My thanks to Tom Asacker for linking to the article the other day in the Boston Globe about the CEO of a hospital in Boston who is finding ways to avoid laying anyone off from work. No, this article doesn’t have anything directly to do with voiceover; but it’s so worth a few minutes of your time because right now you probably need a shot of good news, even if it’s not good news that touches you directly. Well, take a minute to read the whole thing. You’ll be glad you did.
What a wonderful story. Thank you for posting this Bob, I know several people that will also enjoy reading it. Forwarding the link now…
🙂
Kara
Kara,
Yes, a truly lovely story.
Be well,
Bob
Bob, I will be the nattering nabob of negativism here and say that the story at least partly reinforces some myths about the labor-management relationship.
The writer trots out the old saw, “People are worried about the next paycheck, because they’re only a few paychecks away from not being able to pay the mortgage or the rent.” Generally speaking, in America that is just not true. But it serves a purpose for “journalists” to repeat it.
I did like this: “But a lot of them realize that everybody’s in the same boat and that their boat doesn’t rise because someone else’s sinks.” Yes, and conversely, your boat doesn’t sink because someone else’s rises.
What the employees of this hospital don’t seem to realize is that their compensation is *always* negotiable, dependent on outside factors and relative to the inputs of others. That’s one advantage we self-employed have: we get that.
Dan,
Thanks for adding these very cogent words. I thought some of the comments to the story at the paper’s site were spot on, and quite consonant with your thoughts here.
The story is clearly framed in a way that doesn’t cover every aspect in exactly the same detail. Still, having recently watched a very different set of decisions play out with a number of close friends and (in some cases) long-time associates; I wish this kind of thinking by corporate executives took place more often.
It’s not that it’s unique or couldn’t happen more often, it’s that it doesn’t.
I also understand that business decisions including those we have to make for our own small businesses, can be very tough and even at times, cold. That’s real life.
Be well,
Bob
Bob,
Thanks. Communication in a company is a wonderful and rare thing, and I don’t want to seem to diminish that.
From reading some of the follow-up comments at the paper’s site, it’s clear that some people misunderstand what a business is.
A business does not exist to provide jobs. It exists to serve customers. If we focus on serving customers, we often create jobs as a side effect. If we focus on maximizing jobs, the customer can be neglected or even short-changed. Then he goes elsewhere, and soon nobody here has a job.
It’s a very ironic life, isn’t it?
😎
Dan,
Yes, indeed. And I’ve observed that many things cannot be obtained by aiming directly for them. Happiness. Humility. Those are just 2 examples. Job creation, as you’ve just pointed out, is another.
Good thoughts. Thank you.
Be well,
Bob