[All characters, places, organizations, and events appearing in this work are purely fictitious and have no relation whatsoever to reality.]
"The think tank you are questioning is not a place that generates profit. It is a place that 'seizes the future.' If the family office protects today's wealth, the think tank will become the family's compass that predicts New York and the global economy ten, twenty years from now. Organizations buried in operational details and unable to see ahead are inevitably destined to be eliminated."
Henry made eye contact with each participant listening intently. Before long, he stretched his hand out flat, extended it forward, and began folding his fingers one by one.
"First is the Future Team. There is no need for fortunetellers who predict the market here. I will provide the answers, and I will set the direction. Instead, I need business planning experts who can turn the direction I give into reality, and veterans who can convert to field operations when actual business begins. Strategists who, the moment I say 'this will make money,' will immediately run to the industrial frontlines, grasp the supply chain, and churn out execution plans. You may not know it, but I have no shortage of ideas. The organization that will put them into action is precisely the Future Team."
Henry paused for a moment and gazed at the bulky typewriter sitting in a corner of the conference room.
"If computer technology advances further, we will be able to analyze data and unfold the future like a map. Those sluggish mainframes that now fill an entire room will soon become smaller than a briefcase and sit atop every desk. When that time comes, we will no longer simply organize ledgers; we will aggregate and predict in real time what consumers around the world bought this morning and what they will want to buy tomorrow. The flow of logistics, the consumption of energy, even the fickle hearts of voters—all will be converted into numbers and appear on our screens. Learning to ride that vast wave of data before anyone else—that is the final assignment the Future Team must prepare for. Of course, for now, I shall take on the role of that machine myself. Haha."
As he folded his thumb, he thought something else internally.
'It sounds nice calling it the Future Team, but in reality, it’ll just be a verification team that creates plausible justifications and execution plans to match the answer key I throw at them. This is the only way I can work the system without getting called an alien or a time traveler.'
Henry continued.
"Second is the Agenda Team. They are architects of public opinion who develop logic favorable to our family, leak massive reports to the press, and pressure the government to produce the policies we want. Beyond defending the family’s reputation, they will at times be responsible for aggressive opinion manipulation. From permit officers at New York City Hall to policymakers in Washington—these are the architects of connections who will bring everyone into our camp as allies."
As he folded his index finger, he thought something else internally.
'Later on, I should organize an entire comment brigade and completely dominate the public opinion meta.'
Henry continued.
"Third is the Intelligence Team. They will run informants to dissect competitors’ business structures and hunt for weaknesses. If necessary, they will not even hesitate to commit industrial espionage, and they will serve the role of emptying the enemy’s magazine before they can point their guns at us."
As he folded his middle finger, he thought something else internally.
'This means we won’t just take a one-sided beating anymore. The first strike is an immutable truth, regardless of the era!'
Henry continued.
"Fourth is the Advisor Team. They will bind university professors, former high-ranking bureaucrats, and technical experts from various fields as advisory committee members under our family’s influence. Externally, they will serve as an excellent shield that wraps our business in the splendid packaging of 'objectivity and expertise.'"
As he folded his ring finger, he inwardly smacked his lips with bitterness.
'In the end, the world is a battle of signage. A high school dropout bum spouting off and a Harvard professor authoritatively reciting the same content differ in the weight of their influence from the very outset.'
Henry moved on and continued his final words.
"Fifth is the Personnel Team. Through professional headhunting, they will recruit core talents we have marked. They will also handle the management and evaluation of the family’s human resources. However, for now, ensure that people from our family are placed first so they can build expertise. If we need a competent manager right away, feel free to bring in and seat an ace from the industry’s hottest headhunting firm."
As he folded his little finger, he thought something else internally.
'Turns out, headhunting at this point in time is too primitive. These so-called firms are at the level of roughly fitting someone similar from their own networks. If we directly scout talents suited to our taste, later we could spin this team off into an independent subsidiary and that’d be quite lucrative.'
Henry spread his index finger again and continued.
"And there is one final team I want. The Patent Team. It is a group that preemptively secures technology patents and licenses needed by the family. Monopolizing people and technology—their source resources—is this team’s supreme task, but the timing is not right to establish it immediately. For now, please simply be aware that such a plan exists."
'Patents for game consoles... the cross key... should I start by naming it the Avenger Key from the get-go? There are so many patents to steal or create! How many times have I seen ones that start with “Old engineers have lost their minds,”'
As Henry’s speech ended, the conference hall once again began to buzz with hushed deliberations among themselves. When Henry took a sip of coffee and set down his cup, a wave of questions crashed in. As expected, the veteran Bart was the first to obtain the floor and opened his mouth.
"Hmm... it seems necessary. I agree. Whether it's the family office or the think tank. However, I have some complaints about these documents. I wonder if you intentionally wrote the content sparsely to engineer an image reversal during the presentation. Regardless, Henry, you certainly look highly competent today. Secretary! Write down today's contents exactly as spoken and redistribute them by today without fail!"
Henry could only smile sheepishly at Bart’s sarcasm. The content written in the family office and think tank proposals was at the level of 'the family’s hands and feet' and 'a head without authority,' containing only simple contexts. But Henry wanted to make excuses.
'There was no time to write it in detail. I only started preparing this yesterday, and if I had written everything down, I couldn’t have finished it before today’s meeting!'
Afraid it would look pathetic to actually make excuses, Henry nodded as if in agreement and replied.
"Yes, Secretary. Be sure to write the contents well. Don’t make me say it twice! Haha.."
"Boss. I now clearly understand the roles and necessity of the family office and think tank, but realistically, the costs seem likely to increase far more than you imagine."
At Gilberto’s words, Henry answered.
"Of course they will increase. It would be strange if spending didn’t rise when recruiting talent. Roughly calculating in your head, how much do you think it will increase?"
Gilberto took a fountain pen from his briefcase and tapped it. He narrowed his eyes toward the ceiling and began writing numbers on the back of a document to calculate. Having finished the calculation quickly, he pushed his glasses up and turned the paper scrawled with numbers toward Henry.
"Boss, currently our family’s committee of 100 members spends 4.5 million dollars annually on labor costs. Of course, not all of it is cash outflow. Quite a few items are inserted targeting welfare costs or tax savings. Still, it averages around twenty-five thousand dollars per person—that’s treatment at the level of a major corporation’s executive. However, switching to this system of dedicated specialist teams for each field cannot be solved by simply moving people around. Ten manager-level experts to anchor each team must absolutely be brought in from outside."
At Gilberto’s realistic point, Henry fell into thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Hmm, in the case of the investment team I will operate, we don’t need star traders or famous fund managers flying high on Wall Street. We simply need a workhorse investment team with tight lips and fast hands. If possible, it would be nice if they had the ability to avoid detection by the market."
"Then costs will decrease greatly. Star-level figures not only have high base salaries, but above all they demand enormous performance bonuses, so they are no trivial matter. Hmm, just a moment.."
Gilberto scribbled numbers here and there again as he calculated, then soon turned the paper and handed it to Henry. He continued speaking, pointing to the numbers one by one.
"Even if we redeploy existing personnel, we must newly bring in ten core talents from outside to serve as the heads of each team. In particular, we need veteran operators who can split the boss’s orders across thousands of accounts without being detected by the market. Instead of demanding a share of profits, they will want a fixed salary far above industry average as compensation for maintaining secrecy. The same goes for the legal team’s rapid-response members. Furthermore, the price of one heavyweight lawyer from the New York Federal Prosecutors’ Office to lead the legal team will easily exceed an annual salary of two hundred thousand dollars. That’s on par with President Jimmy Carter’s salary. Now, let me organize this once more."
Gilberto set aside the countless numbers written on the back of the document, took out new paper, and began writing numbers again. When he finished writing, he pushed the paper toward Henry and pointed to the items one by one with his finger.
'As expected, lawyers from federal prosecutors’ offices are expensive. If it’s two hundred thousand dollars in ’79, how much would that be in value in ’26? But... money isn’t the issue. If they’re truly worth it, this is no different from a firewall against the regulations and legal disputes that will explode later.'