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It was a warm Tuesday morning. At exactly 10:00 A.M. two older men approached the first tee at an exclusive golf course in the mid-west.
One was tall, thin, had dark hair with just a touch of gray, and a quite demeanor. The other was short, portly, very bald, and was a bundle of energy. Most people would think they were very different from each other, most people would be wrong.
Both men were in their early sixties and owned their own companies, which they started from scratch when they were in their late twenties. They both were very good judges of other people, which is what made them successful, and good friends. Both companies had fallen on hard times about ten years ago and began recovering about three years ago. Things were looking up for both of them, but they were at a crossroads. They had a problem, which was why they were golfing together.
The smaller man?s company produced OEM parts, of which 60% were sold to the taller man?s company. His company produced an industrial product which used the parts. The smaller man needed a 10% increase in the price of his parts to stay profitable. The taller man couldn?t stay profitable with more than a 5% increase.
By the time they walked to the fourth tee, they had agreed that 7.5% was the right price increase. During the next three holes, they explained their problems to each other and offered advice on how the other could solve those problems. Unlike the advice that most friends give each other, what these men advised were solutions to the other?s problems.
By the seventh tee, both agreed that with a 7.5% increase, both could make a good profit, if they implemented the others suggestions. With the business taken care of, the conversation over the last three holes turned to the MBA?s each had hired six years before and how these two young executives, with their new ideas, had been instrumental in turning each of the companies around.
The two men had lunch after the front nine. The talk drifted to future plans and how each would like to retire from day to day operations at their companies. The problem both men had was, they didn?t know who to leave in charge of their companies. Both felt the young executives they had hired might be the best choice, but neither was sure.
During the first three holes of the back nine, the two men came up with a plan to test the two young execs. The last six holes were spent enjoying the day.
If you asked the people that knew Peter Tasmen, they would say he was driven. In a lot of ways, they would be right. Peter finished a degree in Production Engineering in four years. He could have been done in three, but he started taking business and systems engineering courses. He found he had more interest in the top level problems of making a plant efficient and profitable then in the basic engineering. The engineering gave him the basic knowledge, the systems gave him the big picture, but the business is what tied it all together. He stayed on and got his MBA.
When Peter was hired by Kroger Manufacturing Inc. it was the perfect job. The company needed the innovation and ideas he had to streamline its production and begin to grow again. He threw himself at the problems and was very successful. He was made a vice president in just five years.
It was at that time he made a mistake. It wasn?t a real big one, or it didn?t seem that way at the time. It cost the company a large amount of money and after a year they were just getting past it. George Kroger, the owner, was very upset about it, but also supported Peter as the company fought to recover. Although Peter was instrumental in the recovery, he knew he was no longer the ?golden boy? in Mr. Kroger?s eyes, as he had been before.

During the last week, Peter had had several meeting with Mr. Kroger, Jim Van Doren of marketing and Marie Goldman of accounting. The contract with A