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MY FATHER was born in 1920 (no, you can’t guess my age from that; the war interrupted his life; so he was pretty old when his first child was born).
He left school after Standard 8 and went straight to work - one of his first jobs involved counting sacks of flour next to the river in Rondebosch.
His description of climbing to the top of the piles of sacks and being confronted by the enormous, yellow-toothed, beady-eyed rats who lived up there has haunted me lifelong.
Another of his early jobs was as a clerk in an accounting department. “There were rows and rows of desks, just like in school,” he told me.
“There was a raised dais in front, on which there was a big desk and chair; that was where the manager sat. If you wanted to go to the loo, you had to raise your hand and ask for permission. If he didn’t like you, he’d make you wait.”
When I worked in insurance, many years later, I had more freedom. But the boss used to put a ledger book at the entrance to the department where we had to sign in. At precisely 08:30, he would draw a red line across the page; anyone who signed in after that had to work in the number of minutes they were late at lunchtime.
Even if it was two minutes, he would sit and watch to make sure you didn’t rise from your seat till those 120 seconds were up. (So of course I used to sit peacefully and read Did You Know…? at the back of the Financial Mail till the time had rolled by.)
I’ve been observing management styles my whole life, and it’s always puzzled me why people don’t get that old adage: “You catch more bees with honey.”
I fled into freelance work from an autocratic boss whose idea of controlling her staff was to keep us all browbeaten and terrified. I have seldom in my life been as happy as I was when I’d handed in my notice and was counting down the last 21 working days of my notice.
About six months later, I landed a freelance contract to work on a health magazine with award-winning radio health journalist, Monica Fairall. She was based in Durban, so I ran things for her in Johannesburg.
I wrote a feature for the third issue; she phoned me and purred in her beautiful voice: “Mandi! What a wonderful article, I don’t think I’ve ever seen essential fatty acids so clearly explained. Now, just a few small suggestions…”
I was enslaved. I would have walked over hot coals for her from then on, simply because she’d praised me. She appreciated my work.
I have subsequently found myself in positions of power over other people, and have tried to remember that lesson. (And I’ve made mistakes, which have underlined that lesson for me.)
Not that I would ever try to manipulate people by praising them falsely; but if you look for the good in people, there’s usually some to find. And if you start by genuinely acknowledging the areas where they excel, or have gone the extra mile, you can administer a bit of stick without earning sullen, simmering rage and obstructiveness.
Most people respond far better to the carrot than the stick. Costco, the enormous warehouse outfit that began in Seattle 31 years ago, understands that very well. Every year, Glassdoor uses employee feedback to rate the top 25 companies to work for in the States; this year, Costco is there, as usual, the only retailer in the group, coming second only to Google.
Why? It pays well; starting salaries are about $1.50 above the median rate for the sector per hour - and apparently about $3 per hour higher than Walmart. Eighty-eight percent of employees are on company-sponsored health care, and they have something to hope for, as advancement is a real possibility.
Workers are loyal - they have a turnover of just 5% - and the company earns more revenue and profit per employee than competitors. And here’s the thing: Costco’s sales were 6% up on last year. Pretty damn good, if you ask me!
Here’s one of the anonymous comments from Costco employees: “I think management is doing a great job... and thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring about the members and employees... and I try to work very hard to make our members very proud and welcome for shopping at Costco.. and give it my all for the best member service.”
In other words: look after me and I’ll look after your bottom line. Better all round than the more common adversarial relationship, not so?
- Fin24
*Mandi Smallhorne is a versatile journalist and editor. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on twitter.
He left school after Standard 8 and went straight to work - one of his first jobs involved counting sacks of flour next to the river in Rondebosch.
His description of climbing to the top of the piles of sacks and being confronted by the enormous, yellow-toothed, beady-eyed rats who lived up there has haunted me lifelong.
Another of his early jobs was as a clerk in an accounting department. “There were rows and rows of desks, just like in school,” he told me.
“There was a raised dais in front, on which there was a big desk and chair; that was where the manager sat. If you wanted to go to the loo, you had to raise your hand and ask for permission. If he didn’t like you, he’d make you wait.”
When I worked in insurance, many years later, I had more freedom. But the boss used to put a ledger book at the entrance to the department where we had to sign in. At precisely 08:30, he would draw a red line across the page; anyone who signed in after that had to work in the number of minutes they were late at lunchtime.
Even if it was two minutes, he would sit and watch to make sure you didn’t rise from your seat till those 120 seconds were up. (So of course I used to sit peacefully and read Did You Know…? at the back of the Financial Mail till the time had rolled by.)
I’ve been observing management styles my whole life, and it’s always puzzled me why people don’t get that old adage: “You catch more bees with honey.”
I fled into freelance work from an autocratic boss whose idea of controlling her staff was to keep us all browbeaten and terrified. I have seldom in my life been as happy as I was when I’d handed in my notice and was counting down the last 21 working days of my notice.
About six months later, I landed a freelance contract to work on a health magazine with award-winning radio health journalist, Monica Fairall. She was based in Durban, so I ran things for her in Johannesburg.
I wrote a feature for the third issue; she phoned me and purred in her beautiful voice: “Mandi! What a wonderful article, I don’t think I’ve ever seen essential fatty acids so clearly explained. Now, just a few small suggestions…”
I was enslaved. I would have walked over hot coals for her from then on, simply because she’d praised me. She appreciated my work.
I have subsequently found myself in positions of power over other people, and have tried to remember that lesson. (And I’ve made mistakes, which have underlined that lesson for me.)
Not that I would ever try to manipulate people by praising them falsely; but if you look for the good in people, there’s usually some to find. And if you start by genuinely acknowledging the areas where they excel, or have gone the extra mile, you can administer a bit of stick without earning sullen, simmering rage and obstructiveness.
Most people respond far better to the carrot than the stick. Costco, the enormous warehouse outfit that began in Seattle 31 years ago, understands that very well. Every year, Glassdoor uses employee feedback to rate the top 25 companies to work for in the States; this year, Costco is there, as usual, the only retailer in the group, coming second only to Google.
Why? It pays well; starting salaries are about $1.50 above the median rate for the sector per hour - and apparently about $3 per hour higher than Walmart. Eighty-eight percent of employees are on company-sponsored health care, and they have something to hope for, as advancement is a real possibility.
Workers are loyal - they have a turnover of just 5% - and the company earns more revenue and profit per employee than competitors. And here’s the thing: Costco’s sales were 6% up on last year. Pretty damn good, if you ask me!
Here’s one of the anonymous comments from Costco employees: “I think management is doing a great job... and thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring about the members and employees... and I try to work very hard to make our members very proud and welcome for shopping at Costco.. and give it my all for the best member service.”
In other words: look after me and I’ll look after your bottom line. Better all round than the more common adversarial relationship, not so?
- Fin24
*Mandi Smallhorne is a versatile journalist and editor. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on twitter.
