Snow day

I got up this morning to check the anticipated snowfall. Not that much. Last night, my date for this evening called to discuss the impact on our plans. “Why don’t I just make dinner, you build a fire and we’ll spend the evening here? Would that be okay?”

How can one object to that? There’s something about being snowed in. Even for married folk. I remember the crippling blizzards of the late 70s. I was married and have fond memories of those days. Of course, we didn’t have kids bouncing off the walls at the time.

Upon further reflection, it didn’t start out well. I got up about four in the morning with the first wave of the snowstorm. My wife asked me where I was going. To work, of course. As an employee, my mindset was to produce results, not excuses. I would be at my desk, no matter what.

The greatest obstacle around here is the drivers, so I would leave early. We seldom get significant snow, so the drivers aren’t used to driving in it.

I arrived before six and sat in the cavernous downtown offices alone. And sat, and sat, and sat. My wife called and said that they had phoned and there was no work today. It took forever to get home.

While my attitude might’ve made me a good employee, it would later label me as a tough boss. In the first few companies I owned, I would show up without fail. I expected the same of my employees.

One snowy morning, it appeared that virtually everyone made it in. But, I walked by the telemarketing department and they were all sitting around gabbing. The manager and assistant manager hadn’t showed up.

There are two things wrong with that. First, you don’t recoup that day’s sales. When that’s gone, it’s gone. You’re paying out money but not bringing any in. The underlying principle of a business is to make money.

Secondly, people take their cue from the leader. If this isn’t important to the leader, it isn’t to them.

I called the department manager. He said his driveway sloped down toward his house, so he couldn’t get the car up the hill. The snow wasn’t that bad and what’s wrong with a shovel? He didn’t sound like he had done more than glance out the window and go back to bed. I silently counted to ten and then asked why he didn’t take a cab or bus. He was about one block from a major bus line. He said he hadn’t thought of that. Hadn’t made the effort, he meant. If someone couldn’t figure out how to overcome that small obstacle, should he be in charge of a department? I asked if he knew there was twenty thousand dollars sitting on his desk for him, would he have thought of a way to get in. He said probably, but there wasn’t. That told me all I needed to know.

My next call was to the assistant manager. He said he didn’t think we’d be open. So, you couldn’t call or just come in? He said it just looked too perilous. He lived downtown and walked to the office every day. Not a lot of danger of losing traction in a turn.

I didn’t fire them over that, but did talk to them about the example they set for their people, not to mention how they were perceived by the other departments who all showed up. I wanted to make sure they understood the expectations.

The assistant got the message and became an enthusiastic role model for his department, the manager became more and more a negative presence and was soon gone.

However, my attitude would change. A few years later, I read about someone perishing in a weather related accident. The person was a parent. Yeah, a business is about making money. But, is it worth the price of a life and the impact on the person’s loved ones? No. After that, I’d call off work if the roads weren’t reasonably safe.

Snow is for playing in or snuggling up by the fire, not putting people at risk.