Love and Profit by James A. Autry Presented by Vince Palumbos

I first read Love and Profit about fifteen years ago. James Autry sent a powerful message that never left me. After discussing this book with my colleague Pam Bauer, her enthusiasm compelled me to reread this wonderful work of prose and poetry. The principles are old and new, time tested and forgotten, applied and abandoned. I believe now more than ever our true character as business leaders is being tested, our nation is being tested and our resolve as Americans is being tested. This wonderful little book puts the principles that make us decent and caring human beings into a paradigm of pragmatic yet practical practices. Practice is key, as we never arrive. The journey is what we make of it. The destination is not the end.

Special treatment is something we all want. We want to feel special and we all are special. When we listen we learn and begin to understand that love and understanding makes us better. “ Listen, in every office you hear the threads of love and joy and fear and guilt, the cries for celebration and reassurance, and somehow you know that connecting those threads is what you are supposed to do and business takes care of itself”(Autry 1991 p32)

Business takes care of itself but business dies, just as we must confront our own mortality. We can choose to ignore it, pushing aside the reminders we encounter every day or we can embrace life and the realties of our humanness. In our humanness we listen we talk and we ask your opinion and advice. As managers we are better for it. So is our company and so are our employees. Our business is in our relationships. Some managers hide behind masks with one facade for the office and one for home but you would not do that. What you see is what you get at work and at home.

Do you love your job or do you love your work? Loving you job is status and materialistic. But to love your work shows passion and commitment. Loving your work is a calling to who you are and what you want to be. Good employees and managers work hard and sometimes work many more hours than usual. They take their work seriously but not themselves so seriously. They strike a balance in their lives of work, family and other interests. They are complete people and generally more productive at work. ‘ We must stop going to work…but must think of our lives as a continuum of endeavor, a collection of works making up a larger work that is our lives” (Autry 1991 p79).

To love your work is omnipotent. It can be rewarding and fulfilling. To love your job gets us hung up on the wrong things, such as job title and the perks of the position instead of professional growth and development of our employees and our company. If we apply the seven Principles of common Sense: Every person is worthwhile, all workers deserve the opportunity to succeed and be listened to and heard, compassion and sensitivity helps create a productive work environment and the company succeeds because its employees succeed. The principles have no rules. The tough decisions still have to be made and managers have to make them. They are the guiding light to love and profit in business.

What do organizational charts accomplish? According to the author nothing but inflate a few egos and deflate most others. Generally the charts are inaccurate and don’t define relationships. The purpose is to provide a framework so “ people can effectively use resources to accomplish their goals” (Autry 1991 p88). How we talk and the jargon we use can create a chasm between the jargon types and the non-jargon folk. Using language to create illusion of elitism is counterproductive. Additionally the use or abuse of conceived power can be the downfall of a manager. Employees give power to managers. The company gives authority to manage.

Autry titles his next topic “Everybody Talking Bout Heaven Ain’t Going There” He’s really talking about Ethics. Business ethics in particular and to the fact there is no such thing as business ethics only “ People ethics” (Autry 1991 p96). Talking about ethics just isn’t good enough. Company policies are like business ethics. Most will comply but some will not. Addressing disregard for company policies by berating an entire group give the offenders a justification for continued abuse of policies. It’s best to go straight to the source, identify problem employees and address potential problems with the people involved.

The author discusses secrets as something that shouldn’t be. Secrets build barriers. Secrets are only good if they are shared so someone else knows you have a secret and the next person can only show he/she has a secret if she shares it and so on. The bottom line is “an employee cannot have too much information” (Autry 1991 p103). You’ll get more commitment if they know.

Honesty is the best policy when confronting an employee’s shortcomings. Let him know he’s not producing quality work or he is in over his head. Firing should not be an option for a quality person but maybe a reassignment. Metaphors about winning belong at sporting events. We don’t have to defeat someone so we can win. We don’t need an enemy to define ourselves. We should win by our own standards and guidelines. Winning is exceeding our expectations and doing excellent work. Winning is teamwork for a common good. “Winning is more how you feel about what you do and less about what you do” (Autry 1991 p110).

To cry or not to cry, that is the question and Autry puts it in perspective. Crying expresses an emotion and it’s all right for managers to cry or share tears with an employee. It doesn’t show weakness but humanity. “…if you are going to be on the leading edge of management , you must sometimes be on the emotional edge as well” (Autry 1991 p116).

This also applies to the termination process. Acknowledge the failings of management but always care for the person involved.

Understanding honesty is to understand the difference in brutal, rigorous and dehumanizing versus tactfulness, caring. “Companies can no longer tolerate ego-driven managers… who never become leaders and whose effectiveness will always be limited by the amount of ill will and discontent they are destined to create” (Autry 1991 p126).

Autry makes a point on fear of trust or overcoming that fear. While most employees accept and trust management and perform their duties with good intent, some employees and managers do not accept trust. Companies have systems in place to monitor various activities such as tardiness, sick and vacation days, expense reports etc. The manager should review these reports before an employee sees them as they may give the impression big brother is watching and the employee cannot be trusted. Trust is important is the delegating process as well. It is counterproductive to trust an employee with a project then monitor their every move.

A very difficult or insoluble problem management faces is a senior or tenured employee that is not keeping pace with higher or more rigid production or sales objectives. The individual may have reached his maximum potential but is slowing the momentum of the group. Do you fire the person or accept his not keeping up. When he was hired his forecast was lower and he always came through. Is it right to punish him because he can no longer grow in his position? Autry does not have a definitive answer for this but does suggest that for the good of the group it may be necessary to disappoint an employee. “ Or on a more haunting note, it could be that when the difference becomes obvious, it’s already too late” (Autry 1991 p140).

Autry evaluates good managers with a human element. Is democracy or autocracy a better corporate environment? Democracy can be a hiding place for indecision and mediocrity. Autocracy places decision-making and accountability with management.

Job life and community has in many instances replaced the old neighborhood mores. Friendships are built in the workplace and management that embraces community at work embraces the essence of management for the times. Values and relationships are or should be a priority of management. A testament to this is the fact that so many best selling business books deal with values and relationships and not high finance.

On mixing religion and business, Autry suggests the values of Christianity be the paradigm for management. The act of being a Christian is in and of itself not significant. It is the act of treating everyone “with dignity and respect, with honesty and trust, and with love” (Autry 1991 p162).

Feeding the mind and spirit with broader enrichment potential will help to make the workplace more positive and productive. There are different types of heroes in every company. Some heroes are easy to find and others may be performing their duties in a quiet and unassuming manner. When management recognizes its heroes, management acknowledges its gratitude for going the extra mile and making the company what it is.

Autry discusses diversity in the workplace by citing three different case histories and his approach to managing the situations. All the diversity issues were with white Anglo-Saxon people. No people of color, no disabled and no ethnic differences. Management must honor diversity in all forms. “We need the talents and productivity of every good worker if we are to succeed in a diverse and challenging marketplace” (Autry 1991 p177). We as a business community should embrace talent from every diversity and when we choose not to embrace it government will pass laws to ensure it.

Autry examines what he titles” Boss hood.” Consisting of the perks, the bonuses, the big office, executive parking and dining facilities etc. We all know who the boss is. The author feels this type of remuneration has gone too far and this book was written twenty years ago. But one way managers earn their keep is in effective conflict resolution.” Managing conflict is never easy but you must face the job head-on because conflict and disagreement are predictable parts of the work process, particularly among people who work hard and care about what they do” (Autry 1991 p196). Managing sameness is another and more difficult situation. Some departments or organizations are very homogenous. There is no conflict. There is order and the work is satisfactory. There are no complainers or no job dissatisfaction. Then again, there is no creativity or attempts to improve a product or streamline a procedure because things are ok and no one wants to make waves on smooth sailing seas. The manager must encourage his employees to think beyond their comfort zone and initiate change and growth from within with minimal disruption of current levels of productivity.

The last chapter is a reflection life with a balance of work, family, faith and community. Our lives are eras or a place in time. Each era represents experiences along our journey. As mangers we teach, guide, comfort and promote. We pass along our spirit, knowledge, enthusiasm and kindness to the managers who follow us. It is a manager’s legacy. It’s her or his piece of immortality.

Thank you Vince for sharing this book with all of us. It is truly timeless and such a great read!

Thank you readers for stopping by and be sure and check out our other services at www.abacusandco.com.

Meanwhile I am currently reading "The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life" which was recommended to me by my collegue Bob Peter of Insights2Improvement. It is a great read and I will be writing about it next month. Until then....Keep Reading! Pam