A Million Dollar Weekend Question

This happened many years ago. It is 7 pm on a Friday evening and I’ve packed up for the week when the phone rings. On the other end is a ‘client representative’ – a colleague I don’t know very well.  Client reps were basically sales guys responsible to manage overall relationships with a set of clients, which alone made them a formidable force in the company.  They’re also the kind who generally did not bother beyond business hours - unless it was something the clients needed urgently! 

Most global MNCs follow objective standards of professionalism.  Yet, there are unstated rules. Like a tacit expectation to be reachable 24X7. Accepting calls and responding to mails at odd hours is often mistaken for the employee’s sincerity.  Even if it means disregarding family time, weekends or sleep time. Generally, an acute customer focus justifies it all. 

Instinctively, I take the call.  I’m told there has been a major fire somewhere and we need to help one of the impacted companies.  The details are sketchy and we need to huddle up again in 30 minutes to figure out the details.  A series of frantic calls follow - and 2.5 hours later, I’m still at my desk with all phones buzzing.  It emerges that an office of a leading global liner shipping company with 150 seats has been burnt to ashes. Apparently, the Mumbai center managed the clearing processes for container movements across the world.  A blackout would mean containers struck across their global network of over 100 partner liner services.  They need to resume operations at the earliest at any cost.  As the delivery leader for 'business resiliency’ offerings, I’m the point’s man that evening. 

Nobody is yet clear what is needed.  The company has no contract with us in India. So technically we are not liable for any service levels whatsoever.   Their Indian Managing Director has been on the call all evening – clearly distraught by the unexpected accident. He’s unable to get in touch with their German CEO as the head office in Hamburg is now closed for the weekend. Apparently, he does not have delegations to take some important decisions.  I wonder, had I not taken my colleague’s call - we’d have been closed too!   

As things unfold, we decide to do whatever we can to help. A meeting is fixed for the next day.  I’m back in office with my team early Saturday morning and we discuss the situation with the client.  I also learn that the MD is undecided on the contingency plan to fly down agents to Chennai. There are undercurrents of mass resignations if agents are moved en-masse. I’ve known before - that business continuity plans often remain on paper. We agree to provide ready-to-use seats for 120 agents from one of the recovery centers at Mumbai. The network and systems will need to be configured to access their global data centre but the client is delighted at the possibility.   

My team sets out to work through Saturday and get some of the systems ready for testing by evening. It is late night by when we are ready, but there are configuration changes required at the German end. They work through the night, coordinating with the network engineers there and it is Sunday afternoon by when the testing is successful.  Now, the settings have to be replicated to 120 systems and that will take a few more hours. But we are reassured that operations can resume from Monday morning provided the legal and contracting formalities are taken care of.  The MD is grateful but still worried.  He has not been able to speak to his German boss, who’s been out golfing all weekend. 

Come Monday morning and >100 agents are at our premises.  Our guidelines do not permit us to allow them in till a contract is in place. The offices in Europe should open in a few hours now.  Finally, it is past noon India time on Monday, when contact is finally made with the CEO in Germany.  The contract terms are agreed to and the operations resume.  Over the next few months this 'opportunistic' deal went on to make > USD 1 mil for our company.

That call I took had my team working 48 hrs non-stop through the weekend. The German CEO of the shipping company clearly had a great round of golf.  

I still can’t figure out who of us was more right?