Page 199 - The Bible On Leadership

Justice and Fairness 185

And some of you thought these guys were a couple of anti-capitalistic
hippies. What they found is that capitalism, ice cream, and justice can
make a pretty good mix.
Herman Miller, the furniture company based in Michigan, felt that
handing out golden parachutes for a chosen few was only partial justice.
So in 1986, they instituted the ‘‘Silver Parachute’’ for all employees
with over two years of service. In case of a takeover, it will be all em-
ployees, not just the traditional group of top executives, who will get a
‘‘soft landing.’’ Ironically, this not only made the employees feel more
secure and better treated, it made the company a less likely takeover
target.
Herman Miller is also committed to the Scanlon principles of partici-
patory management, productivity, and profit sharing. Employees are
able to become owners, but they earn that ownership; it is not a gift.
Risk and reward are connected logically and fairly, and 100 percent of
the regular employees with one year of service or more are stockhold-
ers. Writes Max De Pree, the company’s ex-chairman, ‘‘The capitalist
system cannot avoid being better off by having more employees who
act as if they own the place.’’
Howard Schultz of Starbucks is convinced that one of his key reten-
tion and productivity tools is the justice of employee ownership. He
feels that it’s ‘‘no accident that the attrition rate at Starbucks is four to
five times lower than the national average for retailers and restaurants
. . . I felt very strongly that if people can come to work feeling . . . they
have a piece of ownership, however small or large . . . it would give us
a huge competitive advantage.’’ He adds, ‘‘Success is best if it’s shared
...ifwe want to inspire our customers, we have to inspire our people.
They can’t be left behind.’’ 12
This is the philosophy that helped Joseph devise his ‘‘fair share’’ plan
so that his adopted country, Egypt, would not starve in the famine that
was afflicting the land. Again and again, Joseph could have victimized
the Egyptians. Again and again, he saved them from their own lack of
foresight. He wisely set aside a portion of the grain harvest before the
famine, and sold it to his countrymen when they ran out of grain, pre-
sumably at fair rates of exchange. When they ran out of money, he