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Marty the Manager
April 21, 2008

I recently had lunch with a bunch of friends and we began to chat about the different types of managers that we've worded for over the years. After twenty five years in high tech electronics companies, I've had my share of good, and poor, managers. Some were excellent, and supported a reasonable work life balance, encouraged ISM and APICS certification, and let us work on leading edge supply management initiatives. Some looked at their management assignment as a stepping stone to another position and hardly paid attention to the hundreds of details that seem to exist in any supply management organization. Still others were corrupt and unethical. As the conversation continued, I found myself searching in my mind for my best manager. I thought through the positions I've held during my career. But then it hit me. Marty! Marty was my first manager. Marty was my best manager. Marty is my father.

For the better part of the 20th century, almost my entire family was in the dry cleaning business in northern New Jersey. Shortly after World War II, Marty joined a large family owned dry cleaning processing plant in Newark where he became a route driver, picking up dirty clothes from small city-based tailor shops and delivering clean ones back the next day. As the years past, he left the family based business and moved on, eventually owning his own dry cleaning store in a suburban New Jersey shopping center. Marty did not have a college degree or any formal management training. What he did have were exceptional people skills and a very strong work ethic. He cared deeply about his employees and his customers, and worked six days a week to prove it. He was loyal and dependable. People trusted him and he trusted people. Above all, he had a passion for his work.

There are several management lessons that I learned from him that follow me to this day. First, realize that there is always work to do. Marty was a fan of organization and cleanliness. I remember to this day my father saying "let me introduce you to this broom". I wanted to rest after a busy day, but the parking lot was dirty. I also had to help to clean machinery, the bathrooms, and the lobby. He was not above doing these jobs himself and took great pride in a clean and smooth running operation.

Next, treat everyone with respect. As a child I was introduced to a variety of people from different cultures, beliefs, and income levels. My father treated everyone the same. Well. He called to people by name and they were always happy to see him. He sincerely liked people and they liked him. He was also always quick with a please and thank you.

Third, value your employees. This was Marty's specialty. He would walk through his store every morning and say hello to each employee. At the end of the day, he asked everyone to say goodbye to him before they left. He used this method as a way to determine if there were any employee conflicts he needed to know about. He liked to solve those issues before they festered. He was quite understanding if an employee had any personal issues and would fill in for them on a moment's notice. This created great loyalty and camaraderie.

Perhaps my largest management lesson came during the economic recession of the mid-1970's. Business was poor and getting worse. I was pleased to be working at the store for the summer, as there were not many jobs around. Marty called me from work one day before the start of the summer to let me know that I was fired! He just couldn't afford to pay me for the summer. But I was the owner's son! He told me that he needed to keep someone on who had a mortgage to pay and a family to feed. That person needed the job more than I did. He told me that I was capable of finding another job for the summer. He was right, and I did.

But this switch took me out of the cleaning business, never to return. I've had an interesting career path, one that has taken me into the high tech manufacturing world, through technology startups and consulting, and now firmly rooted in academia. Later in his life, my father lamented that we never got to work together again, but in a way we always have. The values I've learned from him follow me everywhere. I may not have realized it at the time, but his values, ethics, commitment, and joy in a job well done are a part of my management DNA. Thanks Dad.

Posted by Richard G. Weissman on April 21, 2008 | Comments (0)