Gratification

A gratification of management is seeing results from your coaching. Success comes in varying degrees, but any sign of growth is relished.

The icing on the cake is when someone discerns your efforts and expresses some thanks. In this case, it was from a former employee (a couple decades former). He found me on the web and related how he still uses my little talks to convey how mentoring, teamwork and fun make an organization more productive.

This came a bit as a surprise. During my “little talks” to the troops, Dave would frequently be parodying me. Think SNL when Belushi came out on stage with Cocker. That was Dave’s nature and I’ll put up with a lot when an employee is productive. Dave was extremely productive and used this currency to the max. I just didn’t realize how much he was soaking up while he was having his fun.

Now, I’m trying to figure out exactly what he took from the experience. It was a business I had downtown, in the Carew Tower. It was a start-up in which we worked and fought hard for every percent of market share. And, we played hard.

At 5:00pm, most of the younger office crowd in downtown was wending its way to the trendier bars up in Mount Adams. We were still hard at work and would be for another two or three hours. From there, we went down, not up.

Down to the dingy west end of Third Street to a seedy dive called Miss Kitty’s, our “night office.” Dimestore psychology would lead to the conclusion that, as the upstarts, we were the underdogs and this was definitely an underdog bar. This was Rocky, not Apollo Creed. Most of the patrons looked a bit rocky.

On the surface, the main attraction was cheap drinks, usually pitchers of beer. Tommy the bartender was another draw. An endless supply of jokes and he was an artist in fashioning obscene balloon animals.

A couple nights a week, Live Bait played. They were a hard driving band led by a guy who was Jack Black well before Jack Black was Jack Black. I would tip them to play “Satisfaction” over and over so we could join them on the dais. Mick Jaggers in sports coats.

It may have looked like just a bunch of young people out partying, but there was a lot of mentoring and bonding going on. No one failed to answer the bell the next morning. You never let down your wingman.

I also recall that every summer we’d do a three-day houseboat trip on Brookville Lake. The first year, the girls said they’d furnish snacks, board games and books. The guys were stockpiling beer, cigars and fireworks. The girls decided not to go that year. Or, any other. Bonding has its limits.

You adapt to survive and succeed. One of the greatest management observations of all time was made by Bum Phillips about Don Shula. “He kin take his’n and beat your’n. Then, he kin take your’n and beat his’n.” When Shula had Larry Czonka and Jim Kiick, the Dolphins ran and won. When he had Dan Marino, they passed and won.

Dave was part of staff of young fire breathers. My current organization is comprised mostly of middle-aged, touchy-feely women. We do touchy-feely picnics, not dive bars.

In a juicy tidbit of irony, we also organized a houseboat trip. They planned to bring yoga mats, relaxation CDs and berry wine. I decided not to go. Bonding has its limits.

I’m looking at an old photo of the staff that Dave was a part of. They’re all happy and tight-knit. I can pick out more than a few who have become very successful in their chosen career paths.

There’s gratification in coaching employees.