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We had watched her in action over the past eleven months. She was tough but fair.
She trusted but meticulously verified. She could be charming and harsh almost in the same
breath.
Now she was in charge of our renovation. After assessing the situation for a couple of
days she sprang into action. The first thing she did was hand Carl his walking papers (she
told us later she wasn't even sure he was aware he'd been fired). Then she called the crew
together and told them she was the new boss.
“Says who?” one of them muttered.
She got Steve on speaker phone from New York.
“Jane has the money,” he said. “She's your paycheck.”
After that, things got easier.
Like all good leaders, Jane proved to be an effective delegator. She zeroed in on the
most proactive member of the crew, a wiry fifty-year-old named Pablo, and essentially put
him in charge of the other guys.
Pablo was a go-getter. He had a truck, something none of the other guys had. And he
was a native so he knew virtually everyone on the island. This was a distinct advantage.
Also, he was smart.
A routine was soon established: every few days Jane would call Steve, who would give
her a list of things that needed to get done; Jane would meet with Pablo later that day to go
over Steve's list; and Pablo would push the crew to move the work forward.
That's not to say Jane didn't stop by to check on their progress in person on a regular
basis. In fact, she gave us an eyewitness account every three or four days and often sent
photos.
Under this fairly rigorous regime, work progressed nicely. Recently I opened my photo
file from that period and was amazed to see how steadily the job got done. From one day
to the next a wall would go up, a ceiling fan would be hung, floor tiles would be laid.
The men may not have liked taking their orders from Jane but they ended up respecting
her.
Thank God for brimstone—and for small determined women.
☼ ☼ ☼
We thought about Steve a lot.
Although he had encouraged us to keep in touch, we felt awkward calling.
One day I mentioned to Jane that I hadn't spoken to him in almost a month.
“Why not?”
“I don't want to bother him.”
“Are you kidding?” she shot back. “If he's ever needed his friends it's now.”
“I don't want him to think I'm calling to talk business,” I countered lamely.
“Then don't talk business.”
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