The Director of Communications for Zenith Fine Furnishings, Janet Kassevelli, oversees a special project and must contend with freelancers that essentially speak different languages—a visual artist and database programmer. The problem is that neither party can understand what the other wants or intends and blame the other for work on the project not being completed. The freelancers look to the director to help them articulate their points in a different way. 

Profile

• Janet Kassevelli, Director of Communications, Zenith Fine Furnishings
• Jake Simms, Freelance Fashion Photographer
• SangitaChaturvedi, Senior Programmer, New Delhi Code Source

Backstory

Zenith Fine Furnishings is entering a period of business growth. Research has determined that furniture sales increase dramatically when stores create an online experience that mirrors their product line. Janet Kassevelli turned to two experts to conceive and implement the project with her: Jake Simms and SangitaChaturvedi.

Jake Simms, a reputable local fashion photographer (who used to do product shots for Zenith in his early career) has been hired as a consultant. Since Simms has experience in furniture, works as his own stylist, and is an expert in translating mood and vibe visually, he is directing the creative vision for the online website.

SangitaChaturvedi has handled the customization of Zenith’s manufacturing and operations networks (JIT inventory, etc.) for many years. Chaturvedi and her team also worked with Kassevelli to upgrade the company’s basic website to include a simple shopping cart system and a customer tracking system.

Chaturvedi initially requested the manager hire a web designer to interface between the fashion photographer and the programming team, but there was not any money in the budget for it. Simms is angling to get other projects from manager.

Scene setup

The project is behind schedule and a third milestone has not been met. The programmer and creative director blame the other and cannot agree on how to get the work done. The current disagreement is over the site map. Simms wants everything clickable and accessible from everywhere else; Chaturvedi insists this makes for an impossible user path. Neither is willing to concede. The manager sets up a video conference with Chaturvedi in India, while Simms joins her in her office in the United States.

Scene Location

Videoconference room at Zenith Fine Furnishing Headquarters.

The Meeting—Summary

Simms and Chaturvedi argue with one another in front of Kassevelli over how to complete the project. Simms talks about his vision and is upset that Chaturvedi is not following the abstract guidance he has been sending her in emails. Chaturvediis upset because she wants concrete guidelines on the look of the website so that her team can do the programming.

After they argue back and forth for a while, Simms and Chaturvedi are interrupted byKassevelliwho demands to know how they can move forward with the project that is three months behind schedule. She gets Simms to concede that he will send Chaturvedi example photographs of how the site should look; Chaturvedi will be responsible for the buttons and other navigation features of the website. However, the trio reaches another disagreement over the completion date for the mockup. Simms and Kassevelli want to the mockup sooner and do not care that Chaturvedi has a family wedding to attend.

Afterthoughts—Summary

Kassevelli believes the meeting went really well, but recognizes that outsourcing projects presents new challenges. She sees her role during the meeting as a facilitator and seems optimistic about the project moving forward. She also recognizes that she needs to be more proactive, to be more sensitive to cultural differences, and to hold more video conference calls. This approach will be the only way for the project to get completed.

Kassevelli suggests in the follow-up interview that she believes the meeting “went really really well.” What do you think? How effective or ineffective was the meeting between Kassevelli, Simms, and Chaturvedi?