9
Ownership Meets Poser
Since the meeting, Ownership had been reflecting on his role in the kidnapping of Excellence and what he might do to get her back. The kidnapping hit Ownership very hard. In fact, he, Excellence, and Performance were often seen together. Now that Excellence had been kidnapped and Performance had been seriously injured and was in the hospital, Ownership was feeling out of place.
Looking through some of the photographs of himself with Excellence and Performance, Ownership thought about how the three of them had each joined the organization within a short period of time. That had been several years ago, and the organization was growing well when Leadership recruited him. Ownership could recall the interview as if it was yesterday.
Leadership asked him what he considered his greatest strength.
“I help employees take full responsibility for their work,” Ownership replied with pride.
“Go on,” Leadership said encouragingly.
“Have you ever washed a rental car?” Ownership boldly asked.
This caught Leadership off-guard. “Well, no,” was the reply.
“We don’t wash rental cars because we don’t own them,” Ownership said. This made Leadership smile. Ownership continued, “My strength lies in helping employees reach this same understanding about their jobs—that is, how they can fully take possession of their roles and responsibilities in the organization.”
“And what has your success rate been in this endeavor?” Leadership inquired.
“A very good question. A very good question indeed,” Ownership answered. “I would like to say it’s been 100 percent, but that would not be the truth.”
Leadership was about to ask what factors led to employees’ accepting Ownership and what factors prevented them from accepting him. As if reading Leadership’s mind, Ownership offered, “When there is a culture of trust and inclusion, employees are more likely to accept me. However, if the organization has a history of mistrust and top-down management, I find it very difficult for the employees to accept me.”
Leadership stood and walked to one of the windows in his office. Staring out, Leadership was silent for a while. Then he turned and walked back and sat down. Looking at Ownership, Leadership said, “We have worked hard here to earn the trust of our employees, and we try to include them in decisions.” He added, “We really need you here.”
Ownership pushed a small book across the desk to Leadership. “What’s this?” Leadership asked.
With pride, Ownership replied, “It’s the Best Employee Owner’s Manual. I wrote it myself. If you will look at the table of contents, you can see the aspects of employees’ jobs that I believe they should own.”
Leadership turned to the table of contents and read:
Best Employee Owner’s Manual
1. Passion—You get to choose your attitude. Choose the best!
2. Competency—Know what, when, and how to do it!
3. Flexibility—Be willing to accept new ideas and methods without compromising your values!
4. Communication—Listen intently and speak with clarity!
5. Ownership—Take charge of your actions, behavior, and performance!
It takes all of these. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts!
“This looks great!” Leadership exclaimed. “When can you start?”
Ownership proudly recalled that he joined Gorman-Scott Inc., and not long after that, Excellence came and then Performance.
Suddenly, a voice said sympathetically “Now, now.”
Looking up, Ownership could make out an odd figure standing before him. “Hello,” he said uncertainly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” The person across from him could only be described as resembling a ventriloquist’s dummy. He was dressed in a tuxedo, and his movements were nothing less than mechanical. Suddenly, Ownership realized that this figure actually looked like Edgar Bergen’s dummy, Charlie McCarthy, but without the monocle.
“Poser is the name,” the figure offered as he sat down, doffing his black top hat respectfully. Ownership was stunned when the figure froze, with raised top hat in hand and blank, staring eyes.
For a few moments, Ownership was nonplussed. Finally he hesitantly asked, “What can I do for you?”
Seemingly in response to the question, Poser returned his hat to his head and squared up in his chair. “You are asking too much of us,” Poser said unequivocally. Then he froze again, mouth open, staring intently.
“Us?” Ownership asked.
Turning his head sideways, Poser replied, “Us. I represent the employees.”
“I don’t think I am asking too much,” Ownership said tentatively. He had still not worked out who Poser really was or how he knew what Ownership was thinking.
Ownership’s reply stimulated Poser into motion again. Poser smiled broadly, put one hand up as if waving, and then said, “Your Best Employee Owner’s Manual is wishful thinking. Most employees just want to come in, do their jobs, and go home. We don’t have stock in the company. We don’t get recognized or rewarded for going the extra mile.”
As Ownership listened to Poser, he could not help but notice Poser’s eyes. They were large and unblinking and seemed to stare past him, not at him. The word that came to Ownership’s mind was vacant. Poser’s stare was vacant. Ownership had seen this exact same look on a number of employees’ faces over the years. It was the look of disengagement, of being at work and going through the motions but not being connected to the work, the team members, or the company’s mission. Ownership suddenly understood that sometimes the employees were, in fact, just posing.
With his hand still in a simulated wave position, Poser continued, “You—who represent the Leadership—pretend to empower us—the employees. You sit around and talk about how to get buy-in from us, how to get us to give our best, but you refuse to slow down and really listen to us, to show us the respect we want and deserve. Or what is worse,” Poser said in a voice heavy with sarcasm, “is when you pretend to listen and then go ahead and do exactly what you were planning on doing in the first place. Is it any wonder that you have failed to instill a sense of ownership?” Poser cocked his head sideways, and suddenly his eyes seemed to bore right into Ownership’s brain. “We are not owners. We are victims.”
Then Poser opened his palms and shrugged his shoulders. “And do you know what victims do?” he said. “They do just enough to stay off the radar screen. So, then, one couldn’t claim we don’t do our jobs. But when a customer is knocking on the door at 7:02 p.m., and the store closed at 7, we point at the clock and mouth, ‘We’re closed.’ And when a customer calls with an issue, we quote the policy defining the company position, but we fail to solve the customer’s problem. We employees know what our specific responsibilities are, and by and large we fulfill them. But we are not being paid for helping others do their jobs or solving their problems.” Poser put his hands and shoulders down, straightened his head, and again assumed that vacant, glassy-eyed look that caused Ownership to feel that Poser was looking right past him. “If you want our best, then give us your best. No empty platitudes. No excuses. No manipulation.”
Ownership took a minute to compose himself and to try to fully understand Poser’s comments. Finally, he said emphatically, “You may be correct about our Leadership. We have certainly learned that we must improve, but your perspective on employees is unacceptable!”
“We shall see,” Poser said, getting up. “We shall see.” Out of nowhere he produced a copy of the local newspaper and dropped it on Ownership’s desk, and then he was gone. Ownership opened the paper and looked at the headline. It read, “Gorman-Scott Inc. Found to Be Average.”
“No!” screamed Ownership. He looked down at his desk again. There was no newspaper there. Was his interaction with Poser real, or had he been dreaming?
If you see something that needs fixin’, own it, then make it right. —Harry Paul
It had now been some time since Excellence was kidnapped from Gorman-Scott Inc. Through Darnell, Dave kept up with the events unfolding as he made his rounds there. The kidnapping had motivated Dave to look at his own life both professionally and personally. On his way to a delivery, he thought about the areas he had been working on: passion, competency, flexibility, and communication. He truly desired to be the best in his own life. He had had a heart-to-heart with Mary, and she had forgiven him. But he knew that he had a lot of making up to do, and each day he must be on guard not to slip back into mediocrity. Philosophically, this was not a chore for him, for he truly loved Mary, but passion, competency in relationship building, flexibility, and communication did not always come naturally to him. So, day by day he had to keep a constant awareness of these areas, and he had to work at being his best.
Just then, Dave drove by a car rental shop. He chuckled as he thought about his family’s last vacation. Mary had suggested that they wash the rental car before they returned it. At the time, he had thought it was ludicrous. Now he realized that Mary had an ownership mentality in everything she did. Then, suddenly, it was as if all the lessons of his life came together. “Ownership!” he exclaimed. “It’s all about ownership.”
That night after dinner, he sat with Mary at the kitchen table and told her about his epiphany. Deep into the discussion, he said, “So if you own it, you are more likely to take care of it.”
“Quite true,” she replied, noting both the simplicity and the significance of the statement.
Enthusiastically, Dave stated, “So that will be my motto: Ownership. I will take ownership of my work, my relationships—my life.”
“I am behind you 100 percent,” Mary said, “but no one can control all of that.”
“Exactly!” Dave exclaimed. “So what I plan to do is spend my time focusing on what I can control.” Remembering an old proverb he had heard, he said, “I can’t direct the wind, but I can adjust my sails.”
“Sounds like a good philosophy!” Mary said.
“You’re right,” Dave replied. “I can decide to focus on the things I can control and not become a victim of or be bitter about the things I can’t. That is what being my best is about.”
“You’ve really thought a lot about becoming your best in your life lately,” she offered.
“I have,” Dave admitted. “I really have. Ever since Excellence was kidnapped from one of my clients, my eyes opened, and I have been able to reach out into the future and look back at what I want my life to have represented.” Barely holding back tears, he said, “And I know I want you by my side.” Mary patted him on the back. She could tell how important this was to him. He said, “I want my life to have made a positive difference in others’ lives. I know that sounds trite, but I really mean it.”
“I know you do,” she replied softly.
“I want our kids to be proud of me and the way I conduct my life.” Looking at her, he said, “And I want you to be proud of me.”
Hugging him, Mary said, “Dave, I don’t think I could be any prouder of you.”
After a few moments, he asked, “Will you help me?”
“Help you?”
“Yes, help me,” he said. “In the way you have helped me before. I know myself well enough to know I can get so focused on one thing sometimes that I can’t see the forest for the trees. You have always been so good at pulling me back so that I see both.”
“Certainly, Dave. I plan to always be here for you.”
Dave told Mary about the Dooley philosophy, and she laughed. “I want to approach every day like that,” he said. “If you see me approaching life otherwise, let me know. And,” he added, “I am not so naive as to not understand that bad situations happen in life. When they do, we will deal with them. But on the whole, I plan to wake up every day with renewed enthusiasm.”
“That sounds good,” she replied. Getting up from the table, she said, “How about you and I go for a walk? The kids have been asking me to speak to you about getting a dog. I think we should get one, and I think I know what we should name it.”