Achievement Motivation can be identified by the number and scope
of a manager’s accomplishments. I confirmed my preferred style by taking a
“personality styles” test that identified strong achievers v friendly helpers v
logical thinkers. We use all of these
behaviors, but we usually have a preference. My Meyers-Briggs results were
ENTJ, Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging. My Inner-directed v
other-directed test confirmed my Inner-directedness. My DISC test showed high dominance, high
inducement, low steadiness and middle compliance. My high dominance indicated
my preference to lead. My high inducement indicated credibility. My low
steadiness suggested that I would not be happy doing mundane tasks. My middle
compliance indicated that I didn’t want to be micro-managed. Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Need places “Self-Actualization” at the top of Maslow’s pyramid and so did I
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need places “Self-Actualization” at the top of Maslow’s
pyramid and so did I
My SIMA evaluation predicted that I would end up running my own
Consulting Business. SIMA identified the key to success as “doing what you’re
good at and love to do.
I chose to work in manufacturing because it added value. I chose
to work in Personnel, because US manufacturing was struggling in 1953 with
hostile unions that were created by Marxists and had been taken over by the
Mafia. I was 10 years old when I read a front-page story about a Labor Union
President being blown up in a car bombing. I asked my uncles how that happened
and they all said “Mafia”. That’s when I started thinking about being a
Personnel Director to improve employee relations and make unions unnecessary.
I always found out what companies needed before I joined them.
My first job was with United Way in St. Louis Mo as a Campaign Division
Director for St. Charles County. It was the fastest growing county in the US in
1965. In the interview I learned that my boss was concerned that they might
pull out of the Metro United Way. I achieved 125% of goal in 1965 and 1966. My
St. Charles Campaign Chairman for 1966 told me that nobody wanted to be the
next Chairman. I asked if they would consider consolidating into the Metro
structure and he said yes. I asked my boss to call my St Charles Chairman and
work out the transition. I had just
received an offer to enter Personnel at a local manufacturing company. I got to
break records and eliminate my job. I also got to know St. Charles County. I
founded the St Charles County Counsel of Homeowners Associations in 1968. We
had 300 subdivisions and 68,000 homes.
I joined Kearney National as a Personnel Generalist in 1966 and
quickly learned recruiting and compensation, I was tapped to join a committee
to do financial analysis with the VP Finance of Dyson Kistner, the holding
company and the CFO of Kearney National. I learned that Kearney had found a
compatible company in Atlanta. I suggested that they buy it and close the St.
Louis Plant to get rid of the Teamsters. They agreed. I told them I was not
planning on making the move. Our Advertising Manager had a friend at Monsanto
and referred me to him. He had a Compensation Job in the Textile Division.
I took the job at Monsanto in 1968. They were keeping the Oil
Chemical & Atomic Worker Union from organizing their plants and that
required that we keep our pay ahead of OCAW. I learned a lot about maintaining
a “Union Free” environment. Monsanto was moving their joint venture company
Chemstrand to Monsanto headquarters and had an opening in Compensation. I
coordinated with Corporate Compensation on pay actions and policies and
converted the 9-factor job evaluation plan to the Monsanto plan. I was offered
a promotion and a 30% increase to move to the Division Sales Office at the
Empire State Building in Manhattan NY. I turned it down.
In 1971, I took a Personnel Program Coordinator job with
Washington University Medical School to establish the personnel function at the
Medical Campus and head up a project to automate their Personnel Records. I was
also tasked to work with a committee to develop an affirmative action plan. I
was co-investigator on a $10 million basic Improvement grant from NIH to add a
cage washing facility to the animal research lab and AALAS certify 90 Black
Animal Caretakers. We received the grant and I was elect Education Chair for
AALAS and had to give a paper at their convention. I had lots of help. The
Animal Lab Director was happy to coordinate the AALAS certification training.
I was interested in Washington U because I heard that the Unions
were going to try to organize the colleges and universities. I was not surprise
when I received a petition from NLRB to hold an election for 90 Black
housekeeping employees who signed cards for the SEU, the Service Employees
Union. I immediately responded and asked for their LM2 financial report. They
sent it along with a janitor contract SEU had. Our pay rates were higher. Our
Housekeeping Employees kept bacteria down in our 3 hospital complex. I Met with
the University Executives and their Lawyer to explain what I had. The Vice
Chancellor for Medical Affairs asked me what the employees should do. I said:
“They should not join the union, annually.” Everybody laughed. Chancellor
Danforth then approved and I scheduled my first meeting with the Housekeeping
Employees. We met weekly. In the 3rd meeting I mentioned that
sometimes employees join unions because their supervisor doesn’t respect them.
One older guy in the back row said” “Got that right”. I said, “Thank You”. I
immediately met with their supervisor and his manager. The supervisor fixed it.
In my next meeting, it was all smiles. I scheduled to Business Manager to meet
with them and they liked him too. We won with 80% of the vote.
In 1972, I was offered a promotion to Personnel Director for
Washington U. I turned it down. I recommended the current Assistant Director. I
offered to take the Assistant Director spot to keep my projects plus handling
the Unions and Compensation on the Main Campus. Chancellor Danforth approved.
In 1973 I added a local survey to the Compensation System, I wrote the Job
Descriptions and the Compensation Manual. I finished the Automation
project. President Nixon had imposed a
5.5% cap on wage increases. I drafted the Compensation Plan to comply. The Main
Campus Unions vote to decertify the Union. By 1974, I had accomplished more
than I had planned . The Personnel Director was retiring. I recommended they consider giving this job
to the Affirmative Action Officer, she had just completed her Law Degree. I
returned to manufacturing with Schwan Foods in Salina Kansas.
In 1975, I joined Schwan foods as Personnel Manager for
manufacturing plants in Salina KS, Hutchison KS and West Union Iowa and the
Transportation Depot in Salina. We served 1400 employees in Salina and were the
largest employer. I had 30 employes doing personnel, accounting and
administrative work. I wrote the job
descriptions and installed a 9-factor job evaluation plan. I took the APT Test
with my staff and we approved it for use as a selection tool and employee
development tool. We were automating manufacturing and I wanted to automated
office functions. We moved our annual Company Picnic to the plant site and
hired carnival rides.
I was offered the Personnel Director job in Marshall MN in 1975
and turned it down. I wanted to keep my projects and my family was happy in
Salina. I wanted to build a custom PC with rate-of-rise sensors to monitor our
Ammonia Refrigeration System. I wanted Plant Security reduced to 1 Guard in a
vehicle outside and 1 guard monitoring the PC system 24/7. I hired a Data
Processing Pro to work with Corporate Data Processing in Marshall MN. I replace
time-cards and door keys with Rusco Cards. I worked with the Consulting
Engineer who was designing automating Sauce, Cheese and Meat applicators. We
added space to the Maintenance Department and fabricated our own applicators.
In 1976, The Salina Plant built a float for the bi-centennial
parade and won first prize. We also sponsored a food booth at the celebration
in the park. We ran radio commercials announcing our progress in automation. We
ran an ad in the Salina High School Yearbook. We had a 4-hour shift for
students who maintained a B average.
In 1977, we established an employee development process using
the APT Test as a base-line and my Training Supervisor worked with employees
one-to-one to improve areas they wanted to improve. We added the DISC and
Meyers Briggs test and used them for selection and development. I designed a weighted performance appraisal
and we added cash awards for high performance. I tasked my Employee Relations
Supervisor with writing the Employee Handbook. I had established an ASPA
Chapter with 40 companies to provide monthly meetings for Personnel staffs and
an annual wage survey. In 1978, I was
tapped by ASPA to serve as ASPA Director for Kansas.
By 1979, my projects were complete. Automation took our annual
Revenue from $150 million to $650 million. The Ammonia Refrigeration sensors
resulted in a $100,000 per year insurance premium reduction. All promotions
were filled from within the workforce with few exceptions. We observed a No
Layoff policy. Profit Sharing was 10% of pay per year and vested in 10 years.
We held Company Picnics in the Summer and Company Dinner Dances in Winter for
all employees in all locations. The Driver-Salesmen were provided with a
refrigerated truck paid on commission. Their wives took orders from customers
from home and relayed them to their husbands. It was a “family-oriented
company.
I received a call from the Personnel Manager from Rickel
Manufacturing. He was moving to a Personnel job in Missouri and wanted to know
if I was interested in replacing him. I knew they had the UAW and I was
interested.
In 1979, I joined Rickel as Corporate Personnel Manager. The
staff was great. Rickel manufactured custom applicators used to fertilize
crops. I recruited some engineers to automate the Applicators, cut costs and
reduced union support. We prepared for a strike and lined up metal
manufacturing contractors to continue production. We received 100 invalid
grievances and let them pile up. I made phone calls and identified most of the
companies who delt with our UAW Local 710 group and published the list and sent
it out to these companies. Local 710 was a 4-state territory. One company
wanted to coordinate meetings to harass the UAW team and I approved.
In 1980, we were approaching contract negotiations and moved
these to a hotel.
In 1981, we had a few meetings. The UAW then failed to schedule
meetings. I was tapped to write business articles for Kansas Business News. We
continued to reduce costs and improve productivity.
In 1982 the Local 710 UAW President called me at home. He wanted
to horse-trade our 100 grievances and I wanted to move them to arbitration
where they would be judged as frivolous.
In late 1982, the Salina Journal announced the addition of
another ag equipment plant and they published their rates of pay. They were
higher than ours at Rickel. I pre-notified the Local 710 President and
implemented the wage increases to match those published in the Salina Journal..
This resulted a Decertification Petition being distributed by one of our own
Union Reps. The Local 710 President filed a disclaimer and Rickel became “union
free”. The ag economy had need weak and we knew the Japanese were about to dump
ag equipment on the US. We contacted a broker to our main competitor Ag Chem to
see if they would be interested in acquiring Rickel. They jumped at it because
we held the patent on the 3-wheel design. We sold Rickel to Ag Chem in January
1983.
Saline County wanted me to contract to provide a wage survey for
counties in Kansas. I signed up and started that project in January 1983.
Hayes Microcomputer called me to join them in Atlanta. I knew
the guy from Hayes from his days as a Personnel Manager in Salina. My wife and
I met for dinner with Dennis Hayes in Atlanta. The next day I interviewed at
the Hayes plant and my wife looked at houses in Dunwoody close to the Dental
Hygiene School with the real estate agent. I finally finished my project for
Saline County in March 1983 and drove to Atlanta to join Hayes. I resigned as
ASPA Director for Kansas and Business Columnist for Kansas Business News.
In 1983, I joined Hayes and began working on my projects and was
named Manager of Human Resources in late 1983.
Hayes was a 100 employee $35M company that had developed the PC Modem.
Hayes needed to grow rapidly and they needed large company systems. They had a
good small Personnel staff. I needed accurate wage survey data. The AEA Survey
was National, but there was no reliable local data. I founded the Metro Atlanta
High Tech Personnel Association to produce a reliable annual wage survey for
electronics companies. MAHTPA had 40 member companies. I wrote the survey and
produced the reports. MAHTPA had monthly meetings for Personnel Staffs. While I
was developing our wage structures, the CWA began to distribute leaflets. I
proposed an immediate 25 cent per hour increase in wages and that stopped the
union organizing. I positioned the wages and salaries according to the surveys
and the next raises were larger and resulted in some promotions. We had purchased the best equipment for
circuit board production. The trade schools offered electronics assembly
certificates. The labor market had a good supply of technicians and
engineers. We staffed up and began
hiring 100 employees per month.
In 1984, I established a Medical Plan Trust to cancelled the
Insured Plan. I modified coverage to include outpatient addiction treatment. We
hired a claims processor and expanded the number of Nurses to provide case
management. My Nurse Manager ran it. I had my staff prepare a policy manual. We
had to locate in separate buildings that included a manufacturing plane, an
engineering building and a Headquarters building. Revenue reached $200M and headcount reached
1000 employees. I was sponsored by Hayes
to complete a Fellowship in Strategic Studies at WBSI, Western Behavioral
Science Institute. It was a 2 year program over the internet. I was given a DEC
Rainbow PC to connect to New Jersey Institute of Technology. I got a box of
books every month and we met in La Jolla CA for a week each year. I graduated
in 1986.
In 1985, We established an ESOP, Employee Stock Ownership Plan
and the large company systems and staffing were complete. Again, I accomplished
more than I had anticipated and Hayes was established as the primary PC Modem.
In 1986, I joined Electromagnetic Sciences Inc. as Personnel
Manager. EMS had 300 employees and Revenue was $35M. The Reagan Military
build-up was underway. EMS had designed and manufactured the Beam-forming
network for the Discus Military communications satellite. EMS was a successful
Military Research Subcontractor that included manufacturing of what they
designed. EMS also did subcontract work on the electronics for Rockwell on the
Hellfire missile. We had an Antenna Range, a Machine Shop, a Materials Lab, a
Clean Room, Electronics was surface-mount. We developed Computer Integrated
Manufacturing and ran the Milling Machine from the CAD. We designed and built
the Aegis Missile System.
EMS had also established LXE, a Subsidiary that developed
bar-code reading for warehouses. Bids were coming in for both groups.
I led a Personnel Staff of 8. I recruited I Sr Rep to handle LXE
and Engineering recruiting and 1 Sr Rep to handle EMS hourly recruiting I had 1
Sr Rep to handle compensation and 1 Sr Rep to handle benefits. I added nurse
case management to the medical trust plan administrator, added a “gate-keeper”
for addiction treatment, I kept medical plan costs at $150/month and kept the
employee premium low. I replaced the Pension Plan with an Age-Weighted
Retirement Plan. I maintained the 401K plan.
I served as HR Chair for the American Electronics Association Board
from1986 to 1996 and held monthly meetings for local members. I was tapped to
serve as AEA Chair for Manufacturing and wrote the ISO-9000 Quality Manual. I
wrote the AEA Position Paper rejecting Hilliary-care. I served as an IEEE Chair
and presented programs at their conventions. I was tapped to write a column in
Computer Currents.
By 1987 EMS had Revenue of $100M and 600 employees.
By 1988 EMS had Revenue of $150M and 900 employees.
By 1990 EMS had Revenue of $200M and 1000 employees.
By 1993 the Reagan Military Build-up had been completed and
growth stabilized.
By 2011 EMS had Revenue of $290M when it was sold to Honeywell.
