True North

I was thrust into a world of hurt in March 1999 when the management of the Match Factory  asked me to head a rag-tag team of expendables into delivering the impossible.  They asked me to produce an output that has never been reached in its twenty-two years of operations.  They want it delivered in a silver platter, complete with bells and whistles…. in the next six months.  I had nothing more to lose at that point, so I said to myselfy, “why the fuck not “,  so I agreed to take the challenge.

Barely after three months of almost going on twenty-four hours operations,  six days a week, eighty-percent of my expendable team has already resigned. I then hired a work-force of contractual workers as FTE (Full Time Equivalents) to plug the production gap.  But things were about to get worse as the production target was again raised to a new level.

In an emergency meeting called on a Sunday, I met for the first time, the Executive Vice President of the Match Factory – Edwin.  He was larger than life.  He formed a “task force” that was composed not only of production people like my self but also our team enablers (resource people who support production).  It was the first time I attended a task-force meeting that was attended by Human Resources, Accounting and Administration, Risk Management, Sales, Collections, and Operations. 

His vision and mission was clear. All of the task force members would give the required assistance to the production people to hit the required target by year-end.  I distinctively remember Edwin telling all of us that he will “shoot “anyone who is a fence-sitter in this endeavor so we better all shape up or ship out now.

The next three months, Edwin was breathing down on our collective necks pushing us to perform beyond expectation.  There was no “pat in the back”  for hitting targets. He told us that we were just doing our job and that is the minimum expectation.  He was so tough and demanding that even the other heads of the Task-Force eventually resigned before the end of year. 

I had to suck it in and hack it.  I was just starting a family and I can’t just ship out because the situation was tough. In hindsight, that period in 1999 would be one of the most defining moments in my work-life.  Like a knife treated in a crucible, I learned the value of hard-work and “management-on-your- feet” .  If you can’t adapt to the changing world, step out of the firing line. You are bound to get shot.  

Sixteen years later, Edwin is still a tough sonofabitch.  He has mellowed down a bit, probably due to the countless battles he has waged in the corporate arena. He now has a kinder demeanor . He now waits at least fifteen minutes before he speaks his mind out. You should have seen him a decade ago. You couldn’t get two words into  a conversation because Edwin is firing- off his brilliant mind. By the time you have recovered from his first barrage of words, Edwin is again on the firing line, and right back at you.

Perhaps we have cut our teeth early on that I have somehow earned the trust and respect of Edwin.  Today, he doesn’t let his secretary ask me to submit reports. He calls me on the phone and I update him briefly with what’s going on at the production line.  I like that. It has a touch of warmth that humanizes the work-environment. 

Now, more than I ever, I realize that being tough doesn’t mean you don’t care about your people. Being tough on your people prepares them for bigger responsibilities and makes their character stronger in time of adversity.

I wonder how the newbies would work with Edwin when he is nominated as the President of the Match Factory. They better have lungs of steel and a stone-cold stomach if they want to work with El Presidente.