It's been a long day

Well, I'm not getting much of an original post out tonight. It's been a long day and I'mbe eat. I was on the road at 07:00 to go to Islamabad for a meeting at 11:00, then talking to folks at the head office, I had to really put the fear of Allah into one of our contractors on the housing project, and then drive back here. I have to say, the seats in our Toyota Prado are about as uncomfortable as they are good looking. Like I say, they look great, but they slope down at the back and create a pinch in my legs and if the chair is not all the way back...this is more detail then any one needs. Let's just say the the Pakistan roads are rough on your backside.

So, what to write about? My frustration with my Pakistani counterparts who are refusing to do what we ask of them or are happy to continue to tell me things are going great when they are not? I guess the contractor I spoke to today is a good place to delve into the character of the folks here.

Nice enough guy, Khurshid is his name. But he lies. Constantly, consistently, without shame or remorse. He just can't help himself. Agreeability and assent to wathever the boss asks is jsut the way of the place. For example, while trying to prove another point, he pulled out an email from June 9th where he said he had 50 houses, "almost near to 100%" completion and would deliver them in "15 days". It is now 1 August and he has delivered 42 houses. "yes, but that is not what I want to talk about..." I'll bet!! I don't want to talk about it either, but we have to. And the point he was trying to prove: that we had not responded to an earlier email. So I just flipped forward one page, and there was the response. He lied when he himself had the evidence to the contrary. Incredible.

Anyway, the contract for 200 houses is supposed to be done by 9 October. Ain't no way that is going to happen. And he knows it. So now he's sweatin' bullets and shittin' razor blades. He wants another 75 days. The late penalty is .1% per day, so for 200 houses, that amounts to a free house every 5 days. No extension means he loses $60,000. And that presumes he can produce 8 houses a week. Which he can't. And he can give no reasonable explanaion of why he should get extra time. Amazing.

Anyway, the reason I write this is that I tried to get him to drop his fast talking, bullshitting ways and own up to the truth. He's the kind of guy who will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. I asked him to find the honest, honorable person inside him, the person who is not afraid of the truth, and let that man talk to me. And then I asked him to tell me the truth. I said, maybe I've been sent here to force you, finally, to confront your personal issues and finally, for once, tell someone the truth. I said if you tell me the truth, I will advocate your side, but if you lie, or if you are so deceived even you don't know the truth, then I will argue against you, and everything you have built will be destroyed. Your business, your good name, we will take it all, force the court to liquidate everything to settle the contract. YOur company will no longer exist. Think before you answer.

The answer, of course, is "Mr. David, I made a HUGE mistake. I signed this contract without even reading it because all I could see was the $160,000 advance. I had no idea what I was doing and still don't and now I am in trouble. All those times you came to my work site and tried to tell me the kind of problems I was having and the things I had to do to fix them and I just said it would be fine and that you shouldn't worry, those dozens of times and pleaded with me to help me, well, you were right and I was wrong. I'm sorry, I need your help now. Please.' That was the right answer.

He thought for a minute. I could see I precipitated a tiny bit of introspection. A bit. He thought some more. Looked up and said, "Three things. Your predecessor made things very difficult for us. The beneficiaries are not helping. And..." I cut him off. Wrong answer. "Khurshid", I said, "You signed the contract. No one put a gun to your head. You signed a contract and you had no idea what you were getting into. Did you read it? Do you know what this says? I know you read the part about the $160,000. I know you took the whole family out to dinner that night, didn't you? (he nodded) I am sorry to tell you but I will argue that you not get an extension and the we force you to adhere to the letter of the contract and if that means bankruptcy, well, you are still relatively young. You are an entrepreneur, you can do it again. You have destroyed your company, but they will let you keep your car, your house and your family. And you know what, even though you have destroyed your honor, you still have your brain. And with that brain, you can decide to be honest. It is up to you."

He was stunned. We talked a bit more, but I"ve had it with this sort of behavior. There are two other contractors, and I am not giving them an inch either. There will be blood on the floor of my office. Let's just hope it is not mine. But, agreeable to the last, what did he do after I promised him I would destroy everything he built, ruin his whole life and force him to start over? He thanked me!!

OK, I'm beat. I put a guy through the wringer today, and while it had a certain, 'just desserts" quality to it, it was also very tiring.

OK, More later,
Sourmash