A Chance To Get Into The Room

"I think he was overly conscious of race to the point where it didn't serve him well," said Lynn K. Hall, his former boss at MCI. "He focused on it. It was an internal motivator, but it also colored his perception." Hall, who is white, said that when clients questioned Ford's abilities as a consultant, Ford often attributed those assessments to racial prejudice. She remembers when Ford was tapped to implement a new finance system at MCI. During the initial meeting, employees, most of whom were white, grilled Ford with questions about his plan's practicality. Ford thought his ideas were challenged because he is black. Hall disagreed. "All consultants face those challenges," she said, adding that Ford was an "excellent" worker who "always delivered" and would have eventually moved into management.

But Ford thought the company was devaluing him. The final insult: when he learned he was being paid less than a white woman he had trained to take over one of his former jobs. The woman, he was told, had a year more experience than Ford, which is why she was paid more. "But she was doing my old job," Ford says, exasperated. "Every time I would jump a hurdle, they still wouldn't let me in the room."

So he left MCI, became a manager for Intelsat's consulting arm, and for six years prepared for the day when he could run his own business.

Among Ford's most critical hires at Enlightened: Anita Hinnerichs, 33, the company's No. 4 executive, who manages most of its day-to-day operations. In the office, Hinnerichs wears her shoulder-length brown hair in a ponytail. But when accompanying Ford or Rogers to client meetings, she lets her hair fall to her shoulders. "I realize being a white woman in this town is an advantage," she says matter-of-factly. "If I can help get them get in the door, the work will keep them there."

One of Hinnerichs's unofficial roles is to make male clients, particularly white men, feel at ease. Recently, Hinnerichs attended a meeting with a white male government official who would not return phone calls or e-mails from Rogers and a senior male employee. Now, the client responds promptly -- but only if the correspondence is from Hinnerichs.

"If we're selling to men, females are more of a plus," Ford said. "But being passionate and hungry are more important than anything."

This strategy may be good for business, but it has caused tension in the Enlightened offices, especially among black employees, who number seven of the 18 core staff members at headquarters. Some feel like systems analyst Akisha Campbell, who says that with seven years in business and a long list of satisfied clients, Ford has proven himself. "I don't see why race would still be a problem," Campbell said.

Managing black employees, Ford and Rogers say, can be challenging. Some work hard and want executives who look like them to succeed. Others are extremely talented and therefore difficult to keep because larger firms can offer them as much as $25,000 more in salary. And then there are those who expect special breaks, challenging their bosses to the point of insubordination.

"I have very high expectations, regardless of race," Ford said. "But when it is an African American person who disappoints me, I get hurt."

* * *

Work Ethics

Working through the night is common at Enlightened, though it is not always pleasant. Gospel music, late-night inspiration for Ford and Rogers, blares through their computer speakers. If you hear Fred Hammond or Byron Cage singing, you know Antwanye Ford and Andre Rogers are around.

But not everyone can fight exhaustion with church music. During a recent all-nighter, six workers were collaborating on a proposal due at 9 a.m. By 3 a.m., weary senior manager Habib Nasibdar demanded to know why only half the staff was still working. Where were the other senior staffers, he asked Ford. "Don't raise your voice at me. This is my house," Ford snapped.