29 November 2007 - Better than Yesterday - Enjoy this story
Based on the comments that were posted yesterday, I am think I hit close to home.
One comment I got talked positively about a former employer. One was decidedly negative about an employer, but was not a Christmas time issue. Yet another comment talked about the change from the positive to the negative.
That was the comment that really grabbed ahold of what I was referring to.
And that leads to the bigger point that I was trying to make, but probably failed to do so. I guess the best example of the point I was trying to make is the story of Ewing M. Kauffman.
Some of you make recognize the name of the late founder/owner of the Kansas City Royals. But I would bet that many of you don't know his whole story.
Following his service in the U.S Navy, Mr. K returned to the midwest and got a job with a pharmaceutical company in sales. In his first year, Mr. K earned commissions that exceeded the salary of the company president. AND THIS IS PROBABLY where Mr. K learned a life lesson that carried him throughout his life. The company president CUT Mr. K's commissions and cut his territory.
Ewing Kauffman reacted by starting his own company. And he ran the company by doing the right thing as often as possible.
And Mr. K became a billionaire along the way. OK, so he died as "just" a mulit-millionaire, but only because he had given away so much of his fortune before he passed away in 1993.
Not only did he give away a lot of money, he helped many others become millionaires along the way.
Those millionaires have in turn "paid it forward" so that others can find their fortunes....and again pass it along.
Unfortunately, these folks are in a minority. Too few people know the story of Ewing M. Kauffman nor of his legacy. Hopefully, this posting will let a few more of you know about what Mr. K did for the people that he knew and those that worked with and for him.
I doubt this will change the attitudes of those in management anywhere. Those who embrace the ideals of Mr. K are already doing the right thing. Those who are not are, more than likely, unwilling to change their ways. They are too miopic to see the long term benefit.
Mr. K died in 1993. Good thing he wasn't miopic. The effects of his attitude toward PEOPLE are still being felt.
Please add your comments.
Comments
It would be easy to say there are two kinds of employers- the ones who screw the staff every chance they get, and the ones who see their workers as part of a team. It's been my observation there are supervisors and managers, and owners at all points along the spectrum from one side being a push-over and lackluster leader, and the other being nothing short of a psychopathic tyrant.
In my personal journey, I have probably leaned too much to the humanistic or altruistic side of managing people. I would rather stand on top of the hill and say "this is the way to go", rather than stand at the bottom of the hill and shout orders.
What scares me today, is the total disregard of workers as anything more than pegs-in-holes. Peg empties, hole is filled. Those pegs are people who have children, moms, dads, and believe it or not lives outside of the workplace.
Most of us work to eat, to pay for our homes and to raise our children. It is not a hobby, or something we can choose not to do. And most of us need the jobs we have.
It's shocking to hear some of the stories about how callous some companies are toward their workers. One comes to mind where people were notified they were canned...by e-mail! And I believe those stories are a big part of what is causing the chasm between workers and managers or owners to widen.
People have worth. All people have worth, according to the teachings of Christ. Workers are supposed to pursue their profession as if they are working for God- again that is in The Book, not from me. When either side of that equation is forgotten, you are headed for trouble.
Sorry to leave such a long comment, Jay. I have been off this week and the words have been piling up in my cranial hard-drive.
-The fat, balding malcontent
Posted by: Dave Foulk | November 29, 2007 06:06 PM