A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

142 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
Anyway, the story goes like this. A CEO took an extended vacation in
Europe. For whatever reason, a conflict between labor and management
arose during his absence and his workers went out on strike. I don’t know
why the CEO wasn’t informed of the impending problem as it occurred, or
at least prior to the action of the union, but apparently he was not. In any
case, he immediately cut short his trip and flew back to his embattled company.
He found all work stopped, his employees on the picket line, and
union and management not even talking <strong>with</strong> one another. He took the
following actions immediately on arrival:
1. A temporary shelter was erected along <strong>with</strong> refreshments near the
picket line for the benefit of his striking workers.
2. Baseball bats, balls, and gloves were made available on loan, and
a nearby vacant lot was prepared, so that those employees not
currently on the picket line could play baseball if they wished.
3. The company set up a day-care center to take of the children of
striking employees who needed these services because of the strike.
Other services to accommodate striking employees were also implemented.
The clear message was that these employees may be on strike due
to a grievance <strong>with</strong> the company, but they are our employees. As you might
imagine, the strike was soon settled.
Joint Responsibility
Peter felt strongly that management and employees had a joint responsibility
for performance. He said that both the boss and subordinates needed
to get things right. “Too many bosses,” he said, “assume that what they
want done is obvious or easily understood.” In fact, the opposite is usually
true. “Frequently,” he said, “it is communication which is the problem.
However, sometimes there is no communication at all.”
This comment reminded me of a graduate student I knew who had
interned <strong>with</strong> a well-known consulting company. The student’s boss was
known to be brilliant, but she couldn’t seem to retain subordinates for very
long, whether they were full-time or interns. This executive traveled frequently.
She instructed her intern to prepare a presentation on a certain
subject and to have it ready on her return, as she would be leaving again
the following day. She was called out of the room during her discussion