Chapter 14 — When I Stop Being Invisible

It turned out that he had arranged this last week, before his heart attack. Did you already feel that your body had problems? On the other end of the phone, Tran Loi was still talking: "Miss To, the company is very confused right now. Three customer projects are still being implemented, there is still a sum of money to be collected at the end of the month. If the management board stagnates, the customers will lose confidence."

“Does Co Vien Chu recognize this arrangement?”

"Boss Co said he kept a copy of boss Ha's administrative documents, there was no problem with the legal effect. He agreed."

“What about Lam Vi?”

"Lam Vi said that as long as she agrees, she will do her best to cooperate."

I looked out the window. It's already dark. To Niem was outside the living room and heard my phone call. The child stood at the door.

“Mom, do we have to go there?”

"It's not about going back. It's about going to help."

“Is there any difference?”

I looked at her and didn't answer. Early the next morning, I went to the hospital first. Ha Kien Quoc lay behind the glass door of the ICU room, his face gray, his body full of breathing tubes. His wife stood in the hallway, her eyes swollen and red.

“To Van, thank you for coming.”

“Sister, how is boss Ha's situation?”

"The doctor said the danger is over, but he needs to rest for at least three months. He can't bother with work anymore."

I nodded. Stepping out of the hospital, I drove to Hang Vien. When I stood in front of the big gate, the receptionist almost didn't recognize me.

“Boss… Boss To?”

Two months ago, she called me Ms. To. Now he's called boss To.

“Inform department heads, meeting in the conference room at ten o'clock.”

“Yes, boss To.”

At exactly ten o'clock, the heads of the seven departments were all present. Head of Department Trieu, Tran Loi, Mr. Vuong of Finance Department, Engineer Lam of Technical Department, Little Chu of Administration Department, Ms. Truong of Customer Service Department, and HR Lam Vi. They looked at me. I looked at them. Sit right in the position that Ha Kien Quoc usually sits in during meetings.

"Everyone, during the current period, I have received the mandate from boss Ha, as an external consultant, to temporarily coordinate the company's management work. Boss Co and Lam Vi will coordinate. There will be no changes to the current structure of the departments, no personnel adjustments. The goal is only one - ensuring the company operates normally until boss Ha recovers."

Chief Trieu was the first to speak up: "Boss To, I have no opinion." Tran Loi: "I have no opinion." Old Vuong of the finance department pushed up his glasses: "Boss... Boss To, I just finished last month's report, do you want to take a look?"

“Send it to me by email.”

Engineer Lam raised his hand.

"Boss To, that project management system - the one you used to use in Excel - can we use it again? The new system is really... very difficult to use."

"Forget the new system. Use the old one again, I will upgrade to a new version."

The meeting room was silent for a second. Then, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. That feeling is very strange. Like the foundation of a building that has just been reinforced. It's not something that would cause a landslide. It's just... everything returns to its original place. During the first week of temporarily managing Hang Vien, I did three things. First, restore the three-tier procurement approval process. All supplier contracts signed during Zhou Han's tenure must be reviewed from the beginning. Second, give your operating plan Thuy Hoa returned from a paused state, and at the same time accelerated the process restructuring process for the remaining four departments. Third, directly meet three customers who are dissatisfied with Hang Vien's service quality. The third task took up all three of my days. Flying over two cities, meeting senior management of three customers. In every meeting, I get straight to the point.

"I am To Van, previously in charge of Hang Vien's operations. I understand your dissatisfaction, because the cause comes from the chaotic period after I left. Now I have returned to handle it. Here is the solution and specific timeline."

Of those three customers, both parties signed contract extensions on the spot. The remaining customer asked for another month to consider. When I returned to the company, Tran Loi was waiting at the door.