They called him Uncle because he was someone they could go to. He had been heading the company for over seven years and the numbers were impressive. They were now used to having sector peers acknowledge them before they had provided such acknowledgement themselves.
This was not going to be a usual meeting as the market had slowed and the mood was stained by an uncomfortable amount of question marks. A feeling of uncertainty floated about but Uncle Dave had entered the room and they could feel his energy.
“It’s nice to see everyone up so early,” Uncle Dave always kicked things off with a joke (it put the board at ease). Uncle Dave addressed key agenda issues: a quick glance at the day’s schedule, a perceptive summary of global developments, information on where they stood. Uncle Dave was an engineer.
His daughter was soon going to be fourteen.
And so the meeting proceeded according to schedule and presenters succeeded each other with slides projecting growth into the mid-to-long-term range. Bolder estimates would at times conflict but all confirmed demand.
“Early valuation will require aggressive positioning.”
“Absolutely - do we stand ready?”
“Equity.”
Having obtained consensus, Uncle Dave gave the floor to the lunch-slot Guest Speaker, a public office man.
“I’m afraid we may not be able to finance that,” the discourse was predictably bearish.
“Chairman…,” they of course never referred to him as Uncle, “it has been suggested….” Dave made them feel included.
