Blog 2: Character vs. Cut-Throat

What: From September 2003 – December 2008 I worked for a real estate developer who also served as a city councilman in Jacksonville, FL. In the middle of June of 2008, when the real estate market was in a downward spiral, the financial partner for our company met with my boss and very flatly told him that he no longer wanted to invest in real estate development and wanted to close the company by the end of the month. My boss explained that the company had several partnerships that would need to be dissolved as well as several assets that would need to be liquidated. The financial partner agreed that these things needed to be resolved and that my boss was the best to oversee the process. His solution for saving money was to fire me and take the rest of the year to finalize the above mentioned transactions. My boss told him this was not an option as I was a very integral part of the company and invaluable to him as an employee. In order to allow me to keep my job, he took a $50,000 pay cut to supplement my salary until the company closed its doors December 31st.

So What: Prior to this incident, I had already developed a great deal of respect for my boss and learned a tremendous amount about character and integrity by watching him operate in 2 very corrupt fields, real estate and politics. His motto was that every situation had to be a win-win for all involved or it was not worth it. By that he meant that it was not about the bottom-line or how much profit could be gained from a project. The thing that was important to him was to look at the big picture and find the solution that was beneficial to all involved.

By observing this man in action for 5 years, I learned infinitely more than I could ever learn from a text book about how to operate in business and how to be a successful leader. He was not perfect, and yes he did make mistakes. However, when he recognized that he had made a mistake or when someone confronted him with a situation, he was the first to take a hard look at his actions, correct his mistakes and move forward with his head held high. Not once did I see him point the finger of blame at someone else or tear someone else down to build himself up. I can honestly say there is not one person that I have come across who knows him that has anything bad to say about him.

Now What: During my employment at this company I watched 2 successful businessmen in action. The financial partner, a man who inherited a great deal of wealth from his family, failed to see the value of his employees and focused only on the bottom dollar. As a result of his cut-throat tactics he had employees who were very unhappy and not loyal to him or the company. The other was a man of humble beginnings; he built his success and earned the respect and loyalty of those around him by consistently displaying character and ethics in all of his business dealings. He had employees, including myself, who respected him, valued his opinions and worked very hard to further the company and continue to build his success.
Both of them made a decision that directly affected my life. One of them showed me that the value of a person is infinitely greater than saving a few dollars at the end of the day. If my boss had not been a man of such character, I would have undoubtedly been fired in June and in a place of financial insecurity. However, because of his loyalty and sacrifice, I was given time to collect my thoughts, and redirect the path for my life. The new path brought me here to UF and to the pursuit of my life goals in youth counseling.

My ex-boss, and his family, are still very dear to me and will undoubtedly be a part of my life for many years to come. There have been many times in the past year that I have called/emailed or simply stopped by to get his insight on decisions I am facing. The lessons he taught me about character, integrity and the value of others will carry forward with me as I continue to develop my business. I know that I am a better person having known him. To quote a song from the play Wicked, “Because I knew [him] I have been changed for good.” I will definitely “pay forward” the lessons he taught me.