In my most recent post, I talked about my attempts to find meaning in my work. I havenât really figured this out yet, but I decided the answer lies in finding ways to create pride and joy in the work one does, whatever that work may be. With that in mind, Iâve tried looking at my company and its employees with fresh eyes.
The company and the âold-line industryâ of finishing metal parts have changed dramatically in the last five years, and, if anything, itâs changing even faster now. More than half of our revenue comes from processes we didnât offer five years ago. One of our largest clients today was not a client five years ago, because we werenât doing the type of finishing work the client needed. But last year, a big chunk of our profits came from this client.
Constant reinvention is not just a catch phrase, itâs a reality, a necessity, even in what may look like an old-fashioned business. Looking with fresh eyes, it occurs to me that the new rules of continual change in our business require a new philosophy of management. The aim is to create pride and joy in work, Ã la W. Edwards Deming, and not just for me but for everyone in the company.
Do I have a complete understanding of what that means? No. Emphatically no. But I do know there are going to have to be some big changes in what I think and how I act. Am I really ready for such a change? The answer is yes. I think.
I do know this: I do not want to go back to the old ways of managing â always having to be the hero who figures it all out, too often relying on command and control. That was discouraging me and leaving me feeling disengaged from the work, and Iâm sure it was doing the same for my employees.
And then, on a recent morning, my quest to start creating pride and joy in work got run over by a truck. Deep breath. A big client has hit a wall. Its sales have tanked â it seems people just stopped buying its products. It is beside the point whether the company could have seen, or should have seen, this coming.
My accounts receivables person just came to me with the news. The client is several weeks past due, so she called. She was told it doesnât know when it can pay us. Things are bad. Its cash flow has dried up. It is highly leveraged. Gulp. We have shipped it several big orders in the past month, and there are more big orders of finished parts on our loading dock, ready to be shipped to it.
Gut reaction? You bet. Sick in the gut reaction, in fact. We rely on those regular checks. If the companyâs product has lost its appeal with consumers, that would be bad â for it and for us. Itâs not just about getting paid for the work weâve done; itâs also about the work we assumed we would be doing. Sure, weâve had receivables issues with clients over the years. Weâve learned how to manage that. But weâve never had anything this big.
What needs to be done? Should we hold those parts on the dock and not ship them until the client catches up on its payments â and pays us in advance for the parts we are ready to ship?
Probably not a bad idea. I will look like a fool if I ship those finished parts before I get paid for the ones for which we are already owed. Generally, I try not to look like a fool. âFred, You did what?!â
Adrenalin is flowing. The news is an emotional trigger. And I immediately feel the familiar frustration and the familiar desire to be less engaged in the business. This news is not creating pride and joy. And yet, as I stood there, reacting, I realized it was different this time.
I was consciously aware of my feelings â I wasnât just feeling them. I actually recalled Viktor Franklâs insights about dealing with the struggles of life: Life is the struggle, the struggle provides meaning, meaning provides strength, and with strength I donât have to react to pull the trigger in the old way.
But what would be the new way? I went for a bicycle ride to clear my head.
What would you do?
Fred Warmbier owns Finishing Technology Inc., which is based outside Cincinnati. He writes these posts with Kelly Allan, who runs a consulting firm that emphasizes the teachings of W. Edwards Deming.
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