We forget what it was like

H

hypochondriac

Senior Member
Location
Australia
Three of my brothers are successful businessmen. It is stressful for them but when i hear them complain about their employees I sense they have forgotten what it is like to be one of the indians instead of the chief. ( oops is that offensive?)

can bosses expect their employees to be as motivated as them?
Not just work but dont we forget what it was like to be a child/ teenager? i dont have much patience for kids these days. Yet maybe I should. I was a daydreaming narcissist as a kid. But I had to take crap now and then from adults and people i depended on. i longed for the day of economic independance. The power and esterm it eould give you.
 

No! I do NOT forget what it’s like to have fun.
At times I get overly serious but I always bounce back to playful mode since it comes so natural.
There has never been a job that I’ve taken too seriously. Family and fun always came first.
Not a good motto for job performance but it worked for me.
 
And in regard to motivation. Bosses who use too much stick and not enough carrot.
When the economy is poor people are desperate for a job. Bosses will use the fact to lord it over workers.
" if you dont like it find another job".
I work with new immigrants who are afraid to lose their job because their english ability is poor. they will jump when the boss says jump. Which can make me look like a troublemaker because I question authority sometimes. i dont like unions but sometimes i think we need one. Still ur casual status means they can fire you quite easily.
 

I was self-employed most of my life, for my major gigs. I can't stand overbearing bosses, and the few I had, I told off, and quit, on the spot. Fondest memory, along those lines: This conceited, pompous buffoon, EB, owned a chain of furniture stores. I was AM at one. I was 26. As he lectured me and the Mngr., one day, during a visit, I fell fast asleep. When I woke up, the Mngr. told me that EB told her to let me sleep, since I was such a hard worker, and needed it. A few weeks later, during a company meeting, the Regional Manager let it be known that he had spied on me, during my sales calls around town. He said, "Now, you may think I'm a dick, but - - " I cut him off: No, you ARE, in fact, a dick, and you know what?? I quit!" This other guy, a salesman, told me to hold on, that he was quitting, too. We left, and went to have breakfast, at Jim's. I never saw the guy, again, but the memory is still savored.

Funny thing: Those who have played gigs with me, and who worked for me on other jobs, have always told me that I'm a great bandleader/boss. I learned my lessons on what NOT to be, by working for a few terrible bosses.
 
When I started working most of my managers were workers who had the ability to push more bologna through the bologna slicer than the people that they worked with. The sad fact is that many of them were great workers and lousy managers.

I decided early on if I was going to spend 40 or more hours per week working for money I was going to get as much money for my trouble as I possibly could and that started my slow steady climb up the ladder.

I'm not sure if I was a good manager or not but I tried to act as a buffer for my employees and reward them for their efforts. I also encouraged my employees to move on to other positions that would pay them more for their talents. Some of my peers thought that it was bad to encourage people to move on but over the years I developed many connections in other departments and in other businesses in my field. It also ensured a fresh crop of eager talent instead of maintaining a bunch of listless malingerers that had chosen to retire in place.

Then one day I was made redundant and the rest, as they say, is history! :)
 
That was worth reading Aunt Bea and treeguy. Thanks for the anecdotes. Im a much better reader than listener. That's why I prefer online forums to real face to face conversations.
 

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