A Matter of Trust

PO says "Trusting people is very emancipating. If you don't, you ought to give it a try. You'll find your life will work better and be more fun if you do."

He still loves learning about the U. S. Constitution, the U. S. Government, and democracy. The whole system is based, in large part, on trust.

Over the past thirty years, PO added partners, stores, and employees. The organization eventually reached 127 partners, 1200 stores, and 23,000 employees. The management structure was flat, not the usual pyramid with the boss on top. PO used the democratic way of voting and majority-rule as the guideline for making company wide decisions. His partners voted; PO abstained from voting but participated in discussion and debate.

The companies growth pace was frantic during some years and even with all the work to do, PO would get bored. That's the way it is with dyslexic, ADHD, ADD personalities. Repetitive busywork drives them to anger as it did with PO. "His anger was obvious to people around him. In his late forties he felt he had created a monster. The monster wasn't his company, it was him. It was hard to live in his skin" is the way he described it.

He guided his partners to offer employee benefits beyond normal. Subsidized daycare and contributions to first-time home purchases are examples of benefits beyond the normal extended by companies. PO believes that the store employees are the most important people in the organization and he fought for them.

Return here Saturday for the next to last posting about this person.

Send me an email at mikemabe@excite.com if you know this person's name.

Have a good day!