Page 83 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Relationships

beyond this incident. With sheer spontaneity, I mustered up all
the maturity and professionalism I could, telling him to “punch
out and come in tomorrow to discuss your job.” It proved to be
the right call. It showed the rest of the crew that I meant busi-
ness and that, whether friends with this person or not, would not
tolerate behaviors like that. And it provided some slack, as post-
poning the conversation to the next day allowed us both a cool-
ing-off time, as well as gave an opportunity for senior
management to collaborate on the right approach, effectively tak-
ing the responsibility off me to determine his fate. The crew now
viewed me in a different light, and my requests were met with a
much quicker response than previously. And this crew person
and I remained friends; he later admitted he was wrong and apol-
ogized. So, you can manage relationships on the job if you just
keep the perspective. It’s what the system was all about—friend-
ship, but with established behavioral norms that set the tone of
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acceptable conduct, as parameters set in any family.

Lesson Learned

Don’t be afraid to develop relationships on the job, even as a
boss. They are vital and important in establishing the
environment you want to create. Keep in mind to balance the
importance of the work expectations and behaviors, and that
regardless, no exceptions are made. In the end it is about
business, but that does not preclude enjoying those friendships.
True friends will understand not to cross the line.

Deep Ties to Our Customers
As important as our relationships to our colleagues and our vendors
are, our strongest commitment is to our customers, whether it’s