Meeting is over PARTNER!

Day Six

Every meeting that BuzzWordy had with his boss Xavia could result in either extreme depression or enlightenment, and this one was no different. Buzzwordy felt jabbing sensation in the back of his neck as he returned to the lobby.

"Sorry for taking a bit longer Olga!" apologized Buzzwordy.

"No sweat Buzzwordy. Shall we pick a date to sign the partnership agreement? My company is eager to move forward with your company." greeted by the heavy set lady with a broad grin.

Buzzwordy did not readily response to her, and instead, he dropped himself into a sofa chair and began to feverishly flip through the partnership proposal. He was convinced that Olga's solution company wasn't going to be the right fit for his company. Why? Their support team was offshore and due to cost saving reasons, the majority of the team members were either recent college graduates or young professionals with less than 3 years of hands-on experience. Furthermore, this partnership would require Buzzwordy's company to fork out an upfront fee PLUS royalty per product sold. Shouldn't a partnership be free and what deliverables would Buzzwordy's company get? It was microscopically clear that this engagement was far from ideal.

"Olga, just to be honest with you, I found tons of red flags in your proposal. I'm not clear on your value proposition, especially when my company has to pay your company an upfront fee PLUS royalty per product sold. Also, what will we be getting from you after everything is said and done. Shouldn't a partnership be treated on an equal footing?" proclaimed Buzzwordy.

He could see Olga stumbling to fetch for the right answers. Her artificial grin was waning in a free fall fashion. She was tongue-locked and utterly speechless.

"Buzzwordy, your questions are very good and it will be better for me to come back here with my manager Bob so we could double team and get your concerns resolved on the spot. Shall we firm up a date?" blurted Olga.

"Thanks Olga. I would prefer for you to discuss my questions with your manager and send me a revised proposal first. This will save us time. For now, lets say that our meeting is over!" said Buzzwordy.

Since leaving Buzzwordy's office that day, there was no sign of Olga whatsoever. Buzzwordy suspected that they were having problems justifying their engagement model.

I will see you all on Day Seven.


Buzzwordy

Did Buzzwordy feel the jolt?

Day Three

I want to share with you all a roller coaster encounter that Buzzwordy had not so long ago. On a business trip to Asia, he did the usual late night drinking ritual with the local boys in a few karaoke bars in Tokyo. After feeling giddy at best, he managed to stumble his way back to the hotel room. Haunted by guilt and responsibility, he forced himself to check his emails at 3AM. Holy nacho, he saw an urgent email from his boss back in the States demanding for an immediate explanation concerning a de-booking request from a customer. "This will surely throw the budget off big time!" exclaimed BuzzWordy.

Tired and half-sober, BuzzWordy found himself struggling with the appropriate words in his reply. He was typing really slow but believed that he got the whole situation under control. This is what he composed before clicking on the REPLY button,


Xavia,

Thx for bringing this de-booking issue to my immediate attention. I fully agree with you that it will definitely throw the bug (typo???) off. FYI, this customer has reached their credit limit and must de-book this large order to stay within their limit.

Pls approve.

BuzzWordy


Suddenly, wham and another wham. Buzzwordy saw the hotel room windows vibrating violently and the bed where he sat on began to slide back and forth. It was like doomsday all of a sudden and this unanticipated earthquake woke Buzzwordy up in a sweat. Without thinking deeply, he hit the REPLY button.


What happened when Xavia saw BuzzWordy's response? Lets find out on Day Four.


Buzzwordy