In fact, one of them, Tad Neilsson, has taken you under his wing. He's been eager to show you around and tell you the ins and outs of how to really get things done. His advice has been genuinely helpful, and his attitude couldn't be better--until you corrected his work.
Tad had sketched a layout to the wrong scale, so you called him in for what you thought would be a straightforward conversation. But instead of agreeing to make the changes, he stiffened a bit, then said, "I've been working on this account for three years, and I know how these people work. They're going to futz around with this for a few days, and then tell you they want it the way I've done it. Believe me, it'll save a lot of time and money if we just go with it as is."
You say you value Tad's experience, but the manager you talked to on the customer's side gave explicit instructions about how she wanted this layout done--and that's the way you need Tad to do it before the deadline tomorrow afternoon.
He leaves your office in a huff. And when tomorrow afternoon rolls around, he still hasn't finished the revision--even though it's a three-hour job at most.
What can you do to get Tad's co-operation now, and to keep it in the future? And what might you have done differently to prevent this conflict?
