*The question is at the bottom*

Buy gift wraplots. New Year's Day reservationsCaf Paris? (Too much $$?) Tim O'Connell paused, pen hovering above his Driscoll Software notepad, to watch the snow swirling outside his window. Then, decisively, the ballpoint descended: More stamps. The phone rang, and he reached for it, his mind still on his to-do list. What am I forgetting? "This is Tim O'Connell," he said. The conversation that followed drove all holiday thoughts from his mind. Twenty minutes later he put the handset back in its cradle.

The Client That Stole Christmas

Chewing a large bite of turkey sandwich, Kristen Hammersmith pressed her palms together behind her back, relishing the series of cracks and pops between her shoulders. It had been a long year, and she'd spent too much of it hunched over this desk. She believed that Driscoll did important workbuilding reliable, if expensive, software for businesses whose systems couldn't afford to failbut it could be stressful. Sometimes she had nightmares about a bug in the Driscoll system that operated airplane landing gear. The past few months had seen more turmoil than usual. Kristen's boss, Alessandra Sandoval, had decamped to set up her own business as a technical consultant. The move had come as a relief, because Alessandra and Tim, the unit head, didn't exactly mesh. Tim was a classic software geekmethodical, khaki-clad, and, unless you were cracking jokes about binary code, fairly reserved. He had been visibly uncomfortable with Alessandra's almost hackeresque persona: her sarcastic sense of humor, visible tattoos, and odd hours. Her Vespa was more likely to be in the company lot at 9:00 PM than at 9:00 AM. She could find bugs faster than anyone else in the company, but a reorg had left her reporting to Tim, and six months later she had announced she was leaving. Tim had responded by promoting his next-best programmerKristento fill the position. And although Kristen was excited by the opportunity to be a manager, things had not gone as smoothly as she'd hoped. Alessandra's chartreuse cowboy boots had turned out to be very tough to fill. Kristen was looking forward to a week off between Christmas and New Year'swith her mother doing all the cookingas a much-needed chance to unwind. Most of her team was taking time off, too. So not a creature will be BlackBerrying, she thought with quiet glee. She took another bite of sandwich just as Tim poked his head around her cubicle wall. "Kristen, I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch," he said, "but I need a quick word with you." "Mmkay." She grabbed her notebook, hastily swallowed, and followed him back to his office.

Tim closed the door. "Remember Hybara Casinos?" he asked. "Of course," she replied. "One of our biggest customers, until they decided last year that our software was too expensive." "Well, they'd like to come back. Effective immediately." This should have been good news, but Tim didn't sound pleased. "What's the catch?" Kristen said. Tim leaned back against his desk and folded his arms across his chest. "Their new cheapo setup has been crashing, and the lost revenue is more than what they would have paid Driscoll for a system that doesn't fail. When it goes down, the slot machines don't work, the staff can't make or access any hotel reservationseverything basically comes to a standstill. Even the bartenders rely on the system to keep track of the high rollers' favorite cocktails. Hybara is understandably upset, and wants the problem fixed in time to make a clean start in the new year." He paused, and Kristen finished the thought for him: "Which is only two weeks away." "You've seen our numbers this year," he said baldly. "People have a hard time investing in expensive systems in this economic climate. Driscoll needs this revenue." Tim usually displayed all the emotion of a mouse pad; Kristen was startled by his intensity now. "And I'm assuming they want the bells and whistles they're accustomed to?" she said. "Meaning someone has to show up in person at their Barcelona headquarters?" She'd meant it as a question, but Tim merely put on a grateful smile and moved to open his office door. "Thanks, Kristen. I knew you'd see the urgency." "Wait a minute, Tim," Kristen said. "You told them yes? This type of project would normally take us six weeks! You told them we could do it in two?" "Kristen," he replied gravely, "Hybara is crucial to us. I'm counting on you and your team to deliver. I'm sorry about the timing, but it is what it is. I know it's asking a lot, but without this revenue we may be looking at staff reductions next year." Kristen tried to keep her voice even. "Given the timing, someone will have to be in Spain over the holidaysin all likelihood, on Christmas Day. Plus, most of my teamincluding mehas vacation plans. What do I tell them?" "This is going to be one of your first big challenges as the new team manager. Be clear, and be firm. Tell them that company policy is alwaysthat vacations are subject to business needs. I have faith in you, Kristenthat's why I promoted you. Please get back to me by the end of the day." He opened the door, and Kristen knew the discussion was over. She returned to her cube and her now-soggy sandwich, her appetite gone.

Pro and Con Tim sat down slowly at his desk. Although he'd told Kristen he had faith in her, he was deeply concerned about handing a project of this magnitude over to a rookieespecially a rookie who hadn't yet shown any ability to effectively lead her team. He hated to admit it, but this was just the sort of situation he'd worried about when Alessandra decided to leave. Her programming style was infuriatingno safeguards, no process, just her "intuition"and her ego was grating, but the team had responded to Alessandra's rebel-with-a- laptop style. As far as he could tell, they hadn't yet responded to Kristen's. He gazed thoughtfully at the phone, seriously tempted to call Alessandra. He had no doubt that her consulting fees were astronomical, and bringing her in would mean swallowing his pride not to mention losing face in front of his superiors at Driscoll. Still, Alessandra knew Hybara's team and systems better than anyone still with the company. And she was fluent in Spanish. Having someone parachute in who literally spoke the client's language would probably go a long way. But his turning to Alessandra might threaten Kristen's chances of ever gaining her team's respect. She'd been in the role only about two months, and even if her management skills had so far failed to materialize, he still considered her a high potential. In August, for instance, when the software that ran the Buenos Aires stock exchange had crashed, Kristen had gotten it back up and running, though she'd had to cut short her vacation to do it. She was still very youngshe'd joined Driscoll right out of college, four years beforeand had consistently excelled. Heaving a sigh, he decided it was something to think about over lunch. With the kind of day he'd been having so far, it would have to be something hot and greasy. The Bearer of Bad News Kristen sat cross-legged in her desk chair, resisting the urge to spring into frantic action. The snow seemed to fall upward toward the white sky as it blew in eddies against the window. She allowed herself a few moments to gaze at it and wallow. This wasn't the first time something like this had happenedher stint in Buenos Aires leaped to mind. But then she'd been content to help. Alessandra had a gift for getting people on board. She'd made Kristen feel that she was pitching in on a project that mattered not just to Driscoll's balance sheet but to the wider world. Somehow, rescuing a stock exchange seemed more urgent than rescuing a chain of casinos that couldn't get their slots workingespecially if Christmas had to be canceled to do it. She pulled up Hybara's file. Getting a six-week project done in two weekswithout sacrificing quality? Insane. Getting a six-week project done in two weeks? Insane.

A few minutes later, Kristen closed her laptop and stood up. Tim had told her to strong-arm her team members about their vacations, but she felt she should keep her word. She'd given them permission to take the time off. She had become friends with Grahame and Veronica in the days when the three of them were together in the programming trenches, and Grahame had been talking about his trip to New Zealand for months. Veronica's in-laws were super-demanding. Kristen couldn't just parrot some company line about the vacation policy. She peeked over the gray cubicle divider. Her team members were all sitting at their desks. "Guys?" she said. All six of them looked up. "Let's go into 102 and chat." They filed into the conference room, a couple of them comparing their futile attempts to get this year's hot holiday toy: a video game that let you play Led Zeppelin songs as different members of the band. "My eight-year-old just asked me what a 'stairway to heaven' is," Veronica was saying, "and wants to know if Santa will bring her one for Christmas." "And you said?" Grahame replied with a smile. "I said that song is about the escalators at the Hopedale Mall, because there's a Cinnabon right at the top of them, which is her idea of heaven." The team laughed, but Kristen cleared her throat. "So, we're in a bit of a pickle," she began. She took a deep breath. "Hybara Casinos wants to return to the fold, so to speak, and Driscoll has agreed to get them set up with a new system by the end of the year." She tried to drive the point home with eye contact, but glanced away quickly as the incredulous faces turned to her. "I know that's only two weeks away," she continued. "But I think we can do it if we all pull together. I've already cut two weeks out of the project plan by eliminating the time we usually bake in for scoping. We know Hybara's needs pretty well, so this should be just an upgrade. Fingers crossed. I'm hoping you guys can suggest more ways to tighten up the timeline. I'll need those suggestions by the close of business today." Six grave faces stared back at her. No one spoke. "Now, I know you guys have holiday plans already in the works, including a couple of you who have made vacation requests." Grahame interrupted. "Requests that you approved." "Yes...that's right," Kristen said, looking down at the table. "I'm hoping that when you get back to me with your suggestions, you can let me know what your constraints are. We'll try to work around them, butI'm really sorryI can't make any promises. I know we're asking a lot, but this is very important to the company. Thanks, guys."

As they left the room, Kristen saw Grahame and Veronica exchange a significant look. What's that supposed to mean? she thought. Tim said be clear and firm, and I was clear and firm! On the way back to her desk she found herself, not for the first time, wishing she could just work on software.

Who's getting a call from you? It was 7:00 PM, and Tim's windows looked out into darkness. The snow had stopped a couple of hours earlier. Half of a cold meatball sub sat on his desk, and the other half was playing havoc with his insides. He still hadn't heard from Kristenbut he had talked briefly with Alessandra. It had been awkward, but she'd given him a quote. Her services would cost $400 an hourfar more than he'd imagined. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd jacked her price up just for him. But she was willing to fly to Barcelona, and she sounded confident that she could ram the project through. He'd said he would think it over and call her back. "Well, think fast," she'd replied, and he could almost hear her triumphant smile through the phone. "My schedule fills up quickly." Alessandra's services would cost $400 an hourfar more than Tim had imagined. Just then his computer pinged, and he turned to see a message from Kristen titled "Hybara situation": Tim, sorry not to get back to you sooner. I've spoken with my team about Hybarawas definitely firm, and clear!but we seem to be at an impasse. Grahame Binkle had some great suggestions about how to trim the project timeline down further, but he has nonrefundable tickets to New Zealand and says he can't change them. Veronica Matthews also pointed out some good ways to tighten the schedule, but her entire extended family is descending on Christmas Eve, and she won't be able to come in either. The other four are willing to work, but I'm not sure we can meet the deadline without all six people chipping in. I'm heading out now, but was wonderingdo you think Hybara would take the upgrade any later? Tim stepped out of his office, pulling on his gloves, in time to see Kristen wrapping a thick plaid scarf around her neck. "Walking to the subway?" he inquired. When she nodded, he said, "Me, too. Let's walk and talk." He waited until they were outside the building and shuffling through the ankle-deep snow before asking her how the meeting had gone. "Good," she replied. "I think. It's just too bad about the timing. Do you think Hybara would give us three weeks instead of two?" "Kristen," he said, ignoring her question, "do you think your team members still consider you as, you know, one of them? Or are they starting to see you as someone they need to listen to?"

She thought about Veronica and Grahame, and the look they'd exchanged after the meetingnot to mention their refusal to help over the holidays. How would Alessandra have handled that? Would she have gotten them to pitch in, vacation plans or no? Kristen hadn't the faintest idea. But she didn't want to admit that to Tim. Instead, she said, "Tim, let me answer your question with a question. Why do you ask?" Tim knew it was time for him to make a decision. He just didn't know how to choose.

Should Tim take a chance on his rookie?