Moving to Higher Ground, Part 2

Private companies, large and small, make up the heart of our economy. The profits from these companies, created invariably from the vision, spirit, and sweat of an individual or small team, are the lifeblood of our society. The people who comprise these companies provide food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and countless products and services that not only enhance our lives, but also enable the public economy which we have created to provide for the common good. Of course, these companies are as susceptible as individuals to the flood of debt. We depend on them and their leaders to make good decisions for they are the ones who will provide most of the energy to take us to higher ground. It's no secret that these companies are comprised of people like us.

I suggest we work, within our companies, to retain a sense of team spirit, from top to bottom, and continue to strive to raise employee morale as high as possible by training and empowering employees to make decisions appropriate to their level, by encouraging employees to learn and take increased responsibility, and by sharing the rewards of success. Employee morale generally goes hand-in-hand with customer satisfaction – we who believe in the company we work for and in its products and services want our customers to be satisfied.

I suggest that our companies avoid excessive management pay which can lead to envy and the appearance of uncaring. In the hard times, when profits fall and salaries may fall as a result, I suggest that our companies leave behind the attitude that management should be spared the pain that other employees suffer. I suggest that companies avoid the shortcuts and temptations of crony capitalism and restraints of trade; companies whose products and services are continually exposed to the fires of competition tend be the tall trees in the forest. Above all, I recommend that we leave behind attitudes which could lead to unions at our companies. If I am careless about my nutrition, exercise, hydration, or sleep, my resistance will fall and I could catch cold or worse. Likewise, if the owners and managers of my company are careless about sharing success and pain, employee morale could fall and our company could catch a union. A union carries the potential of sapping our energy and destroying our company. This emergency, the flood of debt, is a time for unity, not the divisiveness that unions bring. This is no time to set one part of our company against another such that owners, managers, and workers no longer pull in the same direction for the good of all.