Michael was woken by his ringing cell phone. His eyes slowly opened as he rolled over to retrieve the device off his nightstand. The number was restricted, so he ignored the call, rolled over and closed his eyes. A few moments later, the phone rang to life again. He ignored the restricted number three times before he sat up in his bed. Who would be calling at this hour? He pulled the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" Michael cleared his throat.
"Is this Michael Robinson?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Mr. Robinson, congratulations, you won yesterday's raffle."
Michael sat up in his bed and turned on the lamp. "The raffle at the mall?"
"You must be an avid raffle player, yes from the mall." The man on the other line was too alert for how early it was, "Do you accept the prize, or should I draw another ticket?"
"What was it for again?"
"A vacation."
"That's right... Can we use the plane tickets? I'm getting married, and my fiancé already has a place she wants to go on our honeymoon."
"Unfortunately, there are restrictions on the package. Come by my office this morning, and we can go over the details."
Michael sat on his bed, contemplating if this was somehow another one of Victor's lessons. "Can I have some time to think this over?"
"Unfortunately, if you do not claim your prize by noon, we'll be forced to draw another name. 3600 Depot Road. I may be in the back room when you arrive, so please knock."
"What was your name again—" The line went blank.
Michael set the phone back on the nightstand and got up from his bed. This had to be another one of Victor's lessons. He slipped on a bathrobe and made his way to the living room table where he'd left the Rules of Leadership notebook. He flipped to the next section, which was titled "Play to People's Pride."
As a leader, you must always speak in terms of your subordinate's interest. Everyone believes they are more significant than they are. They think they deserve more than they do. Pride makes them look down on the world, restricting them from viewing what's above them. As a leader, speak up to them, make them feel superior to you, make them feel special; only then can you get them to do anything you want.
Michael closed the notebook. After rereading the passage multiple times, he gave up on trying to figure out how Victor was going to tie this lesson into fake losing the raffle. Rule 7 "Don't Chase False Hope," fit perfectly, but "Play to People's Pride," seemed a bit of a stretch.
Michael brewed a small pot of coffee and poured himself a bowl of dry flakes. He turned on the TV and let the morning news play in the background as he got dressed. Michael stopped to check his mailbox on the way to his car. He was impressed at the level of planning Victor had given these lessons. It was a quarter past five as he pulled from the lot. What was in store at 3600 Depot Road?