From Junior Copywriter to CEO in one day
The day Cliff was in charge
The story of how I directed a not-so-hostile takeover of The Garrigan Lyman Group digital agency with just a loud tie, a drawer full of McDonald’s dipping sauces, and a dream.
It all started blandly enough.
It was just an ordinary January Tuesday. Late in the afternoon, Lisa Illingworth, the People Development Director at The Garrigan Lyman Group, sent out this email about an off-site senior leadership meeting.
I was kind of the office goober, so putting me in charge was just a funny joke, right?
Well, I never look a gift horse in the mouth.
I secretly took the initiative, went home, and created a blog called, “Cliff McCloe is in charge today (Lisa said so)” My first post was entitled “Everybody just calm down” and it started like this:
Ever since Lisa sent out this email yesterday, a lot of you have asked some serious questions. Questions like, "How will we ever get any work done without our managers?" and "Is 'off-site GLG strategy session' code for something else?" and "What happens if I dial that number and it's not an emergency? Is it some sort of leadership test?" and "Did someone throw out my lunch on Friday?"
Whoa. As E.Z. Brooks from A Different World famously quipped: "Take it down a thousand." Take a deep breath. Now another. Ok, one more. Now let them all out. And relax. Because everything just got solved by one little sentence: "Until then, Cliff is in charge."
A solid start but…
…if I was going to perform a coup while senior leadership was away doing leader-y stuff, I was going to have to create some leadership activities of my own. So I started by looking for my own C-suite team.
From the initial post:
It's hard on a team when there's a leadership vacuum. But if there's one thing I know about vacuums, it's that they suck….Great things to the top, that is. And that's where you come in.
See, even I can't do this alone. I'm going to need some help. I'm looking for people who can think outside of the fox (like that!) People who can fill some key positions, such as:
Personal Executive Administrative Assistant (Esquire)
7th-Level Magic User (No Illusionists, please)
Dirhector of Elizondo
VP of Strateginal Scaling Optimization
Someone who can get me some great dipping sauces
Mayor of Funkytown
Think you got what it takes? Choose a job that suits you. Then, in the comments section, tell me what you would bring to the role.
The finishing touches
I renamed the agency The McGarrigan Cloeman Group, started a @cliffisincharge Twitter account, emailed the first post to the entire company, and went to bed.
And I dreamed a little dream.
Time to make the donuts
The next morning I dressed up like this, parked myself at the CEO’s empty desk, and went to work. And I’m proud to say the company quickly bowed to my leadership.
The blog’s comments section went wild. (Dear reader, if you’d like to peruse all the interactions, start from the bottom of the page.) People raced to sign up for the posted positions and even created their own job titles. After I named Customer Satisfaction Job #1, several employees started a spirited debate (Wasn’t safety job one? How about quality?)
I posted updates all throughout the day and kept the Twitter conversation lively. I was on a roll. But it was the rest of the team that really brought “Cliff is in Charge Day” to life.
The revolution of the people
People got on board quick. Our technical delivery manager walked all the way to McDonald’s to get me all the dipping sauces I requested (Naturally, I named him Executive Producer of Dipping Sauces on the spot.) Several designers contributed photoshopped photos of me for the blog. Our newly appointed Mayor of Funkytown even created a Funkytown iTunes playlist to share with the whole team.
One of our project managers took the bull by the horns and sent me this message:
Cliff,
There has been one issue that I've tirelessly worked on over the past month and I believe you are The Decider that can make this happen. Since Kristin Lovelady has moved headquarters to the westward window of the 4th floor, there has since been a sitting area installed in the place of her desk. I've grown quite fond of this area, picking up after it, inviting guests to sit in these lovely corridors, and so forth. This lounge area has since been known as " The L.K. Lounge". In your day of power, I would be greatly honored if the official name could be instated as "The L.K. Lounge" and booked as a resource in the Outlook Invite calendar.
Thank you for your consideration.
Levi
The reviews were boffo!
"Why does the kitchen smell like fish?"
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"Collaboration at it's finest"
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"Best Blog Post of the Year"
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"Cliff McCloe leading by example"
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"I worked for this tyrant for a full day. Broke my spirit and made me rich."
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#BestWednesdayEver
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"This was perhaps the best day of my 6-ish years at GLG"
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"Cliff's reign was short but unforgettable."
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"Why does the kitchen smell like fish?" 〰️ "Collaboration at it's finest" 〰️ "Best Blog Post of the Year" 〰️ "Cliff McCloe leading by example" 〰️ "I worked for this tyrant for a full day. Broke my spirit and made me rich." 〰️ #BestWednesdayEver 〰️ "This was perhaps the best day of my 6-ish years at GLG" 〰️ "Cliff's reign was short but unforgettable." 〰️
Even the absent senior leaders played along.
“Every time we had a break in our strategy session, we’d all pull out our phones to see what we were missing back at the office. We were spending the day TALKING about leadership but they spent the day DOING it.” ~ Rebecca Lyman, Principal
Every good thing comes to an end.
When the senior leadership team returned, I reluctantly gave up my post. (It’s weird how your whole life can just fit into a single box.)
But I learned that if you have an old-fashioned cigarette holder, a half a thimbleful of implicit permission, five feet and eleven inches of questionable management skills, and an audience who’s ready to play, you can do anything. I sure did.
The Lengths I Will Go To is my limited-series blog wherein I usually share the different ways I try to stand out during my job search. But this story fits the whole “lengths I will go to” vibe, right?
Rather not see more content like this? Hire me and I promise I’ll stop!
