“Jim, you look beat.”

“Oh, hi Mary, I was up late crunching the numbers.”

‘Oh?”

“You know, since The Alliance entered the analytics certification market, we’ve been losing market share.”

“I know. It’s not fair — our test is much better than their test.”

“It’s true, but unfortunately, no one can tell the difference.”

“Well, the board has just approved MAP 2 — we’ll meet the $99 price point and cut our test to 49 questions.”

“Yes, but have you heard the latest?”

“No, what?”

“Now, when you get certified by The Alliance, they send you a beautifully engraved brass plaque. Actually, I wouldn’t mind hav”

“JIM!”

“Sorry. Listen Mary. I’ll tell you what’s keeping me up at night.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, it’s only a rumor, but, the way the story goes, The Alliance has gotten to some key California legislators, and they’re getting ready to push through an Alliance based licensing program for all analytics professionals in California.”

“Licensing! But…but…but then, we’ll all be screened out!”