I feel almost as if I've been in hibernation. It seems like only yesterday and here we are, four years later. My first blog in that long. Huh. I'm feeling a bit like Rip Van Winkle. Look at all the options you can put into your blog now! There are new pictures, new ways to post, new themes, new, what the hell are these gadget thingies?
All right, this is dealt with. I'm adding nothing. You're right. If the writing stands on its own, who needs pretty background colors or soft, floating music? We're here to impart information, aren't we? At very least, it is time to muse for my own amusement.
FOUR YEARS LATER:
Team Mates has changed a lot in four years, too. It is often said that a company is a reflection of its owner. It is also said that husbands and wives morph into twins if they stay together for long enough. We'll stick with the company image, though. Much more palatable.
I went through a metamorphosis about four years ago. I learned, through the commission of many errors, that emotions are unnecessary within a company and that a certain amount of detachment is required if one is to manage effectively. There are many clues available to the thinking person. I should have read them. The clues consist of things like, "The whole shop goes quiet when the boss walks into the room." There are many. "People find excuses to be elsewhere when the boss is around." "Employees make lots of mistakes and then won't admit to them." "People arrive late and leave early." "Deliveries are not on time." There are, as I say, a lot of clues.
I blew up for the final time one day about three years ago. In my head it was this totally logical argument. "The employees need to hear that I am angry and upset, so I'll go out and yell at my shop manager in the middle of the shop floor. People always straighten up for a few weeks after I get angry." So I stomped out, gave my best impression of a baby with diaper rash and my shop manager walked out the door. She quit.
It took a few days to realize what I had done. I wound up begging her to come back by the way. We talked. I made her a promise that I would never do that again.
She came back to work. I have not yelled since then. I haven't even felt the urge to do so. Our shop runs better than it ever has. It is built on service. We are honest and we get things done. I have the best staff ever and they've all been with Team Mates for a long period of time. Many have been here for over five years, in fact. We deliver on time. We focus on quality. We work together. We talk together and work out issues in reasonable and fair ways. Above all, when walking in the door in the morning, I feel happier and even successful.
A company is a reflection of its owners. From 2009 until today, I have seen that particular statement as it really is. More later.
