Power Teams Beyond Borders. Peter Ivanov

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3 The Strengths Matrix

      In the office, time seems to stand still as Adam waits for his 10.30 a.m. call with Kaito. Eventually, it's time to connect. He dials into the Zoom meeting and waits for Kaito to join him. ‘Adam, hi! It's so good to see you. How are you?’ Adam breaks into a broad grin. ‘I'm great thanks. It's great to see you too. Look, Kaito, things have changed for me recently and I've decided I want to make a go of it in the renewable energy space.’ He pauses, waiting for a reaction. Kaito smiles, then laughs. ‘That's fantastic! What are you thinking about?’ ‘Well, for a start I'd really love you to be involved…’

      The half hour whizzes past as Adam and Kaito talk back and forth about all the options in the sector. A plan is beginning to fall into place, although Adam is in favour of wind energy following his talk with Georgia and given what he's seen happening off the Norfolk coast, while Kaito prefers the idea of solar. Both of them are very passionate about their preferred options, and neither is prepared to back down.

      After half an hour of going round in what feels like circles, with Adam and Kaito reiterating their respective preferences for wind or solar, Adam is getting tired and frustrated. He knows he needs to put a stop to the conversation.

He interjects, ‘Kaito, look, I hear what you're saying but I really think that wind is the direction we should go in. I'll do some research on the solar projects you're talking about, but I want to start with wind energy and build from there.’

      Kaito's expression changes ever so slightly. Adam thinks he looks slightly crestfallen. What Adam can't see is that Kaito, who has been making notes on a pad next to his laptop, is scribbling hard on the pad, scoring deep, dark lines into the crisp white paper.

      ‘Right, well, I guess I'll wait to hear from you then,’ Kaito says abruptly.

      Adam seems unaware of the note of frustration running through Kaito's voice. ‘Great,’ he says, ‘I'll be in touch later this week.’

      They say their goodbyes and log off. Adam sits back and exhales. He hadn't been aware that he was holding his breath. I'm doing the right thing. I know more about the wind sector than solar. Kaito will come around. He continues with his day but there's a niggling sense of unease settling into his thoughts.

       **************

      When Adam returns home that evening, he's still mulling over his call with Kaito. He's been thinking about it on and off all day. As he enters the house, he can hear Rose in the kitchen. He slips off his shoes, loosens his tie and walks down the hall. As he enters the kitchen, he's visibly preoccupied.

      Rose is dipping a herbal tea bag in a mug of hot water. As she swirls it around trails of deep purple stain the water. Adam looks at what she's making and pulls a face. ‘You don't fancy one of these then?’ Rose asks with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. ‘I honestly don't know how you can drink that stuff,’ Adam replies. He gets himself a glass of water and sits down at the table, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he does so and allowing it to drop onto the table in front of him.

‘How was your day?’ Rose asks, ‘Did you speak to your Japanese colleague?’ Adam looks up at her and pauses. ‘I did,’ he says. Rose eyes him somewhat suspiciously. ‘Do I take it from your tone that the meeting didn't go well?’

      ‘Well, it wasn't exactly what I'd expected,’ Adam admits. ‘I thought he'd be really excited to get onboard but he kept talking about solar projects and I really want to focus on wind energy, at least initially. It felt like we were going round in circles so I just put my foot down and told him wind was the way to go.’

      He pauses. Rose picks up her tea having removed the tea bag and sits next to Adam at the table. ‘Do you think it was wise to just dismiss his views? I thought you said he was an expert,’ she asks.

      ‘He is, but I mean, it's my company and I have an idea of where I want it to go,’ Adam says, almost with a touch of petulance in his tone.

      ‘I understand that you're excited about this and, believe me, I am too, and so is Georgia. But Adam, you've worked in oil for the last 20 years. I know that you've had some involvement with wind energy because of what happens locally, but I thought the whole point of this meeting was to get the input of an expert in this space, the renewable energy space?’

      Rose waits for a response. Adam's gaze shifts and he looks at his phone. The message СКАЧАТЬ