"Yes?"

"Um, Hi. Uh, this is Bob up in Sales. I was just wondering... When will you have a version ready that I could show to a customer?"

"A version of what? We have more than one project going, you know."

"The bridge."

"Which bridge?"

"That long one we're building. Real pretty. Something-Narrow, I think"

"You mean Tacoma Narrows?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Well it's scheduled to be done in 3 months, and then we have to do trial and inspection."

"Oh... well... that's going to be too late. See we've got this other customer I want to show it to. It's an enormous opportunity. If he likes it'll he'll probably buy a hundred for his state."

"Yeah, well it's not done. You don't want to show him a incomplete project do you?"

"Actually all I need is a demo. I told him we already have this great bridge done. I have to have something to show him!"

"Is this my problem?"

"Look, this is very important to the company. Could mean lots of sales for us!"

"What state did you say this was?"

"I dunno. Some state back east. Said he needs lots of bridges and he'd buy a whole bunch."

"Well it's not done. You can't use it yet. We've got the towers and suspension up but there's no road bed. It takes a while to build four lanes you know."

"Can we just toss one lane up for the demo?"

"You want to build a one-lane suspension bridge?"

"No, no, just for the demo. Then you can add the other lanes before release."

"That means doing that extra work, then tearing it out, and then rebuilding it to the original spec. It'll put us way behind and overbudget. Can't you just show him the plans and drawings?"

"No, I already promised the customer a working demo. He wants to drive across it with his dog. Says that's how he decides if he likes a bridge or not. I dunno. Look, I don't understand why you can't just give me what you've got so far."

"Because there's no damned road bed. It's not done yet."

"Can't you just throw in a lane over the weekend?"

"Excuse me?"

"How 'bout two lanes? That'll still work as a version 1.0 bridge and it'll be a great demo. You can add the other two lanes in 1.1. Can you do that by next week?"

"No. And if we could it would still be a redesign. The customer wanted four lanes. It's in the spec and that's the way we're going to build it. Besides, if we make a last minute change it won't be stable."

"Two would be good enough for 1.0, and I just want it to work long enough for the demo."

"Look, do you want this thing to crash when you're showing it to your customer?"

"You engineering guys just don't understand the big picture."

"And you don't understand that if we just slap something temporary together it'll probably end up staying that way. The customer won't be happy, and it's going to be a disaster. You want that kind of reputation for the company?"

"Fine, I'm taking this to the CEO. I'm sure he'll see it my way. You engineering-types just don't take this seriously enough."