Can you keep a Secret? Why not, I was a Secretary

Can you keep a Secret? Why not, I was a Secretary



Of the many qualities that I expect from my subordinate is his ability to keep a secret emphasised the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the final stage of the Interview of James Holmes. Don’t you think it is easily said than done Apprentice James Holmes, the CEO quipped.

Well sir while appreciating your comment and agreeing to your comprehension of the matter, I concur with you and at the same time also beg to differ and I assure you that I will be able to convince you to concur with my side of the understanding of the matter at hand before the close of business.

Without any ado please go ahead and convince me that keeping a secret is not hard as I assume it to be, Sherlock Holmes, I mean James Holmes. Sir I will argue my case before this esteemed Board of Interviewers and the Honorable CEO, by building my case within the frame of reference and outlined in five specific points.

If I may I will first of all state the five points on which I shall later on deliberate upon in a span of two minutes each. You have two minutes to state the points and two minutes to elaborate upon each of the points, which will leave us with 8 minutes to end this interview. It seems to be fine James. Now please go ahead.

The first point is that I am a male. The second point is my vast experience as a secretary. The third and I may say most important of all the five points is my natural ability. The fourth being the company I keep and lastly, and the fifth point is the pleasure I derive from keeping the Secret.

All your points are taken on board Holmes announced one of the board members and all other members gave their affirmative nod and the CEO signalled James to press his points chronologically.

Okay sir, to begin with my first point I would like to draw your attention to a scene from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. In this particular scene Portia tries to convince Brutus that she can keep the secret by stating these lines “I admit I am only a woman, I am Cato’s daughter, Do you really think I am no stronger than the rest of my sex, with such a father and such a husband”. This statement gives me the benefit and passes the test of time.

Now coming to the second point that is with regard to my experience as a Secretary, I have proven time and again how secrets remained secret without causing any embarrassment to me and to my superiors. I take your permission to place on record an incident that show how secrets are kept as secret as it should be.

Go ahead Holmes indicated the CEO. It was during my tenure as a Secretary to the District Judge in one of the districts in the northern part of India. A very vital Judgement was about to be pronounced. An anxiously awaited judgement concerning one of the famous outlaw of the District was to be given. Over half a dozen Secretaries of the District Court were summoned to the Chamber of the district judge and I was one of them. No one knew to whom the judgement was going to be dictated by the District Judge, except the one to whom it was dictated and unfortunately it was not dictated to me.

Now moving on to the third point which is the natural ability, the one famous way I used to adopt which you may call as “Diversion technique”. Keep diverting the attention from the issue that requires highest level of secrecy.

Fourth point which I think is to keep Company of people who are matured and less talkative and believing in minding their own business.

The fifth and last point as outlined by me was the pleasure that is derived in keeping secret. The very fact that you are the bearer of the secret which only very few are aware of. The innumerable expressions you can observe and inquisitiveness you can feel of others who have some interest in the matter that is being kept a secret.

With the above stated five points I am reasonably sure that I have convinced the judges who I am sure are very reasonable and fair and true to their vocation they have decided to pursue. And with this I rest my case said James Holmes.

The CEO along with the other Members of the Board seemed to have listened very carefully and asked James Holmes to wait outside the Interview room for about ten minutes to be summoned again to give their final decision.

James Holmes left the interview room and took a seat on the sofa stationed alongside the antechamber and requested the orderly to arrange for a glass of water and in the meantime James Holmes took out a book from his brief case and started reading to while away his time. In a few minutes the orderly brought a glass of water and James drank it to quench his thirst.

As was expected James Holmes was again summoned and he entered the Interview Room and he was face to face with the CEO and one more member who seemed to be quite impressed and told him that he shall be informed of the outcome very soon.

James Holmes was also informed of the Pay packet which for James was not very attractive but considering the present market condition he was left with not much option but to accept it. On the contrary the CEO agreed in principle to take him unless he comes across any other candidate he feels is more promising and younger in age and could be assigned more work considering his mobility, agility and sustainability and could be retained for a more period of time that James Holmes.

James Holmes more or less convinced of getting the job started pondering on the statements he made and said to himself “Can you keep a Secret”.

Best Wishes. K.V. Chidambaram