Awkward Friday

“I am not sure to how to say this, I’ve never had to do this before,” my boss said nervously and not looking me in the eye. It was an awkward moment, finally I asked, “Are you going to fire me?”

Six months before my boss had hired a new salesman, Bob. It soon became clear to me, and some others, that Bob's obstinate personality and lack of skills, showed that he was not up to the task. I took it upon myself to advise my boss that he could save much aggravation and money by cutting Bob loose during the trial period. “No, he'll be great, he'll be great just trust me Rog.”

Now, it is six months later, and the salesman’s obstinate personality and lack of team spirit came to a head. He was invited to attend our company’s mandatory annual customer appreciation dinner. When asked why he had not confirmed that he would be attending, he responded by saying, “I never involve myself in such unethical conduct.” The boss blew a cork!!! “Unethical! What do you think we're doing, bringing in hookers? We serve them a steak and have some wine, what's unethical about that?” Bob held to his standard, “Well...I just can't involve myself in such activities....” That was the last straw for my boss, “You know what, you just don't get 'it' do you? Your fired, go clean out your desk.”

My phone rang, “Hey Rog can you come to my office….”

So, there I am standing in my boss' office. He, who bore a striking resemblance to Danny DeVito, paced the floor. “Are you going to fire me?” I asked. “No. No. Nothing like that, it’s just I want to say I was Wwrr, Wwrr, Wwrro….” (he was doing his best Fonzie impression) “I was Wwrr...” “Wrong?” I said. “Yes, Yes, thank you, I just couldn’t bring myself to say it,  that word.'”

“Okay.” I was surprised, “wrong about what?”

“Do you remember what you said about Bob....?” He told me the whole story. “Alright,” I said, and opened the door to leave. “Oh Rog, one more thing,” I turned back. He sheepishly looked at me, “Can you drive Bob home?'

Roger's Rule #2

A good manager always listens to his employees. Hire good people and trust them, they can help you root out problems and improve business results.