31 Jan STEEL TOES TO LEATHER SOLES

When you started a new job, did you have the attitude that one day you could run this company? You should have, because it does happen. You just have to stick around, work hard and make a long-term commitment to succeed.

I met Dave shortly after I started working PT in a lumber yard almost 25 years ago. He was a conservative, straight laced, buttoned up type of Assistant Manager at that time. He was passionate about the company and the retail business. Growing up in a small town in a family run business, he understood the meaning of hard work and customer service. Moving to the city in his teens, he eventually settled for a FT job in a lumber yard. He remembers awkwardly meeting the person he was replacing on his first day. They were both surprised, but that’s how companies worked back then… hire fast, fire faster. He also remembers the training and his mentor, Lloyd, who still works in the business today.

As promotions came up, Dave would move to where promotions would take him. Often difficult, transfers become a part of most progression plans. After a few stops in a couple of rural Alberta cities as Store Manager, he eventually secured a role as a Regional Manager.

At one point he and I attended a training course together. The course discussed selling techniques, but also taught us about focus and planning for success. Many years later I would listen to Dave introduce himself to a room full of Managers as the “VP of Western Canada”. He would then tell the story of when he was hired and acknowledge that it was during that training course where he personally decided that, with commitment and hard work, he could become GM of the company and possibly even a VP.

It took 20 years for Dave to gain traction in our business, but when he did, things moved fast. An acquisition opened the door for a promotion to GM and shortly after, a retiring VP opened another door for him. Opportunity, hard work, timing and a little luck all came together at once, but without stick-to-itiveness, none of it would have mattered. Monty Hall once said after 25 years of paying his dues in show business, he was often referred to as an overnight success. There really is no such thing.

What made Dave a success?

1. A mentor on his first day made him love his job and his company
2. Moving when and where there was opportunity
3. Recognizing the value of personal development
4. Making a personal commitment to achieve success
5. Having the patience to wait for opportunity, timing and luck to align.

I recently spoke to a CHRP who told me that their company had narrowed the search for a Senior Level position to an internal candidate. It was great to hear that despite the trend over the years to cross pollinate from outside and venture to find a balance in the equality of a politically correct candidate that may satisfy race and sex in the upper corporate org chart, that an internal candidate was available and qualified.

The corporate industry crossover from boardroom to boardroom doesn’t always work out. Many times, leaders are hired from different industries with great leadership skills and little industry experience; or extensive relevant experience, but little leadership capacity. It can end up to be a desperate struggle for everyone.

Growing talent is like planting trees for harvesting. A seedling goes into the ground and will have to grow for 21 years before it can even be considered for harvesting. It will have to compete against many natural elements and its only true chance of survival will come at the hands of intervention. Well managed forests have rigorous processes designed to eliminate threats to a tree’s survival and enable it to grow. A lot of work goes into ensuring a tree matures.

A Degree and a Diploma are a must in many professions. When it comes to successful leadership and operational skills in retail though, it’s the boots on the ground that should eventually find their way into the shoes in the boardroom. If you find someone with both, you are lucky that many years ago someone hired the right person for the job. The lesson is, look after your boots and they will serve you well for a very long time, and eventually, you will be ready to share expertise with lighter, more comfortable shoes. One day, you could indeed run the company.