My Legacy

How to run a company like my dad did

“Maria, how is your husband doing?”  Those were the simple words I overheard from the CEO to a manual laborer on the factory floor.  He was making his way to the cafeteria for lunch, and his tone was one of genuine concern.  I assumed Maria’s husband must be ill. 

I was working a summertime job on the shipping docks my junior year of high school.  It was an improvement from the warehouse job I’d had at the same company the previous Christmas in freezing Colorado weather.

It was a small manufacturing company of 400 employees, but one that had earned national brand recognition.  The CEO had been at the family-owned company over 30 years and had worked his way up from the machine shop.  He was promoted to his CEO position as part of a succession plan by the owner before her passing.  He was the kindest man I knew, but he also knew how to run a business.  He was my father.

A few years later, the trustee who managed much of the voting stock for the company passed away, triggering a shift in majority ownership to the son of the founders.  The son had never been involved in the operations of the company previously, and his first action was to attempt to fire the CEO.  My father had a long-term contract, so the action triggered an emotional 4-year lawsuit. 

I watched my dad age before my eyes during those years.  The stress and concern were written on his face.  He had been offered a generous amount of money to resign as CEO, and he was fighting it tooth and nail.

One night after my dad had a particularly grueling week, I was giving my parents a bedtime hug and saw the stress on my father’s face.  With the simplistic perspective of a teenager I asked “Dad, why don’t you just take the money, retire early, and put all of this pain behind you”? 

Although it’s been almost 35 years since that night, I remember my dad’s response like it happened yesterday, and that moment still drives my passion today.  He looked at me with a combination of surprise and confusion on his face and said “Oh Paul… This was never about money.  I have 400 people who count on my leadership to provide a good place to work, and to earn an honest living so they can afford a place to live and to put food on their tables… to raise their kids!  If I give up on them, those people who have worked loyally for me for years…decades even, will be at risk.  Their families will be at risk”.

I think back about the overheard conversation with Maria; not an anomaly, but a standard behavior. With hundreds of employees, my dad still knew who she was. He knew her name, and he knew that her husband was ill. He took the time to chat with her on his way through the factory.  Of course it was all about the people. It had always been about the people.