the cold, hard truth

There are three tenets that I must balance in my professional life: the employee, the customer, and the shareholder. In the event the company you work for is not publically traded, I use the term shareholder to refer to a corporate office as well. I’ve been acutely aware of the delicate balancing act between these three entities and have often wondered if all three could be simultaneously happy with the way things were going. I personally was unsuccessful in locating this harmonious balance during my years in corporate America. Although top-notch business schools and speakers have given a plethora of speeches and heart-tugging vignettes declaring that companies that don’t value people don’t last, in reality, they do. Sometimes, karma catches up with them, but in the meantime a lot of damage is done. If you have entered an organization with happy shareholders, an angry customer, and laissez-faire employees, you’ve just been hired to fill the shoes of someone who was inept, indecisive, or both. If you are in an organization where the share holders and the employees are happy and the customer is not, don’t worry. No one will be around for very long. If you are in an organization where the employees and the customer are happy, but the shareholders are not, you are being set up by your shareholders. They may smile to your face, but trust me; they are plotting your demise at the corporate office.