Lynn Garcia Case Writeup

The amount of loose change present in the United States accounts for approximately 17 billion dollars of unused currency. Most people have a coffee can, Ball glass jar, ceramic pink pig, or similar obtuse receptacle that contains this change. Anyone who has tried to actually use this currency has encountered the same challenge, banks will not accept it, clerks will give you dirty looks, and Staples will happily sell you paper sleeves for the privilege of spending an entire afternoon sorting. Being able to develop a system to allow consumers to easily convert this currency to amore spendable form could potentially be very lucrative for the developer. Enter Lynn Garcia and eChange.

Lynn Garcia is an Ivy League educated investment banker turned entrepreneur. She worked in the fast paced financial market in NYC for some years, but eventually decided to return to her roots in Nebraska. Lynn grew up around the family business, a general store, where many of her personality traits were set. Here she learned hard work, family values, and the problem of loose change. Loose change for both consumers and retailers presents challenges. Retailers need to purchase loose change from banks in order to stock their tills with currency to conduct day to day business. Consumers who receive this change have trouble actually converting this change to useful currency. Enter eChange.

eChange is an automated change counting machine that can be installed at various retail locations. Consumers can visit an eChange installation, dump in unsorted change from any type of receptacle, the machine will then count the change, then load the value of the currency onto a companion app. The interface of the app is what makes eChange unique from the other established coin counting machines that are already on the market. The data information from the app in the form of purchases, retailer coupons, and consumer loyalty habits is the true value of the company. In addition to this added value for the customer, eChange is able to take the returned coins and provide them, minus a fee, back to the retail establishments, reducing the need to purchase coins to stock registers.

As Lynn was developing this new and innovative startup she was introduced to an industry influencer by her father. This individual was Gene Mathews and became one of Lynn’s closest advisors. Gene invested at the initial investment round which made him not only an educational resource, but a vested partner in the business. Gene had many years of experience in the supermarket business, was self-taught and free of academic jargon, which Lynn particularly valued.

As eChange was developing their value added services Lynn’s other consultants recommended that they determine a way to monetize the customer digital information that the company was aggregating. In order to allow the business to grow, they wanted to use this information as quickly as possible. This led to a strategy to not reveal and specific customer data, and by doing this they could get around needing explicit consent from the data generators, the clients. Lynn evaluated the ethical and legal implications of this, and decided, and truly believed, that this was the correct way to move the company forward.

Lynn then went to seek the advice of Gene on this data collection issue. The contracts the company entered where clear that eChange had non-exclusive rights to most data; however the contracts did not say how the information could be used. When Gene learned of this approach to the handling of data, Gene said;

“If I ever caught you using information that came from OUR customers in OUR stores for any reason, I would personally unplug every machine and toss that (CENSORED) curbside for you or the garbage man. That’s being penny wise and pound foolish. Don’t even consider it without explicit written consent from the store management. PERIOD!”

Some time went on and Lynn continued on the data collection initiative. Lynn concluded that the opportunity presented by the data was simply too large to ignore, eChange was within the letter and spirit of the contracts, and Lynn herself truly believed in the initiative.

During a second conversation with Gene about an unrelated business management issue, Lunn brought up the data initiative, and the fact that she had in fact moved forward with the collection. This was in direct opposition to the stance that Gene took, and he reacted strongly to learning of the direction the company was taking. Gene said to Lynn when he found out;

“Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you went ahead with that cockamamie data deal? After I unambiguously told you it was a MAJOR mistake! You’re betting the company, your reputation, and mine by association on this stunt. No wonder you’re having issues with employees. You can’t take direction, so why should they? Why the hell should I waste my time giving advice when you don’t take it? What’s more, you don’t even have the courtesy to tell me what you are doing and just slip this thing by me!”

Lynn still felt strongly that she had mad the correct call in moving forward with the data collection initiative, and also she was afraid that she had damaged the relationship with Gene in the way it was handled. Lynn admits that Gene is probably the single most important advisor and credibility lender that eChange has, and she does not want to lose that.

This interaction between Lynn and Gene has moved into the realm of a Crucial Conversation. The data initiative is seen as a high stakes issue that the two parties involved in the discussion do not agree about. The emotional stakes have become high in the interaction and the way this issue is handled will determine the course of the company. Should it be handled incorrectly eChange may lose out on its biggest competitive market advantage, or on its most trusted advisor that lends major credibility to eChange as a business. Tensions and emotions are running high at this point in the story, and Lynn must navigate the treacherous waters of mending the mutual respect lost with Gene while also advocating her case for something that she deems critically important to the future of eChange.

The first step that Lynn needs to take in approaching this challenge is to determine what she really wants in her heart. What does she truly value more, the relationship with Gene or the data initiative. She must ask herself questions like; what do I really want for myself? What do I really want for Gene and the relationship with Gene? What is best for eChange? As Lynn asks these questions she must also identify and resist making a fools choice. That is the relationship with Gene, and the data initiative are not mutually exclusive outcomes. For this problem we will assume that Lynn really wants to keep her relationship with Gene and also move forward with the data initiative. In order to do this she will have to mend damage to the mutual respect to Gene, make dialog safe again, and get Gene and herself to begin contributing to the pool of knowledge once again.

Now that we have decided that Lynn wants both the relationship with Gene to continue, as well as move forward with the data initiative, Lynn can now start taking steps to get to this goal. The initial statements from Gene, and his reaction to finding out the data initiative went forward without his consent show that Gene is no longer in a