Unopened Gifts II: It's All About the People

By James Kevin McPartland

"Unopened Gifts" is a non-traditional business novel series, aimed at helping leaders recognize how their personal issues and style contribute to their business's challenges and how to change them. The series is based on the experiences of a fictional character Kyle Fitzpatrick, the CEO of a rising bicycle manufacturing company. Each book focuses on a specific leadership behavior that can significantly impact performance. The first book in the series addresses the growth challenges of Kyle's interpersonal relationships. The second book tackles the issues of communication and relationships in the workplace, as Kyle faces the many challenges of acquiring a company while working to sustain a leadership position in a highly competitive market.

The underlying premise of this series is that when a leader and each member of their team is able to recognize and put to use their own gifts - that which they do best - both the individual and organization can begin to thrive. Each book in the Unopened Gifts series focuses on a relatable growth principle and is designed to open our eyes to the Unopened Gifts around and within all of us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543921663

Book preview

Soles4Souls

PREFACE

IN BOOK ONE of the Unopened Gifts series, A Journey to Gratitude, the death of Kyle Fitzpatrick’s father and other unforeseen events caused his meticulously managed life to spin dangerously out of control. Forced to embark on a journey of self-discovery, Kyle learned through the development of a seemingly random relationship with an inspiring young boy, that everything he thought he wanted paled in comparison to the gifts he already had.

Now in It’s All About the People, our main character Kyle continues his transformational adventure as owner and CEO of Momenta, growing beyond the learnings and associated life lessons which are captured in A Journey to Gratitude, and that Kyle is destined to acquire. You will see the development of many of the other characters in this story, and quite likely relate to one or more of them based on where you are in your own life.

Each chapter of this book concludes with thought-provoking questions, offering the reader an opportunity to pause, reflect, and relate on a deeper level to the characters in the story. My hope is that there is a valuable lesson here for you as the reader, one that emerges from the character you are inspired by, and that it might serve as a catalyst for discovering the Unopened Gifts that lie within you.

PROLOGUE

Take a Look Around

KAREN FELT OVERWHELMED. It wasn’t just the lack of sleep and the extended hours at work. Everyone knew that would be coming with the acquisition and that there was nothing anyone could do about it. She tried to calm herself down by thinking rationally: so she was stressed out. No big deal, right? Nothing an hour of yoga and a glass of wine couldn’t fix…or was it?

No, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the source of her stress was more than just her workload. What was unsettling Karen was deeper and scarier than the prospect of a couple of busy months in the office. And she knew herself well enough to realize that she was not going to be able to get anything done until she figured out what was bothering her.

Beneath her calm and professional exterior, Karen doubted whether or not she was really ready for her new position as VP of Human Resources. The promotion had been tremendously flattering of course, not to mention a huge step up for her career. But still…how could she know she was really ready? Explaining health benefits to new hires and helping employees resolve their conflicts was one thing; managing a multinational department that was about to double in size was another.

For some strange reason, Karen’s thoughts wandered back to her high school days. Secretary of the French Club. Passed over for captain of the tennis team as a senior. The quiet friend who always let everyone else choose the movie or the restaurant. Maybe leadership just wasn’t her thing. Maybe this job was beyond her innate capabilities…

But there was another emotion lurking beneath her insecurity and exhaustion, one which bothered her even more. Karen was a kind person–she got along with almost everyone–so it was hard for her to admit how she felt. But if she was truly honest with herself, she harbored the tiniest bit of resentment against Kyle. Not for promoting her–who doesn’t’t like to be recognized for a job well done? But for pushing her out of her comfort zone. In her heart, she blamed him for the stress she was feeling right now.

She quickly suppressed the thought. It was unfair, and she knew it. After all, Kyle had a taken a chance on her. Who else in her life had ever done that? He had created an executive level position for her because he believed in her potential–at least that is what she assumed. It was hard to know for sure.

Of course there were other possibilities for Kyle’s motivations. What if he had only promoted her because she would work for less money than an outside hire? No, that didn’t make sense; her salary was competitive, even generous considering her lack of experience. What if he hadn’t wanted to pay for the headhunter during the acquisition period? Maybe…But such services were not really all that expensive, and Kyle always talked about how much more costly it was to hire wrong and rehire than it was to hire correctly in the first place. So he must believe in her. Probably…Hopefully…

Karen sighed and looked at the material on her desk: stacks of folders to review and summarize before they could be archived properly. It felt impossible. Probably time to update that resume again…

And I think to myself…what a wonderful world…

Derek forced himself to stop singing as he turned on his computer. He could still feel his muscles twitching slightly from his basketball game just an hour earlier. Three mornings a week, he met a young man from his old neighborhood to shoot hoops after the teen got off from the night shift stocking shelves. He was a good kid who had been dealt a rough hand in life, and Derek was trying to persuade him to enroll in community college to better his prospects for the future.

Derek caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the glass on the family photograph next to his monitor. He chuckled to himself as he recalled a caricature from his childhood imagination–a big, powerful businessman behind a huge polished wooden desk. Derek was hardly the boss-man yet, but he had come pretty darn far. And for the millionth time, he wished his father were around to see just how far he’d come.

Time to get to work. Derek responded to a few emails, pausing carefully before he answered the single sentence message from his boss. He respected Kyle, but there was something about his CEO that made Derek a little uneasy. It wasn’t that he was easily offended, but something about the way Kyle was always straight to the point sort of rubbed Derek the wrong