CHAPTER 7What’s in It for Me?

“You’re the microinequities guy, right?” asked one of three men who approached me in the cafeteria of their office building. (I have accepted my name is far less memorable to people than the experience.) I nod yes. “You know what? You might be responsible for turning our entire office around,” he tells me.

Their parent company, a national bank, was about a year into a merger with another major regional bank. The merger had gotten off to a rocky start in their department. Anyone who has gone through the emotional, social, and personal stress of a merger will strongly identify with their perspective. “We were on the wrong side of the merger,” his friend chimed in. “The person appointed to head our team came from the ...

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