The king who slew the slayer and shall himself be slain

The fall-out from November’s sales figures continued today. Trevor Bush’s irritation has been so intense that there are rumours that one of the sales reps will be made an example of. Prime candidate is Regional Sales Manager Craig Wymer, since he is the most senior person to be off-target.

Craig Wymer has worked for the company since he left school. He started in telesales and made such an impact that he was quickly promoted to field sales rep and then Area Manager, and finally (last year) Regional Sales Manager controlling the south of the country. This year he will personally bring in over one and a half million pounds in sales (if he keeps to target!) and his team will be responsible for over ten million.

Aged in his mid-twenties, he personifies the description “lean and mean”. He is very much a loner, even among his own team, and has no patience with anyone who cannot perform to his own very high standards. Often, when in the office and making calls to his top customers, he talks to himself, saying “Come on Wymer” while waiting for his calls to be answered.

This morning however, he was slumped in a chair by the Sales Desk. He was supposed to be motivating his staff on the Sales Desk but by eleven o’clock they had clearly exhausted themselves and were entering that stage of lethargic acceptance where they tell people “the market’s down – we can’t do anything” (not an excuse Trevor Bush will accept).

Seeing Craig Wymer so dejected and defeated, when previously he had been such a star performer, reminded me of the section in The Golden Bough by Sir James Fraser (one of the books that changed my life) where Sir James describes an ancient cult that was based around a sacred grove on the shores of Lake Nemi in central Italy. The Italian tribe that lived in this area (this was in pre-Roman times) had a custom that ensured their leader was always young, strong and a good fighter. This custom required the king to go each year, on a nominated day, to the sacred grove and fight anyone who challenged him. If he killed the challenger he remained king. If he was killed himself (as must eventually happen), the challenger became king.

Craig Wymer is only as good as his last sales figures. Sooner or later one of his team is going to challenge him. He is the modern equivalent of “The king who slew the slayer and shall himself be slain” (Thomas Macaulay).