A Leader and a Follower

A man named John sits in a waiting room for his interview. He is not nervous or overly enthusiastic. After a few minutes waiting in the room, John is told by the secretary that Mr. Johnson is ready to see him. She opens the door for him and as he passes her she smiles and mouths, "good luck".

Mr. Johnson: Thank you for coming in today, John.

John: Thank you for seeing me. I'm excited to be here.

Mr. Johnson: Good. So, I'm going to get straight to the point. I have a few more interviews today and I what I want to know is, why should I hire you?

John: Well, if I were to sum it up in a sentence it would be because I know how to be both a leader and a team player. In fact, if you wouldn't mind I would love to show you what I mean.

Mr. Johnson: By all means. But how?

John: Who is the nearest employee that I would be working with, other than your secretary, Sharine?

Mr. Johnson: Henry is working on a project in the next office. He's our head of marketing.

John: Can we go say hi?

Mr. Johnson: Obsoletely. This is turning out to be an interesting interview.

With that, Mr. Johnson takes John out of the office and they walk a few yards where Mr. Johnson knocks on a door enthusiastically.

Henry opens the door widely and smiles upon seeing Mr. Johnson.

Henry: Hello Mr. Johnson. How are you doing?

Mr. Johnson: I'm doing fine. Thanks. This is John. I'm interviewing him for the social media position. Content creation. He wanted to meet you.

John leans in before Henry can respond and shakes his hand enthusiastically.

John: How are you doing Henry? Or should I be more formal?

Henry: Oh no that's fine. Come in.

They all walk into the small office.

John: I told Mr. Johnson that I was able to be a leader and a follower and I thought that the best way to demonstrate that would be to talk with someone about what they do here.

Henry: I oversee the marketing department. We conduct surveys to understand our clients better, analyze sales trends, and work directly with advertising to make sure we are getting the right message out.

John: Are you allowed to show me the details of the project you're currently working on?

Henry: I don't know. Am I?

Mr. Johnson: Don't show him anything too cutting edge.

Henry Walks over to a computer and the others follow.

Henry: For the past six months we have been trying to extend our reach into the 25-30 demographic by slowly integrating our brand into as many pop-culture channels as we can. Unfortunately, we have only seen a three percent increase in sales from that demographic. I am trying to decide on whether to keep going or to scrap the project and put the resources toward a demo with more promise.

John: Is the 25-30 market worth enough to continue?

Henry: We have never really had a product for them until recently, with our new sport trainers, and they are the largest buyer of running shoes.

John: Seems like a huge market. I believe your best selling shoe last year was the Lincoln Leather which sells mostly to an older demographic. 35-40 I would guess.

Henry: Close enough.

John: Many 25-year-olds buy shoes that give them a perceived status. I would focus on getting influencers. Make them seem high end like the Lincoln Leather. Have them wear the new sports shoe in the day and the boot at night. What do you think?

Henry: We tried something like that before.  I do think that if we can get in there that market is a gold mine.

John: Thank you for sharing with me. I really hope I get the job here. I can tell you value collaboration and openness.

John shakes Henry's hand.

Henry: Thank you.

Mr. Johnson shakes Henry's hand.

Mr. Johnson: Thank you, Henry.

Henry: Thank you, Mr. Johnson.

John and Mr. Johnson make their way back to Mr. Johnson's office.

John: Well, what do you think.

Mr. Johnson: I think you asked a lot of good questions and had some good ideas. Henry seemed to like you. But how does that show me how you can lead and follow.

John: A good leader asks questions and listens first. A good follower validates others' ideas and contributes their own. I believe I demonstrated those qualities. 

Mr. Johnson: Very impressive John. Or should I say, my new marketing director?

John: Oh shit!

Mr. Johnson: Yeah. Fuck Henry!

John: Yeah. Fuck him. Can't make a decision and shit. What a piece of shit.

Mr. Johnson yells out the door: Henry, you're fired! Get the fuck out!