WinkLingo
Log in

The Intern · 2015 — Chapter 2 of 18 · 2'28" · B2

Jules Is Told to Consider a CEO, Explained: make the trains run on time

Jules hears that investors want her to consider a seasoned CEO. The surface issue is growth; the real question is control. “we can't keep up with our own success” sounds like concern, but it also turns her speed into a problem to be managed.

What happens

At a meeting, someone says investors want the company to consider meeting with potential CEOs. One reply asks whether inexperience, lack of Harvard, or unorthodox methods are the issue. Another line says the company is growing too fast and a seasoned CEO could take work off your plate. A brief interruption follows about a jacket, and someone thanks Ben.

MeetingsSuggestingExplainingCoworkersB2mediumamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

consider the possibilityby the bookadult supervisionkeep up with

00:00 / 02:28
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
  5. ❝ MonologueA burst of questions6 linesPractice page ↗
  18. ❝ MonologueThe runaway-growth list9 linesPractice page ↗
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

make the trains run on time

keep routine operations running smoothly

The line sounds like a friendly division of labor, but it quietly moves routine control away from the person who comes up with ideas.

A strong operations chief makes the trains run on time without chasing headlines.

Also in this scene

  • consider the possibility

    consider whether something is possible

  • by the book

    following the rules exactly

  • adult supervision

    being watched over by an adult

  • keep up with

    match the pace of something

  • Jules standard time

    a joking name that uses “standard time” to tease lateness

Everything marked in this scene

29 notes across 49 lines

Phrase · B1meet with someone

meet someone for discussion

...of, uh, meeting with some, uh, potential CEOs.
Phrase · B2see something coming

anticipate something happening not literal sight, but anticipating

I did not see that coming.
Sounddid not see

Lighten did not and land on see and coming.

I did not see that coming.
Phrase · B2inexperienced at doing something

lacking experience in doing something

am I too inexperienced at running a business?
Phrase · B2by the book

following the rules exactly

The line turns the phrase by the book into a challenge: not following the rules is offered as the reason the company got this far.

My... My methods aren't by the book?
Phrase · B1keep up with something

match the pace of something

After the numbers land, the reply shifts from argument to warning: the company cannot keep up with its own success.

Jules, we can't keep up with our own success.
Phrase · B1be late to something

be late for every meeting

You're an hour late to every meeting.
Phrase · B2have a name for something

have a label for something a nickname rather than an official name

We have a name for it... Jules standard time.
Phrase · B2only so many hours in the day

there is a limit to daily time

And look, I get it. There's only so many hours in the day.
SoundWe're all

Keep We're light and slide straight into all.

We're all playing catchup.
Slang · B2playing catchup

trying to catch up — Casual speech; in formal writing, use 'catching up'.

We're all playing catchup.
Slang · B2slammed

swamped; extremely busy — Casual workplace talk; use 'overwhelmed' in formal reports.

Customer service is slammed.
Phrase · B1run out of something

be running out of stock

We're running out of inventory.
Soundout of

Squeeze out of together; don't give of its own beat.

We're running out of inventory.
Grammar · B2the bigger we get, The more complicated it's gonna get

comparative correlative: The double comparative ties growth directly to future complexity.

And... And the bigger we get, The more complicated it's gonna get.
SoundWhat is everyone

Link What is into everyone and stress worried.

Say it. What is everyone so worried about?
Phrase · B2get away from someone

slip out of control not escape, but lose control

That it's all going too fast, and it could get away from us.
Grammar · B2That it's all going too fast

elliptical that-clause: The that-clause supplies the content of the worry after the main clause is dropped.

That it's all going too fast, and it could get away from us.
Phrase · C1take something off someone's plate

relieve someone of some work not food, but workload

Our investors just think that a seasoned CEO Could take some things off your plate.
Phrase · B2free someone up

make someone available for other work not physical freedom, but time and energy

That's all. Just free you up to do what you do great.
Phrase · C1make the trains run on time

keep routine operations running smoothly

The line sounds like a friendly division of labor, but it quietly moves routine control away from the person who comes up with ideas.

You come up with the ideas, And let somebody else make the trains run on time.
Phrase · B1do things one's way

act according to one's own approach

But, Cameron, this new person, They are going to want to do things their way.
Phrase · B1report to someone

answer to someone at work

I mean, how can I do what I do If I have to report to someone else, Run every idea I have by this person?
Grammar · B2how can I do what I do If I have to report to someone else

conditional clause: The if-clause sets the condition that would make her independent way of working impossible.

I mean, how can I do what I do If I have to report to someone else, Run every idea I have by this person?
Phrase · B2see something working

think an arrangement can work not visual sight, but judgment

Can you see that working?
Phrase · B1bring in someone

hire an outside leader bring in means recruit from outside

Well, gilt groupe brought in a CEO.
Phrase · B1take care of something

deal with something not caring for a person, but handling a task

I apologize, But Becky said you needed something taken care of On your jacket.
Phrase · B1make up a list

prepare a list not invent, but compile

The V.C.s made up a list of potential CEOs.
Slang · C1V.C.s

venture capitalists — Startup jargon; explain it as venture capitalists to outsiders.

The V.C.s made up a list of potential CEOs.

Jules Is Told to Consider a CEO, explained

What's really going on

The offer is framed as support: a seasoned CEO could take some things off your plate and free you up to do what you do great. The phrasing sounds generous, but it reassigns the core of the job: “You come up with the ideas, And let somebody else make the trains run on time.” When the question turns to who would technically be the boss, the issue is no longer growth but authority. The company's success is both the argument for change and the threat: “we can't keep up with our own success.” Everyone can agree on the operational problems; they disagree about what solving them costs.

Theme

PowerThe offer of help quietly shifts authority: a new CEO would oversee the creative work.
AmbitionRapid success becomes the reason for outside supervision, turning growth into a limit on control.

Listen for

  • did not see — Lighten did not and land on see and coming.
  • We're all — Keep We're light and slide straight into all.
  • out of — Squeeze out of together; don't give of its own beat.
  • What is everyone — Link What is into everyone and stress worried.
I did not see that coming.

A surprised reaction: the suggestion about meeting potential CEOs was completely unexpected.

I mean, isn't that how we got here?

A defense of her methods: the same unorthodox choices are what built the company.

We hit our five-Year goal in nine months.

The line stresses extraordinary growth: a five-year target was reached in only nine months.

Jules, we can't keep up with our own success.

The company is growing faster than its operations can handle, the argument for bringing in a seasoned CEO.

You come up with the ideas, And let somebody else make the trains run on time.

The proposed division of labor: keep creating ideas, but hand day-to-day operations to someone else.

Questions about this scene

Why do the investors want a seasoned CEO?

A line says the company cannot keep up with its own success; a seasoned CEO could take some things off your plate and free you up to do what you do great.

How is the CEO idea received?

It prompts surprise: “I did not see that coming,” followed by questions about being too inexperienced, not going to Harvard, and methods not being by the book. Someone also asks whether the new person would technically be the speaker's boss.

Why does Harvard come up?

It is one of several guesses about why a CEO is wanted: whether the speaker is too inexperienced, did not go to Harvard, or has methods that aren't by the book.

What operating problems are mentioned?

The tech team works until two or three in the morning, customer service is slammed, inventory is running out, and there are shipping issues and programming problems.

What interrupts the meeting?

An apology: someone says Becky told them something needed to be taken care of on a jacket. A thank-you to Ben follows, and the conversation later turns to a list of potential CEOs.

The Intern · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3goes without sayingBen Confronts the Drinking Driver
Chapter 1gave me the drillBen Meets His New BossWatching · Chapter 2make the trains run on timeJules Is Told to Consider a CEOChapter 3goes without sayingBen Confronts the Drinking DriverChapter 4me timeTwo Parents Keep Dozing OffChapter 5slammedBen Arrives at Jules's HouseChapter 6stay-at-home dadJules Gets the Guacamole AssignmentChapter 7force of habitBen's Old Factory RevealChapter 8brownnoseIntern Sets Up Facebook ProfileChapter 9jumped the gunBen Gets His Job BackChapter 10I happen to thinkBecky Breaks Down at WorkChapter 11little does ... knowJules's Team Plans a Break-InChapter 12no such thing asFake Alarm at Jules's Mom's HouseChapter 13above and beyondCoworkers Toast After a HeistChapter 14glass ceilingBen Takes Paige to a Birthday PartyChapter 15bowl of mushBen Comes Back FlushedChapter 16pull offBenjamin Opens Up About His MarriageChapter 17take the rapA Wife Reveals Her Husband's AffairChapter 18add upBen Talks Jules Out of Giving Up
Chapter 2 of 18 · about 41 min to go