Uncle Dave

Uncle Dave walked into the boardroom. The others were already seated, waiting, busy with handheld devices, working while working. Double-billing was not unusual; someone once triple-billed, putting in time on a flight to a destination servicing two clients.

Casual regards exchanged.

They called him Uncle because he was someone they could go to. He had been heading the company for seven years and numbers were impressive. Now they were used to having sector peers acknowledge them before they had provided such acknowledgement themselves. It was not going to be a usual meeting as the market had slowed and the atmosphere was marked, by question marks. Encroachment of uncertainty but Uncle Dave had entered the room and they could feel his energy.

Sit. Throat clear. Shuffle.

“Good morning.” The meeting had been launched.

“It’s nice to see everyone up so early,” Uncle Dave liked to remove tension. He addressed key issues and the agenda was respected: a quick glance at the day’s schedule, perceptive summary of global development, clear information on where they stood. Uncle Dave was an engineer.

And so the meeting proceeded according to schedule and presenters succeeded each other with slides projecting growth in the mid-to-long-term range. Bolder estimates would at times conflict but all confirmed increased demand.

“Early valuation will require aggressive positioning.”

“Absolutely. Do we stand ready?”

“Equity!”

“Yes.”

On Sunday Dave’s daughter would be seventeen.

Having obtained consensus Uncle Dave gave the floor to the lunch-slot Guest Speaker: a political man.

“After several years of high returns the tide is turning. I’m afraid we may not enjoy finance,” the politician’s discourse was predictably bearish and the mood intensified. “Research shows that our electorate has different priorities - half do not understand basic concepts…”

“Ha!”

“Ha, Ha, Ha,” and the tension dissipated. “Chairman…,” they of course never referred to him as Uncle, “it has been suggested…,” and the meeting proceeded, again predictable, almost immune to the clock.