After the Steve Moreno meeting, Chad spends 10 minutes in his office going over all the variables in the mess with Phil. He's having a difficult time grappling with why things had revved up and got out of control so quickly. He decides to make a bold move, the type he doesn't usually take. He picks up the phone and dials Phil's number.

"Chad, I told you in my e-mail that I wouldn't have the numbers to you until at least a half an hour from now," Phil answers the phone without even saying hello. He had debated even picking it up when he saw it was Chad.

"I know that, Phil." Chad says. "I want to talk to you about our e-mails this morning."

"Okay, I have something to say about them, too," Phil says. "But you called; you go first."

"Well, I want to say I'm sorry for the tough words and nasty tone in my early e-mail this morning," Chad says. "While I sure needed the numbers, I shouldn't have come on so strong."

Phil is caught off guard. It isn't like Chad to come clean so quickly. Phil wonders if Lynne is behind this bit of surprising contrition. Maybe, he figures; but if so, it would have taken a different form. If Chad was responding to a direct command from Lynne, he would have sent Phil a formal e-mail of apology that could be documented. Chad loves to document his actions.

No, this is Chad doing the right thing. Unusual, Phil thinks; but he isn't going to question it. Phil decides to keep the good karma flowing and not push back—even though he is still irritated about Chad's morning e-mail.

"Well, I appreciate the call, Chad. That means a lot to me," Phil says. "I was pretty torqued when I got your e-mail. I honestly didn't know you needed the numbers this morning."

Chad is faced with a major decision. He can keep the integrity of this apologetic phone call intact, or he can switch gears and start reminding Phil exactly when he made a commitment about the projected purchases from the vendor. Boy, this is a tough call. He decides to take another chance.

"I understand Phil, but the reason for this call isn't to go over that. I need to let you know I came on way too strong in my e-mail. I reread it a couple of minutes ago, and I now regret sending it. I should have just picked up the phone and we could have had this thing figured out in a couple of minutes. Get the numbers to me when you can, and I'll take care of everything from my end." There, I did it, thinks Chad. No "yeah I know, but."

This feels weird, thinks Chad. He knew as soon as he apologized that he was not simply pandering to Phil. But it does feel strange to own up to his mistake without the quid pro quo of getting a concession from the other guy, who, let's face it, had wronged him as well. He lets Phil off the hook, not to curry his favor, but because Chad's apology takes necessary precedence for his egregious e-mail. Chad knows his actions were far more hurtful to the company's performance than Phil's missed morning deadline.

On the other end of the call, Phil is positive now that a directive from Lynne isn't lurking in background. If Chad were just covering his rear he would have used semi-apologetic phrases like "I'm sorry if you think I came on too strong." Instead, his apology is too direct, with no qualifiers. Wow, thinks Phil, this is a new Chad.

"Well, while we're owning up to mistakes Chad, I probably shouldn't have CC'd Lynne in my response to you. That was pretty crappy on my part, but boy I was mad, especially first thing Monday morning. I'm sorry about that. I'd take it back if I could," Phil says. "Hope you're not in too much hot water over this."

"Well, it got Lynne's attention, but she's going to let us figure it out," Chad says. "I got to hand it to you, though, pretty daring to CC her directly on this so I could see it. You didn't play any games, which I respect." Chad isn't just playing nice.

"Yeah, well, now I feel silly about it," admits Phil. "It makes us both look kinda weak and downright pissy to her."

"You're right, it does," says Chad. "We'll here's what I'm going to do from now on. When I'm up against the wall on something I need your help on, I'm going to pick up the phone instead of blasting off an e-mail to you. Only I'll never call before 6 am your time, I promise. Listen, I've got to run off to a lunch appointment with somebody we're trying to hire. I hope you have a good rest of the day."

"Hey, Chad, there's just one more thing before you go." Phil says.

Now that Chad has taken a strong leadership initiative, Phil decides to make Chad's vendor dilemma his major focus immediately. Phil still has other pressing tasks on his desk in front of him, but he'll work around them.

"Chad, do you have just a second to send me your vendor purchasing projections right now, before you leave the office?"

Phil offers to bring in an additional staff member and immediately crunch their West Coast numbers for the next year, add them to the report, then reformat the document and get the report back to Chad by 12:45, eastern time.

"Yeah, um, that would be great, Phil. I'll get it off to your right now," Chad says.

"Okay, you'll have a full report for the vendor when you show up at his door. Make sure you show him who the frickin' boss is, and get those price breaks we need. I'll be rooting for you here."

"I will, Phil. Hey, I'm glad I picked up the phone and called you," Chad says.

"Yeah, me too," says Phil.

Chad puts down the phone and then e-mails the file for Phil to complete. Boy, I didn't see that coming, he thinks to himself as he heads out the door to lunch.

Mike sits at the neighborhood bistro, waiting for his new prospective employee. He doesn't pick a trendy or expensive spot, but, rather, a comfortable, converted four-bedroom bungalow with great daily specials. It is run by a married couple, and Mike has been coming here for years with his wife. He likes the comfortable atmosphere and the menu, which features Pacific Rim and American classic food. He makes it a habit to take final interview candidates here to seal the deal. His new prospective hire is late, but at least she called to give him a heads-up.

"I'm so sorry," Colleen said on the phone. "This is the last lunch I wanted to be late to. I just couldn't get out of the meeting I was in. Are we still on?"

"Sure, of course. Please take your time," Mike said. "I run late all the time, too. Relax, we'll be fine." That last part isn't really true. He has that vendor negotiation scheduled for 1:15. He'll have to call now to them to let them know he is running late. Not helpful.

Mike finds himself slightly irritated at Colleen. He doesn't give her any attitude because he wants a pleasant lunch meeting when he makes the formal ask for her to join his team. But she is messing up his afternoon.

Then Mike actually chuckles out loud. That's a case of the pot calling the kettle black, he thinks. He is constantly late and often makes matters worse by leaving important documents behind. He realizes, well, this is what it feels like to be on the other end of it.

He gets out his BlackBerry and pulls up the notes menu. He had e-mailed his friend Chad over the weekend to ask him if he knew of any time-management coaches who had a good reputation. Everyone in the company turned to Chad as the expert repository of information about executive learning, coaches, and continuous education resources. Chad e-mailed Mike back within 10 minutes, giving him three contacts, complete with websites. Mike cut and pasted the information into the notes view of Outlook so he could take advantage of a moment like this.

With Colleen running late, Mike takes the opportunity to call one of the coaches and is lucky enough to find her at her desk. Quickly, he sets an initial appointment. He likes the approach she outlines to him over the phone. He pounds out a quick e-mail to Chad, thanking him for the reference and telling him the first coach on his list is quite impressive. Wow, I can make better use of my time when I put my mind to it, he congratulates himself.

He also makes a quick call to his supplier, who he was scheduled to meet right after lunch. He gets Gregg's voice mail: Gregg, this is Mike. I am looking forward to our meeting after lunch. I'm running late right now and wanted to know if you could give me 15 minutes of leeway. I'll try to make up the time over my lunch meeting, but I'm not confident I will be able to. See you at 1:30, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Colleen walks in the restaurant. He rises to shake her hand and get the lunch started.

Chad and his new prospective hire go through a gentle round of small talk in the downtown club over iced tea. This is Chad's favorite choice for final interviews and employee promotions. Chad likes the long elevator ride up to the top of the downtown tower, and he feels it makes a strong impression to interview candidates as well. The spectacular view of the city adds impact to every meeting, he reasons.

The waiter in a black bow tie and white linen coat, engraved with the club name above the breast pocket, brings the meals. Chad starts his pitch. He had been going over what he would say in the car ride over and felt he was prepared to make a successful offer.

"James, we're the right company for you right now and perhaps for a long time going forward. Let me tell you why." Chad congratulates himself for making a straightforward, nonflowery opening. He had toyed with several other intros to the hiring discussion and then thought of what he would want to hear. He's glad he decided to lead with the headline.

James nods his head vigorously while chewing, letting Chad know this is off to a good start.

"Well, let's review where our division is in the marketplace and where you are in your career path for a few minutes. This will show us we are a good fit," says Chad.

Chad makes a strong argument. While his division isn't racking up big growth numbers, they are holding their own in a tough market. Chad has the budget to add three key employees this year, and James will play a critical role in helping the division improve its revenue and service offerings.

There is more nodding from James and a quick smile or two between bites.

So far, very good, Chad thinks. Now comes the fun part. He's ready to make the offer, get James on board, and save the company some money in the process. Chad has prepared well for this. First, he asked his HR manager to give him a detailed market salary report for the position he was offering James. With that information in hand, he spent an evening on the Internet doing more salary and qualification research. Finally, he reached out to some friends from B-school who worked at large companies with access to even broader databases than he and his HR director had. He calculated late last night what he would offer James and how far he would go in the negotiation.

"James, we want you to come to work for us, right away. I'm happy that, despite all the economic turmoil, we're moving forward with our company and we want strong players like you. That's why I'm pleased to offer you the position we've been discussing at a salary of $73,000 a year. We hope you'll accept."

It's a low-ball offer. Not an insulting offer, but at the low end of the scale. In some companies, people like James are making as much as $85,000. James is well qualified for this job. Despite the economic climate, he has a strong enough skill set that is still in demand. There is a good chance he's fielding other offers. That's why Chad has done so much homework. He wants to be ready to punch and counterpunch on salary with James and get this guy on board quickly without giving away too much.

This opening low number salvo is a calculated move on Chad's part. He knows James likes the direction of his division and the company overall. He will have good opportunities in the years ahead. That makes it a great fit for both of them. The $73,000 is a reasonable but not great offer. Chad is satisfied. And he's ready for the battle ahead. He knows James will counter.

"Chad, that is a reasonable offer, and I'm flattered you've asked me to join your team," James says. "But, from my perspective, I'm disappointed in the $73,000 salary that's on the table. Are you receptive to discussing it?"

"Well, I don't know how much wiggle room I'm really going to have on this one, what with the economy and all," Chad says, "but please tell me what's on your mind." Chad isn't telling the truth. He knows exactly how much wiggle room he has.

Colleen is obviously flustered that she was late to this important lunch. She apologizes a few too many times as she sips her iced tea and orders a salad. Mike takes the opportunity to put her mind at ease and coach her on her communication skills at the same time. He doesn't mind the effort, and he makes a mental note that this overapologizing is something he will work on with her once she joins the team. It is weak behavior that rarely helps improve a negative situation. He's confident she will accept today's offer, and this will be the first of many coaching scenarios for the two of them.

"Colleen, I accept your apology. You were late. You said you were sorry. It's over." Mike looks at her directly and pauses. His message is clear: Your continuous apologies are ruining the positive moment here, so please stop it. After a moment he smiles. "Besides, we've got to get to the details of our meeting today and that offer I'm going to be making to you."

Colleen flushes slightly at Mike's directness, takes a sip of her iced tea, and regains her composure. She folds her arms on the table, leans forward, and says, "You're right. Thank you."

Mike spends the next 10 minutes telling Colleen about his vision of the future for the division over the next five years. He gives her a detailed analysis of how he intends to provide a more compelling set of products and services for current customers, and how those expanded offerings will add new customers every year.

Colleen is impressed with the level of nuance Mike shares about a wide array of both big and small customers. He really knows the value his division provides for each and how they can their expand efforts. He never uses expressions like "customer account penetration" or "market space we occupy." Instead, he just demonstrates how his division helps his customers with their customers and can do even more with greater effort. He shares a wide variety of details that usually only a project manager or an account executive would know. It is energizing. She's so wrapped up in his customers insight, she's no longer embarrassed for being late.

Mike paints a picture of a dynamic, growing division without ever mentioning the numbers that usually litter these conversations. He makes few references to revenue growth, market share, gross margin, or profitability. Instead, Mike's discussion of the future includes a full description of what his division will actually look like with expanded personnel and production capabilities. She can see it unfolding in front of her. She can't wait for the formal offer. She hopes it will be the right number.

He then surprises her. He asks her what she thinks of his growth plans. She is caught off guard, and she's concerned she will say the wrong thing, perhaps ruining her chances.

"Well, thanks for being open to this," James says. "I may be hurting my position with this statement, but I really want to work for you. I'm excited about the possibilities."

"Oh, I promise I won't hold it against you," Chad says. "Please tell me what you have in mind." He is in total control, he thinks; no reason not to sound magnanimous and wise.

"Great, well then let me start off by saying that $73,000 is a fair and reasonable number for many people in the market for a new job. It is a lot of money, these days, especially to work in a great company like yours." James is confident and moves slowly through his reasoning.

"Now, having said that, let me go on and tell you why that number won't work for me. I know this position pays as much as $85,000 in firms for employees with my training and experience. Now, I'm not saying I have to have $85,000 by any means; but I think $82,000 is a salary I could agree to right now."

Chad knows he's right in wanting to bring James on board. This guy is smart, prepared, and eloquent to boot. But he sure as hell isn't going to get $82,000 out of Chad.

"Boy James, that's pretty steep. I'm not saying you're not worth it. Heck, I'd love to pay you that much and get this settled right now," Chad says. "But, unfortunately, budgets are, well, budgets. I can move to $78,000 without going back over my pro formas, which will delay this whole process; and even then it might not work. So, I can meet you at $78,000. Do we have a deal?" Chad is now laying the entire card deck out. This is the number he budgeted for. Now, there's really no wiggle room left.

Mike reassures Colleen that she can handle this impromptu assignment. He reminds her of the great insights she made during her first interview, and then again during a tour of their operations center in the second round.

Then, Mike starts asking questions to help her along. He inquires about a number of assignments from her resume that she shared with him during the interview process. He follows up by asking her how she would apply what she learned to the specific customer growth programs he described just a few minutes earlier.

That is all the prodding Colleen needs. As soon as Mike helps her link her past experiences to his plans, she starts to roll. She comes up with several good ideas very quickly, and then asks Mike more about the specifics of his growth plans, industry group by industry group, to help her flush out even more.

Mike knows why they are at this point. Early on, she stumbled by losing composure after she was late. Then, perhaps still self-conscious, she was slow to respond to Mike's open-ended growth scenario. But she recovered and put forth an industry intellect that was worth the price of lunch many times over.

It was the result of Mike's practiced ability to take great mental notes, and then ask questions based on those notes. Colleen shared lots of great professional experiences during her first two interviews. He remembered a number of her specific areas of expertise, and then asked her about them in the context of his growth scenario.

Some people in the company had noticed Mike's unique skills in helping people translate their past experiences and skills into future success. They complimented him about it frequently, telling him he was a great "active listener." He thanked them because he was always gracious in accepting a sincere compliment. But he puzzled about the term "active listener." "If you're not an active listener," he'd joke with his wife, "are you an 'active ignorer'?"

The conversation with Colleen has become even more animated. Suddenly, Mike notices that it is getting late. He has to make the offer and nail things down before he heads off to that tough supplier meeting.

"Colleen, we could go on all afternoon, which would be of tremendous benefit to me," Mike says. "But we need to start paying you for your expertise. We want you to join us so you can become a part of the team and brainstorm like this with us every day."

Colleen feels like she is ready to start the next day, before she even hears the salary. She knows she'll have to give notice to her current boss; but working those last two weeks will be tough with the excitement brewing in Mike's division.

James looks down for a full couple of seconds while he considers the $78,000 offer Chad just laid on the table. It's not an uncomfortable silence for either one of them. Chad has given James a lot to think about.

"Chad I want to come to work for you, so I will accept your offer. But I want to ask you for a favor."

Chad is relieved. This is going to work out—and on his terms.

"Well, we could argue all day long over the last four thousand dollars. I'll come to work for you for what you offered, because it's a great opportunity and I like your ideas. And it is a very reasonable salary. But I want to come into the fold that very first day, find my way around the office getting used to things, feeling great, and not second-guessing my decision in any way." James takes a long breath and then proceeds. "If you could wring an extra $2,000 out of your budget to get us to $80,000, I'd feel we'd accomplished something very positive. Is that possible?"

Chad isn't prepared for this, so he just delivers a knee-jerk question, "But you're not holding my feet to the fire. You will move over to us for the $78,000? That's right, isn't it?"

"Yes, I will Chad, that's right, I will. And I won't complain about it later, either," James continued. "But I want to feel rock solid about this decision without any self-doubt. Eighty K gets me that piece of mind. It's not much in the long run for either one of us, and I know that. But it will help me to hit the bricks running with you and have the best attitude possible."

Chad likes James's approach and reasoning capabilities on the sticky discussion of pay. Many of Chad's employees show discomfort during salary talks. Not James. He is cool and rational and shows he understands that salaries are not personal, just budget issues. Chad also likes the fact that James formally accepted the offer and then made a compelling argument for the extra bit of money. Chad makes a snap decision to find the money to get James on board.

"James, I enjoy your style and I like your smarts. I'll have to juggle a bit, but we want you and your energy on our side. Eighty grand it is."

The two shake hands and go over the final details of James's starting date. James is very happy with the way he was treated by Chad.

Chad is fired up. True, he had to bend quite a bit, but James is a star. He has a bounce in his step as he heads for his car to meet with that tough supplier.

Mike is now ready to extend a formal offer to Colleen. Last week, after Colleen's second great interview and tour, he asked his HR manager to come up with a salary range for Colleen. He looked at it over the weekend. As with James, someone like Colleen is commanding top dollar of $85,000 at a few companies, but her pay is pegged between $75,000 and $80,000 for most strong candidates. That is plenty of information for Mike. He knows just how he will handle it.

"Colleen, we want you at our company and at my division. I'd like to offer you the job we've been discussing at a salary of $78,000. I've done my homework and I know you could probably do better and you could do worse as you look at other companies. But here's one thing I want you to consider." Mike pauses for a moment, then continues, "As you were on your tour of our place last week, everyone you met received a raise of at least 2 percent last year. Some high achievers even receive a base increase of 5 percent. I'm very proud of this, based on what's happening with the economy. We need stronger and stronger people like you to keep growing both revenue and profit," Mike says.

"That's why I want you to join us as soon as possible. A year from now, I look forward to us meeting here, going over your performance review and your new higher base pay. While I can't promise that will happen, because I can't predict exactly how much success we'll have in the next year, I am very confident in our plan and in your abilities. What do you think?"

Colleen had gone into the meeting determined to convince Mike she was worth $80,000 in salary. She anticipated she'd get a nice offer from Mike at the lunch. Earlier, as she was running late to get to the lunch, she was determined to fight hard for that number.

But, as soon as Mike lobbed the ball back into her court, she knew she'd take the offer as it stood. Why fight for $2,000 when Mike painted such a compelling picture of success? $78,000 was a fair salary anywhere; it was a great salary at a dynamic company, with an inspiring boss.

"Mike, you've got yourself a new employee," Colleen says. They shake hands and agree to go over the final details tomorrow morning at 8 am. Mike knows he hasn't picked up any time and will still be late for the supplier meeting. But it's well worth it to him.