A Turning Point for David

2018 ABC Student Writing Contest Prompt

Case submitted by Andy Spackman, Brigham Young University

You close your office door and take a few minutes to breathe. Yourmeeting with David could have been a disaster in a dozen differentways. Instead, it actually went well. By emphasizing your sharedpassion for innovation you managed to establish a safe foundationfor an open discussion. You expressed your concerns about David’slack of reliability and together you outlined a plan forimprovement. Although he wasn’t happy, David didn’t dissolve intoone of his famous fits, and he committed to making the changes youagreed on.

However, you know your work is only half done. It was important totalk to David face-to-face, but now you have to document yourconversation. Putting it in writing will solidify his commitmentand allow for real consequences. Before outlining your message, youreview your notes about David’s performance and make some new onesregarding today’s discussion.

David Federro
Two years ago you arrived at PrinTech as the new Vendor IntegrationManager, and it wasn’t long before you realized one of yourprogrammers, David Federro, was going to be a problem. David isbrilliant. In fact, your own reputation as a rising star inPrinTech’s management is partly due to the APIs David has createdto enable client web services.
Unfortunately, David is far less reliable than brilliant. He missesdeadlines, ignores phone calls, and no one knows when he will be inhis office. You’ve found it hard to address these issues becauseDavid’s pattern of behavior was well-established before you joinedthe company, and previous managers gave him free rein as long as hekept producing high-quality work.
Several team members have told you they find David difficult towork with, describing him as surly and nonresponsive, andcomplaining that his portions of projects are consistently behindschedule. You suspect another programmer’s recent departure waspartly due to the way David left her hanging on a project andpublicly demeaned her when she confronted him. On the other hand,the quality of David’s work is universally recognized. Some keyclients have asked that their projects be given to him, even thoughyou occasionally have to make excuses for his failing to meetdeadlines.
David’s performance over the past few months has been particularlyproblematic. He missed a week of work and was out of contact. Helater claimed to be working from home but had not obtained priorpermission. On another occasion, you had to reassign an importantclient’s project to a different programmer when it became clearDavid would not complete the job. You’ve come to the conclusionthat David is on a trajectory where the problems he creates willsoon outweigh the value he brings.
Your boss, Amanda Paik, agrees but has made it clear she hopes youcan keep such a talented employee.
The Plan for Improvement
When you spoke David explained that he enjoys his job overall, andtakes pride in his reputation for making innovative contributions.However, when he feels uninspired by a project he has a hard timefocusing on his work. He revealed that during his personal time heis working on an open source project to help refugee relocationagencies manage their services, and he is clearly passionate aboutthis volunteer work. He said he dislikes collaborating becauseother team members “hold him back” with their “lack of imagination”and “skill deficiencies.” He also explained that the reason why herecently missed a week of work is that a childhood friend passedaway.
You and David agreed that his ability to contribute to thecompany’s success hinges on whether teammates and clients can relyon him. Together you made the following commitments: ? David willmeet deadlines and understands that failure to do so will leave himineligible to receive the usual year-end bonus and may result intermination. ? David will behave collegially with teammates and bemore responsive to phone calls and emails. ? David will askpermission before working from home and will promptly inform you ofillness or emergency. ? You will schedule regular check-ins withDavid to monitor progress toward project deadlines. ? You willinclude David in project origination meetings, allowing him toinfluence the scope of projects and suggest alternative, moreinnovative solutions.
Remember that the wording of your notes does not necessarily mirrorthe wording of your conversation with David.

Assignment

Write an email to David summarizing key points of yourconversation, including your concerns and the areas of improvementyou and David agreed to. Your email should be clear, concise,well-organized, and well-designed. Your purpose is to ensure Davidunderstands expectations and to establish his accountability forimprovement. You want this to be a meaningful turning point forDavid, so your email must also preserve a positiverelationship.

Address the email to David Federro and CC the Vice-President ofClient Services, Amanda Paik, and the Director of Human Resources,Neil Woerkom.

Important Note

At the end of your response, please include the followinginformation:

I give permission for Association for Business Communication and C.R. Anderson Foundation to use my name and document for educationalor publicity purposes.



Student Name Date