Andrew O’Brien had never been late to a board meeting in his life. But today, at 9:02 A.M., he sat at his desk and stared out the picture window toward the Bay Bridge.

Any confidence he felt last night on his way home from the BART station had disappeared. The men in his strange dream—Charlie, the Bald Man, the Tall Man, the Stylish Man—could not have seemed less relevant now. Andrew was dreading the next few hours of his life.

The phone on his desk rang, and Andrew hit the speaker button.

“Yes, Joan.”

She told him what he already knew: “We’re waiting for you.”

“I’m on my way.”

Andrew took a deep breath and headed for the door.

Because it was the annual board meeting, the room was crowded. The Chairman, a large man with tan skin, sat at the head of the table. Twelve others filled in the rest of the long table. Most were board members, with the exception of Stephen, the CFO; Janice, the head of sales; and Andrew’s executive assistant, Joan.

Taking the lone vacant chair at the opposite end of the table from the Chairman, he nodded his hellos to the board members. Then he noticed a face he had never seen, a woman with sharp features and streaks of grey hair. Before he could acknowledge her, the Chairman announced: “Andrew, this is Kathryn Petersen from B&L Securities. I think you’ve spoken a few times during the conference calls last quarter. She’s taking Carl’s spot on the board.”

Andrew remembered talking to Kathryn, but he had forgotten that she would be at the meeting today.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kathryn.” Andrew crossed part of the room to shake hands with Kathryn, who didn’t say anything but smiled politely.

As Andrew returned to his chair, the Chairman began. “Alright. I think we’re all familiar with the financial results for the quarter. I’d say they are—”

Andrew interrupted. “Unspectacular, at best.”

The people in the room laughed louder than they needed to, the Chairman loudest of all.

“Right. Anyway, you all received a copy of the quarterly and annual financials in your packets, so you’re aware of the details. Rather than make Andrew here drag us through the blood and guts, I thought we could focus on some of the initiatives that are under way for the first part of this year.”

Many of the board members nodded their approval at the Chairman’s suggestion. Andrew wondered if he was going to get off so easily, hoping desperately that he would. Kathryn wrote something on a pad of paper, and he wondered what it was.

The Chairman continued. “Alright, Andrew. I guess we’re going to find out about the executive compensation plan for next year and the customer research that was done last quarter.”

Andrew nodded to his CFO, Stephen, who would be reviewing the compensation plan. After an hour of light debate about the merits of stock options versus cash bonuses, he sat down. Kathryn made no comments during the discussion but again wrote a short note on her pad.

Andrew then presented a summary of the customer research, explaining that more work would be needed to confirm that print advertising in business magazines was the answer to their marketing woes. There were polite questions from some members of the board, but not from Kathryn, who again made a few notes on her pad but otherwise seemed disinterested in the conversation.

Lunch was brought in at noon, during which Janice explained the plans for reorganizing the telesales organization. The board members applauded gently at the end of her talk.

During the next two hours the board approved a stock repricing initiative and reviewed a shareholder lawsuit. Andrew handled himself masterfully during these conversations, projecting a sense of confidence and humor. He even surprised himself when he found that he was enjoying the meeting.

By two o’clock, the meeting was losing steam and drawing to a close. The Chairman looked at his watch. “Well, I think we’ve covered everything on our agenda. If there is nothing else, let’s call it a day.” He turned to Andrew’s assistant. “When is our next meeting, Joan?”

Andrew felt a bizarre sense of relief. Bizarre because it was mixed with a hint of guilt. Nonetheless, he couldn’t wait to get out of the room, out of the office, and home. As Joan answered the Chairman’s question, board members began stacking their papers and portfolios.

Then Kathryn brought a gradual halt to everyone’s exit when she raised her hand, trying to get the Chairman’s attention. He smiled at her, amused at her overly polite way of getting the floor. “Yes, Kathryn?”

The noise in the room died down a little.

Kathryn frowned and looked down at the pad of paper in front of her. “I have a few questions before we go.”

The other board members stopped packing their things.

“Go ahead, Kathryn. I wasn’t sure we were going to hear anything from you.”

“Well,” she said calmly and seriously, “I don’t like to do too much talking at my first board meeting. I usually need a few meetings before I see any patterns that I feel comfortable addressing.” The Chairman nodded as Kathryn added, “But not this time.”

Now the room was completely silent.

Kathryn looked up. “I have a question.”

The Chairman looked at Andrew, who did not move.

Kathryn turned toward Andrew. “What do you expect the first couple quarters of the year to look like, Andrew?” Before he could answer, she clarified her question. “I mean, I know what your projections are, but why do you think the problems you had last year are going to get any better?”

Andrew paused, but for only a moment. “Well, first of all, I expect to hire a head of marketing soon, and having that job filled will be a big boost.”

Kathryn continued to wait, so Andrew went on. “And the market should get better this year, and that’s going to help us. And finally, we’re looking at an acquisition candidate to expand our line of services. Those things will definitely help.”

Setting her pen down, Kathryn looked toward the Chairman, who didn’t react to Andrew’s response. “Okay. I sit on a lot of boards, and you pay me real money to be here, so I’m not going to mince my words.” The room froze. “You’re in real trouble here.”

The Chairman spoke. “Certainly the market is not where it should be, and we’d like to see stronger revenue, but I don’t think Andrew’s numbers are—”

Kathryn interrupted the Chairman politely but sternly. “I’m not talking about the numbers. I just don’t see a sense of urgency.”

The Chairman almost frowned. Andrew tried not to react.

“Waiting for the market to turn around is pretty passive. And thinking that hiring a new marketing head is all you need is a poor turnaround plan. He’s not going to have an impact for at least a few quarters.” She looked through her notes. “Oh, and the acquisition thing. You’re having a hard time managing this company. I don’t think that buying another company is going to do anything but distract you further.”

Kathryn’s bluntness silenced the room. Stephen made the first move. “I don’t want to sound defensive here, but are you completely familiar with our industry? We’re doing much better than most of our competitors.”

Kathryn responded. “Yes, I know. I did a little research yesterday, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you’re the number-three player in an industry of six real competitors. Three of them did much worse than you did, but the other two actually did pretty well. I’d say that puts you in trouble.”

She thumbed through her papers but couldn’t seem to find what she was looking for. “And if I remember correctly, your revenue actually declined since a year ago. The market grew by 5 percent, which is not much, I admit, but certainly you should be getting your fair share of that growth.”

The Chairman tried to avoid any bloodshed. “You’re probably right, Kathryn. We need to have a greater sense of urgency around some of these issues, but I think most of our problems lie in marketing, and Terry really did set us back a few quarters.”

“What was the problem with Terry anyway?” Kathryn asked.

The directness of the question caused Andrew to shift in his chair. “Well, he wasn’t able to move quickly enough in terms of revamping our advertising. It wasn’t just his creative skills. He wasn’t a very good manager either.”

“Did you hire him?”

Andrew nodded.

“Then his failure is your responsibility.”

Now the other board members squirmed a little.

“Did you look into his management skills when you hired him?”

Andrew stammered. “Well, sure, I mean, as much as you do with anyone. I mean, you figure he can manage if he’s an executive. He came highly recommended.”

Kathryn persisted. “What are you looking for in his replacement? How are you going to make sure you don’t make the same mistake?”

Andrew couldn’t really answer the question. Suddenly, a banging sound broke the tension. It seemed that someone outside the boardroom was pounding a nail into a wall. Joan rose from her seat and went outside to see what was happening.

The Chairman jumped in. “Okay, Kathryn. I think you’ve made a few good points. But this is a little too—” he searched for a word.

Stephen finished the sentence. “Unfair. I mean, it’s easy for you to take shots at us like that when things aren’t going too well, but it’s not as simple as you make it sound. How are we supposed to know if a guy is going to tank like Terry did?”

The room went silent again. Until Janice joined in. “I’d have to agree. We did all we could, given the marketing situation. And we’re not the only ones with this problem. Two of our competitors lost key executives last quarter. They’re going to have the same problems that we did.”

Other board members seemed to agree passively.

The pounding stopped, and Joan came back into the room.

Kathryn spoke again, but with a hint of sarcasm. “Well, maybe you’re doing better than I thought.” She seemed willing to let the conversation go with that remark.

Silence.

The Chairman spoke. “Okay. Good discussion. Let’s call it—”

Andrew interrupted. “No. We’re not doing better than you thought.” He looked at Kathryn. “We’ve made too many mistakes. Terry was given no management support. We all saw him struggling and we just let it go on. I let it go on.” The room froze. Slowly, Andrew pushed his chair away from the table and stood. All eyes were fixed upon him.

During the next ten minutes, Andrew delivered the speech of his life. He talked about results. He talked about accountability. He talked about clarity and conflict. He congratulated Kathryn on being willing to put the tough issues on the table.

“Maybe now we’ll get clear on our real issues,” he even said.

The Board was dumbfounded.

Before he finished, Andrew said, “And if we continue the way we’re going now, if our results continue to slide, then I probably shouldn’t be in this job. It’s time that all of us became more accountable for the way things are around here. And it’s going to start with me.” He hoped he would not come to regret that remark.

Just as he finished, the pounding resumed out in the hallway.

The Chairman closed the meeting. “Alright. Thank you all for your energy and input. We’ll see you in about twelve weeks.” The board members gathered their things and headed for the door, with Andrew a few steps behind.

As the group moved across the hallway to the elevators, Andrew again became aware of the pounding sound. He looked over and saw a maintenance guy hanging a series of pictures along the hallway wall.

He asked Joan, “What’s this all about?”

“We found some old pictures of past CEOs and thought they’d look nice here by the board room.” Andrew nodded his approval and decided to go take a look at the photos. As the elevator doors opened, the Chairman asked, “Are you coming, Andrew?”

Distracted, he shook his head. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

Everyone but Andrew got into the elevator, and the doors closed.

Approaching the first photo, he saw that it was an old picture of himself without as much gray hair as he had now. Beneath the photo was Andrew’s name and an empty space for an ending date.

The next three photos were Andrew’s most recent predecessors, who had run the company for almost twenty-five years collectively. The next photo was a handsome man who looked familiar to Andrew but whom he couldn’t place. The name below was not familiar at all, nor were the dates.

Andrew noted that the pounding stopped and the maintenance man, his back turned, was putting his hammer in his belt. His job seemed complete.

Turning back toward the black and white photos, Andrew recognized the face in the next one almost immediately. The Bald Man.

Andrew went back to the previous photo and now realized that it was the Stylish Man. He suspected that the third photo would be—yes, it was—the Tall Man.

Finally, the next photo was a kind-looking man with white hair and a wrinkled smile who could be no one but Charlie. “Charles Pierce,” actually.

Suddenly it dawned on Andrew that the maintenance man was wearing the same color shirt that Charlie wore the night before in his dream. Turning toward the end of the hallway, Andrew saw the old man turn the corner.

He yelled, “Sir?! Charlie?!”

The old man did not answer or reappear. Andrew sprinted to the end of the hall, turned the corner, and saw no one.