Page 62 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Built to Serve

neatly pressed United Supermarkets uniform
approached me. “Mr. Sanders,” he said, “this is my

first day on the job, and I want to introduce myself.”
We spent only a short amount of time getting
acquainted before he asked this interesting question:

“How long do you think it will be before I’m
promoted to store director?”
His query caught me off guard, primarily because
he had been a team member for all of four hours.
I responded, “That’s an interesting question. Why

do you ask?”
His answer was an epiphany. “I want to be in
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= charge so that I can make a difference,” he said.

As I thought about his comment, I wondered
what we had done in our culture to lead people,
young and old, to believe that they must climb to
the top of an organization before they can make a
difference. I took a small piece of paper and drew

two pictures. One represented the old career
model; the second represented a new career
model.

By the time we finished, this young man knew
what I believe to be the truth regarding career
progression and making a difference. People can
make a difference in an organization, regardless of