Wish I'd Never Asked!

Have you ever asked a question in a group and realized very quickly that you wished you hadn't? I was reminded how that feels for the zillionth time in my life again last night. My company hosted a regional meeting at a restaurant near by and even though it was really geared to the "creatives" and what I call the "grunt workers" in the organization, I was invited to speak about my role in the company and to try and foster some new connections, so we could get some "team" synergy going (goodness, I think I just used every consulting catch phrase I know).

In any event, 3/4 of the way through the meetings, the folding wall between the two rooms was opened up to now include the creatives in our discussions. When asked by the meeting's leader if anyone had a question, the room fell silent. Uncomfortably silent. I'd had a question brewing for the creatives for a while, so I pondered it for a bit more, phrased it as best as possible in my head and raised my hand. And shortly thereafter, the trouble started.

I was asking about using the work of the creatives, at the request of my clients, while doing my work. Really, it means using the craft they produce at my client's locations while they are working for another set of our clients (we have several "layers" of clients in my organization), to help us gain more business from my group. You would have thought I asked them for nuclear weapons or to bring back bubonic plague.

And of course the most vocal "opponent" was sitting right in front of me. The "moderator" (and I use that term loosely, because he himself is on the creative team and seemed to enjoy the debate that ensued), let them go and rant and rave and argue. Our new 10 week old CFO, who had flown in to see what these meetings are all about and congratulate the top producing region on a job well done in 2007, sat silent.

Remember the zombie movies of old, where the zombies get the victim that was walking innocently through the cemetery at midnight on the ground, simply because the person tripped on a tree root? And then they swarm her and start to come after her, closing in closer and closer, until the screen goes to black? That's how it felt. I was pretty sure at one point I was going down. All the while trying to be empathetic to their cause, while getting my question answered and not distancing myself too far from my stance. All in all, I was told I handled it very well.

The CFO finally stepped in and called off the zombies. They announced the bar was open and dinner would be served shortly and the zombies headed off in other directions. I was left to catch my breath and chat with the grunt workers about what had just happened. One of the zombies/creatives, the one that was most vocally against me, came up and apologized and we ended up buddies by the end of the evening. He even offered up a piece of his work, that we discovered is being highly sought after by one of my clients for their use. Crazy.

But I can tell you, I'll think twice next time, before I head across a cemetery at midnight for sure!

CD