Page 33 - Make Work Great

It Starts with You

remember developing information-sharing systems and writing pro-
cedures to facilitate tighter process matching between both organiza-
tions. I also remember being recognized and rewarded for my role in
getting us to a practical, feasible solution.
Honestly, though, I have to think a lot harder to remember what
Emma was doing during that time.
I can recall having meetings with her in which she asked lots of
questions about what was going on and listened carefully to my
answers. She helped me—perhaps even forced me—to be very specifi c
about what I was trying to accomplish and what it would take to do
it. Many of our conversations also centered on who in each organiza-
tion was helping me and who was inadvertently getting in the way of
my progress. If I refl ect even more, I don’t remember many of those
conversations being repeated. There were a few that she couldn’t
infl uence, but most of the troublesome people became less trouble-
some after Emma heard about them.
I also recall that she fl ew out to the mosaic factory for a visit, but it
wasn’t just to see me. She spent a lot of time with local management
and explained my progress, using words and materials I had authored.
I was in the room with her, and she repeatedly credited me for the
work. I remember being surprised at her demeanor. Emma has always
been a soft-spoken, kindly woman who smiles a lot and makes warm
eye contact when she speaks. As she sat in the room with a small
handful of aggressive, hard-charging factory managers—who were
responsible for millions of dollars worth of daily output—I worried
that if she didn’t become more aggressive, she would be bowled over
by these forceful and often impatient men. She was neither. She stayed
consistent in her presentation and style. She listened and learned, and
yet she gave no ground on which parts of the problem were hers to

manage as she saw fi t. Much to my surprise, she influenced them. By
the end, they were smiling and listening more than I’d seen them do
before.
That’s about all I remember of Emma’s involvement. If, at the
end of the project, you had asked young, green Edward Muzio what
Emma had done, he probably would have said that she was a support-

22