I remember visiting with a young man who had just been named as the Chief Operating Officer of a food processing company. His father was the CEO and still active in the company despite being 90+ years of age. His father insisted that he graduate with an MBA before he would allow his son to run the operation. This young man had worked in every part of the company and now, after 27 years, was finally in charge of the operations. I was there because he decided that some serious upgrades were needed to their operation. He wanted new wireless networking, connectivity between all the major buildings, a new phone system, and several new computers to go along with an ERP system we were putting into place. This young businessman and I were touring the office and joking around about the ancient technology that was still being used by the company. A few dot matrix printers were in place; a receipt printer was still running MS-DOS, if you can believe that. The phone system was one of those old business systems that AT&T installed in the mid-70s, and I was shocked that it was still working. We had some good laughs.
That was until we met with his father to walk him through our new plan. We sat in his office waiting room while his father finished up a few matters. I noted that he left his door propped open. I was not sure if that was for our benefit or so that he could communicate with his assistant, who sat in the adjacent office. His business flow was simple. He would finish a task, put the paperwork in an “out” basket, and then the assistant would bring the next task and place it in the “in” basket. After each task, he would pick up the phone and make a phone call or two. This repeated for a while until it was announced that our allocated meeting time was now at hand. We sat in two chairs opposite the large desk. That desk had 4 items on it. The in and out boxes, a phone, and a pen. The older man sat across the table and said in his opening statement, “This is all I need to run this company; now you boys, tell me what you need.”
Needless to say, our presentation was not received with fanfare. The son got to do what he wanted, but only after a few lectures. I think for every 5K in expenses, he received a 1-hour lecture. We got the new technology installed, and the young man eventually took over the entire company. I believe they are still in operation and quite successful and have remained a family-owned and operated business. I will always remember this concept; all I need is a desk and a phone. This last week I was browsing an antique store when I came across an old executive desk. This desk was a wide one with a leather-mounted surface. It had a few drawers, but I noticed what was lacking. Grommet holes, cable trays, monitor arms, power, and USB outlets. That got me to thinking how much work has changed over the years, perhaps not for the better.
This old man at the family-owned farming business knew all of his suppliers well. He knew them by name and could remember their birthdays by heart. He knew the names of their wives and children. He spoke to his clients every day and found time to recognize each of them when they had a major milestone in their careers. He cared for his employees and his clients in equal measure. Although he was a bit harsh to the wielders of new technology proposals, he was kind, connected and aware of every person in the 1,500-employee business. As I stared at that desk, I thought there was probably a person who sat behind that desk with a pen and perhaps an analog phone at one time. That got me thinking: maybe we have not gained all that much after all.
Sure, I am more productive. Sure, I can run the company and everything remotely now. Sure, I can handle many tasks and communicate with many people at scale, but am I any better than this person with a desk and a phone? I think I have to answer yes, but I am beginning to wonder. With the advent of new AI technology, perhaps this is an invitation to get back to talking to people again. Communication with sincerity, perhaps? Pretend all of this task-mastering work was done for you; what would you do then? Where would you show value? Something tells me we could all use a couple of those 1-hour lectures from the long-time farmer turned CEO.
