| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
The company I work for has seen exponential growth in the last 6 years, largely due to my efforts. I'm not stroking myself here, I bring a lot to the table, which is why they pay me so well - on the order of 50% higher than anybody else in my position in this industry. That being said, there are those here who push back against my methods at every turn. We have a LOT of old dead weight here... payroll is top heavy with 20-25 year veterans hired in so long ago due to nepotism or whatever reason... getting 6 weeks paid vacation every year and the rest of us get to schedule ourselves around those few. I've learned to schedule my vacation days (I get 4 weeks) at minimum 6 months in advance so nobody can dispute it or "pull rank". Here's what I'm getting at: The one guy who is organizationally placed above me is from the old school here, born and raised in Atlanta where I have discovered the labor pool to be shallow and full of pond scum... very hard to hire what I consider good drivers. I am continually told that "the California way is not necessarily the right way" when I compare this company to my old company. Maybe he gets sick of hearing about how we're doing it wrong, but I worked for my old company for over 15 years and in that time it grew from smaller than what this one is to a huge, thriving business while we have gotten to the point where I can't grow this any more by myself. Both companies are roughly the same overall age. Both are run by people with very different philosophically. Can you tell which is which? (highlighted areas represent the full extent of the company's assets) Here's where I work now:  Here's where I worked before:  Now, YOU tell ME - who's doing it the right way? | ||
| Strokizator |
My brother and I owned a a fire sprinkler company in central Calif. You are right about "The California Way". We were able to work on million sq.ft. projects all over the eastern US, including McDonough, Knoxville and Orlando. My guys got paid well and earned every penny. Hardly ever hired local - they just weren't willing to make the effort. We did get some good guys out of Florida who worked on several jobs and one from NYC, of all places, who relocated to California. Now, not everyone in Calif is a working fool but the labor pool is big enough that you can put together a good crew in time (I'm not so sure about 2017 though). Used to tell the superintendent, "It's not the people you fire that cause you problems, it's the people you don't". If the boss is willing to tolerate poor performance there may not be much you can do. Don't let it eat you up. Do your best and take satisfaction in your own work. | ||
| Pwnzor |
The problem I'm facing now is, I can't stand being surrounded by mediocrity. The people around me are all about status quo, growth means more work for everybody and they're so set in their ways they just don't want to be involved with any kind of change. It's discouraging, because regardless of my pay scale in comparison to the others, I have earned every penny and I want more. In order to justify it, we need to grow. More. Now. My review is coming up in 2 weeks and we couldn't afford raises last year. I both want and need more money, but I can't point to any growth to fund my increase. So, with all the dead branches above me on the tree, it won't be extending any further skyward until those branches break off, retire, whatever. I've got other freight forwarders lined up wanting to hire me, but it would mean a 30% cut in pay for the next 3-4 years. The upside to that, is eventually being able to get around 40% north of what I'm making now. Down side is, they fire people on a whim. Example: Mainfreight USA moved a guy from Savannah to Atlanta, paid his expenses, gave him a raise, etc. He's been here 6 months now, seemed fairly happy. Fired yesterday. Just like that, no warning of any kind. Or so he says. It happens at a lot of companies. Seko Logistics' ATL station manager got fired after 22 years because one of the Japanese overlords in San Francisco had a disagreement with him over the phone. Here, I have absolute job security. The owner took me out to lunch about a year ago and we had a heartfelt conversation in which he asked me to promise to NEVER sell the company. Then he went and put this sack of tools above me in the org chart. SMH.... | ||
| Ourdee |
I got to the point where I dreaded going in every day, where I had loved it for decades. Seniority non workers that just didn't care. Bosses that didn't hold up their end unless I put their feet in the fire. Don't get me wrong there were the good ones, but not as many. It felt like a thousand cuts. In my case the old work location no longer existed. My time came and I retired. It just wasn't worth it anymore. I know the frustration, and I don't have your answer. If you were a slacker, it wouldn't bother you. What can you learn about people development and get implemented there? | ||
| Pwnzor |
If I could find some worthy individuals, I'd recruit them. The ONE person really worth a shit around here is one that I recruited from the old company in California and he moved his whole family out here to help me. That process took almost 2 years. I can't keep doing that, I need like minded individuals here in Atlanta! Work ethic here is THIN at best. The only good people are already taken or in another line of work altogether.... ARGGGHH!!! | ||
| Greg_e |
If the owner can't make something change for growth, they you'll have to find another place to work. The dead weight never falls away fast enough. Sadly, we have local companies moving far more local products than it looks like you have control of, Byrne Dairy being one of them, I don't think they get out of the state but they must have more than 100 trucks from tankers to delivery trucks. A few other notables, some of them contract with companies like Black Horse (very rude and pushy drivers). | ||
| Billg |
Not knowing anything about the logistics business, I can only say that from my perspective, big changes are coming that will completely change the landscape for the industry. Think about driverless trucks, Uber-like assignment of loads, completely automated loading and unloading. The people who will survive will be the ones willing/able to see opportunities recognize changes, and adapt. My recent retirement was largely in part to seeing the changes coming in my business (big pharma), but not knowing how to reinvent myself to succeed. Working with millennials is a whole 'nother story. In the end you have to do what's best for you and your family (mentally, spiritually, and financially) regards, Bill | ||
| Court |
That's interesting. My youngest started a company to capitalize on coming big changes in Pharma. I think you did the right thing (you and I are likely in the same age group). I think he did the right thing. 3 of his partners were founders of another tech company that has enjoyed quite a bit of success (currently with 1.86 billion users) and their pharma start up has grown wildly . . . Times are changing . . . those who can adapt will be rewarded. Those who text during job interviews will make the fries. | ||
| Tootal |
Matt, I feel your pain! I was not in a management position but was actually a union shop steward. The guy everybody hates! 60 percent of the guys I worked with were awesome and had similar ideals. If something broke I didn't just want to fix it but I wanted to find out why and see if I could improve it. The problem I always had was management, in my later years there, were collage kids who had no mechanical experience telling me what to do. If I tried to explain how I wanted to spend a little time and money to improve something I got a deer in the headlights look. Nobody wanted to spend any money, just get it back together as quick as possible because I'll be out of this department in 6 months and I'll look good for not spending any money! I was so glad I was eligible to retire. Those still there are broken now. They don't care anymore and do the bare minimum, they're just tired of arguing. When your workforce gets broken it's all down hill from there. I do have a suggestion though. When a candidate for the Illinois congress came to my doorstep we had a long talk. He and his father had been in the trucking business. He wanted to make changes and the union drivers wanted no part of it. He later came back and asked them to try his new method for six months and if they didn't make more money they could go back to the old way. He put it in writing and they accepted his proposition. 6 months later none of them wanted to go back to the old way. Maybe you could propose a similar trial period to prove your ideas. | ||
| Xbduck |
The work ethic is NOT what it used to be all over. Here in VA I would just about kill for a driver with SOME motivation, and all I need is one certified CDL-B. If you know the personality type that will work in your field then get out in public and find the person you can train to do the work. Otherwise... First you need to find out if the boss wants to move forward. Some worry about assets getting extended and not being able to absorb a revenue slow down. Some growing companies go beyond that point and then the slow down causes bankruptcy. Reassure him you understand this. Also, if you have the relationship you say you do with the owner, set him down and tell him what you see. This action is a minefield at best. Use caution, best to leave the names out. Have hard numbers showing him where you want to take the company so he sees what he's getting. Let him know what you see it taking to get there, then leave it. Tell him you will get back to him in a week or two, and leave it. It is his decision in the end. While you are waiting determine if you are where you want to be, family, friends, overall life enjoyment. If you like where you are, what you are surrounded by, then don't overreact at his response if it is not what you want to hear. Structure your life so you can absorb a job change if needed. I would however hope your boss will see your desire to be more and work with you to get there. Just my $0.02. | ||
| Nuts4mc |
Back in the '70s, Lawrence J Peter wrote a book titled "The Peter Principle"...basically "everyone rises to their level of incompetency....and tends to stay there."...his follow up book "The Peter Prescription" was basically how to avoid the PPrinciple = education. you need to seek out a leader who is willing to take a chance and learn about running the business in the new century. There are many books about change, a simple quick read is "Who Moved My Cheese"...maybe give your boss a early Christmas present and then evaluate his actions....( or lack there of)...HTH - Good Luck | ||
| Etennuly |
Sounds like maybe your boss busted his ass for too long and might be tired of the fight. Is he healthy? Does he want for anything? Does he talk about retiring? Has he lined people up to run things if he is gone? Did you out run him? Did your work bring his growth faster than he wanted, needed, or could handle? A business owner can get scared of future growth when everything he has worked for is continually at risk for that next step. He pays you what he does because he knows you are the sharpest tool in the box, his box. He may have hit a comfort zone. Going bigger does not always mean better or more profitable, at some stages certainly not more comfortable. He may seem like a dolt for not wanting to grow, but maybe your work has carried him beyond the goals he set when he started his business. If he reached his goal that can be a difficult thing to reset when age, intellect, desire, and need cloud the clearer vision he may have had when he started. So if you are going to have the talk, ask what his goals are. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Get your boss a copy of 'Who Moved My Cheese.' Be the Sniff and Scurry in your industry. 'You' have to do as BillG noted and see the changes coming in the industry and be willing to not just adapt, but embrace the change. That may mean embracing the change to another company if it will provide you with the growth opportunities you're looking for. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
Not every business owner/manager is interested in growth, I agree that if you're not growing you're shrinking. But depending on where the boss is on his career path growth means working harder/longer/leaner, and with more responsibility. Your boss may simply be interested in riding a good thing out to retirement. I don't know much about your industry, but I left a small successful shop my father had started. His partner took over when he died. (I was too young at the time Dad passed to want the kind of responsibility that comes with ownership.) In the industry I was in, with a limited market and few competitors, it was typical for small shops to start up and grow, and then as the owner got closer to retirement they contracted. The senior techs would leave to start their own businesses, because their employer could/would not afford to pay them more. Is it possible you're in one of those situations where your company can't grow because your boss doesn't actually WANT to grow? Your boss might have been perfectly content to let you do all the work to grow the business, and paid enough to make you happy, but may not be willing to take on any more himself. If you are as valuable an asset as you say above , I would hope a competitor would also be able to recognize that, and offer you enough to convince you to make a lateral move to them. If you've reached the peak of your earning potential there, you may be left with the choice of moving for upward mobility, or "settling in". Good luck on whichever you decide. | ||
| Macbuell |
For some people ... chasing the almighty dollar around just does not bring happiness or contentment. If leadership sits in that boat but you do not, you might have to move on. Captains of industry typically fall in the "there's never enough" category. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Update: The owner called me in for a private meeting. He's asked for my yearly review to be delayed by 30-ish days to give me time to create a presentation wherein I lay out my vision for the company going forward. The presentation is to include 5, 10 and 20 year plan for steady growth, with a eye towards where I fit in operationally. We then talked for 30 minutes about the fact that I've essentially created an impossible position to fill. Whenever I'm gone, it takes three people to do my job and they still don't do it well. So, I've got to recruit from without rather than within. It's good and it's bad. I've made this thing into my baby and I won't just hand her over to some schmuck. Anyway, I've got my work cut out for me, with the understanding that any pay increase will be retroactive to my hire date when it comes. | ||
| Ltbuell |
..may the outcome be a positive and good one for you and the company....and yes to not turning it over to just any ole schmuck.... All the best to ya.LT | ||
| Strokizator |
Good luck on the recruitment. You'll find that "if I could just find another me" isn't that easy. Not many people want to work that hard. Meanwhile, do what you can to eliminate stress; it's a real killer. | ||
| Pwnzor |
The fact that the owner has me at the center of his 20 year plan takes a lot of stress off me... He's planning to step out of it in 17 years, and at a lunch meeting almost 2 years ago he made me promise never to sell the company. So... take from that what you will. On another note, he and I spoke a few months ago about taking a trip to Bosnia together and the subject came up again. Sooo... it looks like I may be going to Bosnia in the early part of next year to wander around the countryside to absorb the local customs and eat strange foods! | ||
| Etennuly |
That is awesome!! If I lived closer..... | ||
| Hughlysses |
Matthew- glad you got good news. | ||
| Ourdee |
Good news indeed. | ||
| 86129squids |
 Good to hear the news! On one hand, yes, it'll be hard to find the right guy/gal, but when you do, it'll be gravy. Keep us posted on this, and on how your health maintains. |
