Bye bye attorneys

I showed a very astute businessman friend of mine the sales overview presentation of our company the other day. One of the bullet points in the presentation was that our company had never sued or been sued by a customer in 35 years of doing business. This fellow was incredulous of this fact and could not get over that bullet point and told me that we ought to highlight that bullet in red and make it the focal point of the page if not the entire presentation.

I agree that it makes a statement to prospective customers that if we do indeed end up forming an alliance; chances are good that we will not need to resolve any potential differences via our illustrious court system. I related to him that I was rather proud of that accomplishment and in today’s litigious business environment it is quite an achievement.

Actually it is almost unheard of in today’s culture for a company that has reached the size of our company to avoid litigation. I read somewhere that in all of Japan there are less than 30,000 attorneys and in Europe there are less than 50,000. Compare that to the United States where we “enjoy” nearly one million.

There are of course reasons that I have been able to accomplish this goal and maintain it for some thirty five years and I do not think it can be attributed to my mild temperament or just to luck. I can tell you I have come to the very brink on more than one occasion and there has been plenty of “saber rattling” both going and coming through the years including right now as this is written, but through it all I “worked” hard to peacefully and amicably resolve conflicts prior to it ending up in court. I think that is the key take-away here, “Worked hard!”

It can safely be said that not everyone is going to ever get along with each other all of the time. Some folks have a tough time understanding that not everyone is going to personally like them. By the same token, few if any of the folks to whom I am acquainted anyway can legitimately say with a straight face that they like everyone they know. It is after all our flawed human nature to be like that. Personal likes and dislikes aside we can however treat each other with respect provided that we are willing to “work hard” at it.

The Bible is clear that in as much as we have control over a situation we should try to get along with everyone. I cannot honestly say that I personally like every business partner, vendor, or even employee of our company. (In fact on a personal level if some of them were to move next door to me I would put my house on the market and vice versa.) This is not to say that I cannot work side by side with them on a daily basis in a professional manner. How can I do that?

I work hard and try my utmost to just treat everyone as I would like to be treated regardless of whether we happen to personally like each other or not. This takes me to one of the mottos that I try to live by, “Be fair, friendly, but firm”. I did not coin that phrase and forgot where I originally heard it, but I try to live by it every day.

I try to be objective and fair to all parties; that does not mean just to “others”, but to “all” parties, (includes my company and myself). I try to resolve problems in a friendly manner if at all possible, and finally I also try to be “firm”, and in fact will stand firmly by my beliefs, (if necessary, “until the very last dog dies”).

In that light, I am aware that I have a reputation among some as being overly ambitious when it comes to firm and am tough minded and a hard-case, and that many otherwise brave employees are shall we say not really enamored with the idea of being summoned to my office to discuss a problem with which they are involved or worse responsible. I suppose I deserved such a reputation years ago when I was in the early stages of developing the company and was fiercely fighting to build it into a prosperous and healthy entity and actually breathed fire. Even during the early days though when brutally engaged with forging raw materials into a fine and precious product I can truthfully say that I cannot ever recall firing or disciplining anyone who did not deserve it and I was as fair as I knew how to be. Make no mistake, I had no problem with being firm, but where I fell down sometimes was the friendly ingredient. This goes back to the golden rule of treating people like we would like to be treated. It would end many problems and eliminate the need for attorneys Bye Bye attorneys… Oh yeah

I consider that I have been married for nearly thirty eight years to the same person, through the years very few of the employees that I admire and respect and wanted to stay at our company have left, and when combined with my litigation record, I am satisfied that I have done a fair job of living up to the biblical command below. If you are having difficulty in this arena, memorize this short verse. I can attest it has worked for me.

Romans 12:18
If at all possible, as much as depends
on you, live peaceably with
all men.