00:00Team, I'm assigning the new client project to someone other than Alan.
00:06Okay, Debra, what is that supposed to mean?
00:08I've led every client presentation this quarter without a single complaint.
00:12No one's complained to my face.
00:16Meaning what?
00:17Meaning perception matters as much as performance.
00:22Some clients prefer someone who sounds more like them.
00:26It's not personal. It's just business.
00:29Debra, sounds more like them.
00:31You know what I mean.
00:32No, I don't know what you mean, so please say it plainly.
00:35Some clients are more comfortable with someone who looks a certain way.
00:41It's reality, not an opinion.
00:44What you just said was so blatantly racist, Debra, and everyone in this room heard it.
00:51This meeting is over. Everyone, back to work.
00:55No, it is not.
00:56Excuse me?
00:57You heard what I said. Not yet.
00:59We are done. I made the call.
01:01Well, you made a bad call out loud in front of everyone.
01:04It was a business decision.
01:06No, it was a decision based on how you think a client will react to my face, not my work.
01:12That's not fair.
01:13None of this has been fair, and that's exactly the point I'm making.
01:17Alan, I think you're reading into this more than what's there.
01:20No, no, no, no, no. See, I've had three years of practice reading exactly what's there.
01:25Debra, I need a word.
01:31Janitor guy, you don't need to be in this meeting.
01:34Actually, I do.
01:35This is a team matter. You go clean the bathroom or something.
01:39Well, it's about to become a company matter.
01:45I'm the CEO. I've been working the floor undercover for the past three days.
01:50Uh, this was just office banter. You've misunderstood the dynamic.
01:59There's no dynamic to misunderstand. I was standing right here.
02:03Context matters. You don't know this team the way I do.
02:07I know this team well enough after three days on the floor. That's the point of this whole exercise.
02:12It still doesn't feel real.
02:15It will once the paperwork is signed.
02:17And until then?
02:19Well, until then, you can gather your things and get going, Debra.
02:24Your employment is terminated effective immediately.
02:27HR will handle the paperwork within the hour.
02:30Oh.
02:33Oh.
