Throw the Keys on the Table

"“Tom,” I said quietly, “I was afraid you were going to say that. I’ve got every knob in this company turned down as tight as they’ll go.” Then my voice started to get louder. “We’ve got people working sixty-hour weeks and getting paid for thirty. We’re working overtime to just get over this hump. And that’s all it is—a hump. dWe can get over it.” I sounded like a gambler with a hot tip. “But if you do this now, it will kill us,” I continued. “It’ll so demoralize everyone. I just can’t continue to run the company if you’re going to do that!” “And so if *you* think *you* can extract this little bit more juice out of the company… here’s the keys to everything.” I pulled my ring of office keys out of my front pants pocket and threw it down on the table in my office. “You run it and let me know how you make out.”"

"I had pulled the keys out for effect, but the truth was I was dead serious. I also knew that all banks dread having to seize a customer’s business, because they know nothing about running any business; they’ll just screw it up. They know only money."

"Even before I could find my way around the squat one-story office in Denver and settle into the financial problems at TCI, I stumbled into a political showdown in November 1973. The city council of Vail, Colorado, a tourist town built on ski resorts and condos a couple hours west of Denver, had refused to renew TCI’s contract unless we met certain demands. TCI had then failed to meet deadlines to rewire the system. So the council called a meeting, and with no public hearing or due process, canceled our franchise agreement with the city. I felt like the town was playing hardball, which many cities were willing to do when it came to the cable franchise, so we played hardball, too. Since we couldn’t legally operate a franchise, we opted to pull the plug on the system after 6 p.m. on November 2, 1973, about ten minutes into *Bullitt*, an action flick with Steve McQueen. In its place, we ran a scrolling text of the names of the mayor and the city manager, with their phone numbers. The blackout continued Friday through Monday, eclipsing a Denver Broncos game. It didn’t take long for the phone lines to spur the politicians. By Tuesday, we had hammered out an agreement with the council. We were also putting cities on notice if they were mulling franchise renewals for TCI: don’t threaten our livelihood and expect TCI to simply roll over."