Hick was practially chortling (though not evil-ish, like The Universe) when he told me a tale on Saturday evening.
"Remember my guy, Dude, who used to work for me at the plant? He came in today. He quit there a while ago. But he said right after I left, everything was going wrong. After about three months, they started going back to the way I did things. He said they had five people doing all the work I used to do. I knew that plant couldn't run with how they was doing things."
Let the record show that when Hick was set to retire, management begged him to stay on. Gave him a sweet deal to work 20 hours a week, with full insurance and benefits. Hick was fine with that, until some restructuring that gave him a "boss." He compared this boss to a used-car salesman. Said he was all about making people think how great he was at his job, while doing next to nothing. We know Hick is not the best at taking orders, but he DOES know what he's doing. It was this change, and a switch to some kind of management system (Lean Manufacturing), that made Hick slam the door shut on his "partial" retirement.
Hick and two others built that company from the ground up. They were advised by the "Big Guy" on the east coast to answer a blind ad. In fact, they were threatened with a lawsuit for giving up "trade secrets" in the butcher-saw-blade-making industry when they left their former employer. Under the "Big Guy's" funding, they took an empty building and turned it into a new factory, then expanded to a bigger building.
Hick was sent to several other countries to advise them on their manufacturing techniques, and was in charge of buying millions of dollars worth of machines, and seeing that they were safely shipped. He went to Germany, Wales, France, Sweden, Brazil, and New Jersey (heh, heh!). Hick said Brazil was the most scary/dangerous. They had to be accompanied by security when they left the hotel, lest they be kidnapped, robbed, or arrested.
He brought home several workers who were joining their company, who were "in town" for training. Hick didn't want them sitting around a motel room for a weekend. The guy from Colombia bought a used car from us. The guy from China loved riding the 4-wheeler, shooting a gun, and told Hick, "You are a very rich man. Rich in property, and rich to have four sons." He was expecting a baby daughter at the time. He wanted Hick to take a picture of him holding a 9mm pistol, but told Hick that his wife must never see it. Then there were the guys from Germany who Hick took to eat at a local catfish restaurant, only to find out one was allergic to fish!
Hick was on equal footing with the plant manager and the office manager, his title being Manager of Facility Maintenance. The three of them ran that place, making decisions about operations and hiring. Until they got old and new people were brought in to eventually take over. That was the start of the decline.
It was nice to see Hick so happy at being VALidated.
I had a similar situation in a much smaller operation, and it was tough moving on. But as time went on, I am really glad I made the move when I did. They also had to hire 3 plus guys to do my job and then they didn't do half of what I was doing to make it easier for the production floor. My husband still works there, and it had deteriorated a lot. His supervisor even asked him at one point if I would consider coming back. He couldn't tell him what I said when he mentioned it to me. He didn't ask me, as he knew the answer after having shared a few of the horror stories with me. It always feels good to be validated. Ranee
ReplyDeleteIt's like they can't recognize all you do while you are there. It ain't broke, but they try to fix it with a new trend. Once you're gone, it becomes clear how you made the place run.
DeleteYupp, Hick is what my friend described himself as: "turnkey!" - great at everything he does, and easy to hire elsewhere as needed (if you're job hunting) Folks wouldn't know a good employee if Jesus himself came down and told them "hey, you have a good employee!"
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh, the thought of them so much as calling Jesus a liar makes me chuckle.
DeleteYou always have better hindsight than foresight! I always told my employees I would be happy to reward them with a raise if they could do just half of what I did. When I managed to get a good worker, I made sure to praise them and buy their lunch. Most people who do a good job at work aren't looking for more money, just to be acknowledged and appreciated. I suspect that Hick would fall into that category. Good for him!
ReplyDeleteSome people are just hoping to go about their job and NOT BE BLAMED for the mistakes made by the "favorites!" And yes, Hick DOES like to be appreciated.
DeleteI never started any companies from the ground up, but I do know that wherever I worked I was always "one of the best". The work ethic is strong in our family. My mum used to say, "it doesn't matter what job you do, if you clean toilets to put food on the table, then you be the best toilet cleaner in the city!"
ReplyDeleteThat is Hick's attitude as well.
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