the real world of business

previously talked about my foundation in the business and corporate world by describing a rather archaic and simplistic family run business. I am sure that would be considered quite "quaint" in today's world. However, there are two factors that affected my personal and business philosophy that I neglected to talk about, which did have a profound effect on who I was and who I came to be.

The first was the Great Depression of the '30's. Remember, I was born in 1927. I find it fascinating, still, that I was completely unaware that there was such a thing as a depression until I was in my 20's. My father had a good job. We didn't seem to lack anything significant in our lives. I do remember as I recall details of that time, how frugal my mother was and how she stretched to make things work. Casserole dishes were common. One of my favorite dinners was potato pancakes of all things. I recall now, though it never hit me at the time, that my mother often had gravy over bread so that there was meat for the rest of us. I don't mean to give the impression that we were poor -- far from it -- but my parents were frugal, very frugal and saved for future events. Unfortunately their fiscal discipline never registered with me as much as I now wish it had.

The depression had a lot to do with work ethic. If you had a job you were glad of it and worked hard to keep it for there were two others behind you who would like to chance to show that they would work as hard or harder. That may have been the primary theme of that decade and acknowledged at the time or not, that surely had a formative effect on me.

The second factor was World War II. That was four years of total emersion by the whole country in a struggle that saw rationing of most essential products, meat, butter, sugar, shoes, and on and on. That era has been, and continues to be, described in book after book, even today. However, that was a continuation of the dedication and work ethic born of the depression. One did what one had to do and did it the best one could -- no question about it.

When the war was over and things settled down. We went to college and started families and started careers and peace and prosperity returned and flourished. I think my generation assumed without thinking about it, that the values and work ethic we had that came out of the depression and the war would be continued in the generations to come. That was a big mistake. We can never expect that such values come automatically. They come from experience. The world was caught up in converting the wartime production into material goods that had so long been absent. Prosperity prospered so that even the wars in Korea and Viet Nam did not slow the drive for the material rewards that were constantly there as a carrot to want more and more. And why not? Isn't it natural to want more and better things for yourself and your family?

So the factors that formed the philosophical core of yours, and the coming generations, changed. It is how we manage change that is the simple key to success. Quick change is easy to manage. We are forced to react to it at once. When the weather changes from a sunny day to a violent storm we change immediately -- we put on a raincoat, turn on the windshield wipers, get out of the weather, and batten down the hatches. But most change is slow and insidious. We don't even know it is happening until suddenly it has occurred to such a degree that it impacts our life in some way. We tolerate slow change until the scale suddenly goes out of balance, or the last straw breaks the camel's back. Now we have to make drastic changes in ourselves, and how we do that is the critical mass. If we can recognize elements of change as they begin to occur we are in a better position. Usually we do not recognize the elements of change or see them as having insignificant consequences. It is fear of change that freezes us in immobility. If one is or becomes a slave to that fear, all is lost.

Part of me wishes that my simple life of 50 years ago could have continued unchanged, but as someone far wiser that either of us once said, "Change is inevitable."

I mentioned before that the HealthyLife I started with was a tightly run, efficient, solidly team effort company. Every person in a management position had come up through the ranks, every one. I can't adequately describe the feeling of closeness that existed at all levels of the company.

One day it was announced that Neil Donaldson, National Sales Director, who had started as a sales rep, district manager, regional sales director, was leaving the company to become Vice President of a major pharmaceutical company. That notice struck like an earthquake. This was a first. How could anyone, one of us even think of leaving? How could the company even allow that to happen? What was to become of us? I can't describe the impact that had on the company.

It turns out that Donaldson, who was an outstanding executive whose record would take pages to describe, thought he should have the title of Vice President of Sales since he was performing as such and outperforming others in the industry who were so recognized. This occurred at a time when the Old Man had retired and turned the business management over to his two sons. They didn't want anyone but family to have such a title, though they were willing to give Donaldson more money. Other companies had been wooing Donaldson for years to no avail. He was a HealthyLife company man right down to his socks. But finally all factors came together; he left to become president of several other companies and had a stellar career in the industry.

That was my first shock, that the company I had known had changed, ever so slightly perhaps but change it had, never to be what it once was to me. If I had been really smart, I would have paused to assess what had happened and how it would affect my career -- you know, a real go-away-for-a-day-and-think-it-all-out. We don't do that, of course, except in hindsight. I didn't of course, but the seeds were planted. As I look back, I think I did begin to see and observe things about my business environment. I was not, however, of a mind to plan what changes I might initiate. I was still very much in a reactionary mode.

Sherlock Holmes once told Dr. Watson, "Watson, you look but you do not see; you may see but you do not observe; you may observe but you must reason about that which you observe. My deductions are quite elementary." A must sort of lesson in the business and social world we live in today.

The change in my company continued, and at an accelerating rate. It was within a month after I had been promoted into the marketing department of the main office in Claremont that another key executive left. The Davis boys had learned a lesson with the departure of Donaldson and they gave his successor, an up-through-the-ranks guy the title of VP Sales. But, he saw the future and moved quickly to the top position with an up and coming company in our industry. That was another earth shaking event, but I was too caught up in my new job and many new responsibilities for me to digest what was happening. It was as though things were operating on two parallel tracks. I was on one rail, the new company on the other. This was more evident as "outsiders," non HealthyLife people were brought into executive and management positions, all on the other rail we were riding into the future.

It was at this time that questions of ethics crept into the picture. That will be covered next.

(You'll have to excuse my recycling so much of the past, but you started me thinking about a lot of issues and forcing me to review where I stand today.)

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Part 2

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A business fable for modern times, based on a true story. Names of companies, locations and individuals have been changed.

Hopefully, this will be enlightening for the reader wrestling with business and ethics

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