I led my team to compile all the year’s major technical breakthroughs and architecture optimizations into detailed documentation and slides.
Vivian, meanwhile, decorated the entire venue like a hip coffee shop and designed a bunch of party games.
At the final prep meeting, David slammed my slides on the table and barked,
“Sophie! Your slides are crammed with code and charts—who’s going to enjoy that?”
“Learn from Vivian—make everyone feel the magic of technology in a light and fun atmosphere!”
He publicly praised Vivian for being “creative” and “great at engagement,” while ignoring my team’s painstakingly prepared technical work.
In the end, he ordered me to turn the summit into a “Tech Carnival.”
Content was secondary—what mattered was that it looked lively.
I told him that would turn a serious technical exchange into a shallow sideshow.
He accused me of being rigid, inflexible, full of “engineer arrogance.”
So I gave in.
I spent two more days repackaging all my hard work into a hollow, flashy shell.
Naturally, the event was declared a “great success,” because the photos looked good and got plenty of likes on LinkedIn.