Management Lessons
This morning I met one of our company's cleaning ladies in the tea room. She asked me if I was a Catholic and said she had noticed the time Infant Jesus statue on my deskwhile cleaning. We had a little chat I learnt her name; Josaphine...
This actually reminded me of an email I had read entitled Management lessons and thought of posting it here.
Brittany, a college sophomore working toward a degree in business administration, was one of those people who tested well. So, when one of her professors opened class by announcing a pop quiz, the honor student wasn’t worried.
She always came to class prepared—and as usual, she breezed through the questions. Until she reached the last: “What’s the first name of the woman who cleans your dorm?” Surely, she thought, this must be some kind of trick question or crazy joke. How was she supposed to know the name of the cleaning lady? She’d seen the woman around, knew she had dark hair, thought she was probably in her fifties. But she’d never had any reason to talk to the woman, or to learn her name. Finally, Brittany turned in her paper, leaving the question blank.
The other students were equally puzzled by the strange final question of their quiz, and one finally asked if it would count toward their grade. “Certainly,” the professor replied. “Many of you aspire to be corporate leaders or owners of your own companies, and as you climb the ladder, you’ll meet many people. It’s important for you to learn that all of them, the great and the not-so-great, are significant, and all deserve recognition for the roles they play—ev en the people who mop the floors.
This actually reminded me of an email I had read entitled Management lessons and thought of posting it here.
Brittany, a college sophomore working toward a degree in business administration, was one of those people who tested well. So, when one of her professors opened class by announcing a pop quiz, the honor student wasn’t worried.
She always came to class prepared—and as usual, she breezed through the questions. Until she reached the last: “What’s the first name of the woman who cleans your dorm?” Surely, she thought, this must be some kind of trick question or crazy joke. How was she supposed to know the name of the cleaning lady? She’d seen the woman around, knew she had dark hair, thought she was probably in her fifties. But she’d never had any reason to talk to the woman, or to learn her name. Finally, Brittany turned in her paper, leaving the question blank.
The other students were equally puzzled by the strange final question of their quiz, and one finally asked if it would count toward their grade. “Certainly,” the professor replied. “Many of you aspire to be corporate leaders or owners of your own companies, and as you climb the ladder, you’ll meet many people. It’s important for you to learn that all of them, the great and the not-so-great, are significant, and all deserve recognition for the roles they play—ev en the people who mop the floors.
posted by Roshanthi at 6:41 am
5 Comments:
beautiful!!!! oh, I really like this one...
funny, about blogs... mine started because Teddy was in the US for a year of American high school. so, at first it was a way of keeping her informed as to what was going on at home. then I figured that if I kept writing, then it might be something my grandchildren and on could read, to see just what life was like, way back when... :)))
Hi there, I have seen this one before, and it is very true. Glad you posted it
This one really hits home for me as an owner of a small business. The people who work for me are very close, and I've heard through the grape vine that a number of them say "It's like we work with Dave, not for him." and that's really comforting.
Fresh out of high school I worked a restaurant job washing dishes and cooking. The manager I worked for was one of the best I'd encountered in my brief working experience. When things got hectic, he thought nothing of rolling up his sleeves and doing whatever was necessary to get the job done. Might be where I got the notion to work "with" my people.
Let's face it, without the people a manager or owner is nowhere.
I talk with our cleaning lady often and this is my experience.
On one Sunday I had to come to office to fix an urgent bug. I was the only person in the huge premises except the security staff and the cleaning staff. The office looked haunted. The cleaning lady hanged around me and talked to me, and whenever she had to go out of the office she told me “Lock the doors Miss. I am going out for a tea.”
This is really true. Many times I've been helped out of a jam by the people who most people see as worthless. The Cooks, The Cleaners, The Tea Ladys, The Drivers. These guys have access to loads of information, they know things that most others don't, the driver knows his boss's movement patterns and can set him up for a robbery or save his hide.
I've learnt not to look down on anyone 'cos you never know where they might be useful
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