9 Kate I had met Kate just once. She'd been the final of my eight interviewers during the hiring process. I liked her instantly, as I'd since found out was common to nearly everyone in the company. Her story was in some ways the story of Zagrum, and like Zagrum's story, Kate's was freely passed along to new employees. She had joined the company fresh out of college some 25 years earlier, with a degree in history. One of the first 20 employees at Zagrum, she started as an order-fulfillment clerk. In those days, it seemed that Zagrum's future was in per- petual doubt. After five years, Kate, by then Zagrum's direc- tor of sales, left the company for a better opportunity, only to change her mind after a last-ditch personal appeal by Lou Herbert. Since that time, and until Lou's retirement, Kate had been second in command at Zagrum. At Lou's retirement,