Why Did That Happen?

At a time between 1973 and 1976, the Administrative and Technical Services Department was in a crisis of poor self image in the shipyard.  The company was very old, had a great reputation and employed about 30,000 people in jobs that ran the full gamut of responsibility.  The heroes worked on the big ships, the underdogs supported the heroes and that was the rub.  The division unfairly assumed a subordinate rank.

The company produced a public relations piece that was superb.  It told the rich history and achievement of the company over its long history.  When I saw it on public TV, I was duly impressed by it and a light bulb went off in my head!

I was the person to whom the Admin and Tech Services division reported.  This represented a fine opportunity to let all of the people working in it, about 350 souls, just how important they were to the operation.  So I organized a showing of the film in the Apprentice School auditorium and in several shifts ushered in all of the people to see it.  I delivered a prologue introduction and epilogue reinforcing their role in the operation.

It had the desired effect.  The division transformed into a much more enthused group of people.  Oh, there were those who would never be of a positive mind but, by and large, the attitude was to be much more proud of working in this division in this company.

Shortly after the event I was summoned to the office of the VP of Human Resources.  There I was harshly criticized for having done this.  It seems that the union was now pushing for the entire shipyard to get to go to see the show; a demand that wasn't met.  My own boss, VP of Engineering and Administration, simply said to me, "That was dumb."  I wanted to argue my point but was silenced with a raised hand.  I was also left to figure out for myself why that idea wasn't very good.

It took a long time but I finally came to some conclusions.  The biggest lesson was that in a large organization, or even family, one should get some advice and input from trusted advisers who are a bit removed and can offer objective observations before doing something affecting the rest.  It delays the decision but sometimes a lost opportunity is better than one taken without regard for the effect on others.