Edward looked like he was going to object, but his father gave him ‘the look’ and he got into the chair. Mike went to town, taking Edward’s sides and back down to a 1.5 and giving him a tight very flat top with a wide landing strip. He took the sideburns extra high and made sure to carve a nice arch around each ear. When he was done, Edward looked completely different from the "Big I Am" image he tried to convey at the office.

Frank jumped up and said, "I’m next." Dad, I’d like to go for a number two buzzcut with a one inch bumper, if that is OK."

Ed agreed saying that all four fellows being ‘matchy-matchy’ was not a good look.

So Mike went to work. "Timber," said Frank as the first run of the clippers pushed a big load of hair off the back of his head. He had a smile on his face throughout the cut. His features were perfect for this classic cut and the brushed up bumper gave him a fresh and youthful look. Mike even commented that Frank should consider keeping the cut. Frank smiled and said, his wife might have something to say about that, but that he was very happy with the cut.

Finally, Andy approached the chair. "Dad, I’m thinking a nice high and tight, 0 blade on the sides and a number two on top. What do you think?" Ed allowed as how he thought that was a fine idea.

Frank jokingly started to sing "From the Halls of Montezuma…" as Andy’s hair fell victim to Mike’s clippers. With the shaved sides and very short top, the physically fit Andy looked like a young Marine when Mike was done. Ed Senior paid Mike and left him an incredibly generous tip. The men then returned to Ed’s vehicle. Once inside, Ed said to the brothers, "we draw a line under this today. We will not have unreasonable burdens put on staff and especially not on Tom who, in day to day running of the firm is really the top dog. Tom has been an incredibly good sport about this which is why I felt it necessary to remind you of our philosophy. Now, all four of you look fine scalped like you are, but in my opinion, it is up to each of you to decide your own grooming standards from now on." Ed then rubbed his hand over Andy’s head and Frank, in the back seat, did the same to Edward who was sitting next to him. After a moment, Edward reached over and did the same to his brother. Time will tell if they all grow their hair back.

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