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The Boss With the Swiss Cheese Desk

“Thanks — appreciate it,” I replied. “Any particular reason?”

“I love to see what my competition is doing wrong. You frequently write about how construction companies screw up.”

“Best way I know to learn something — from making mistakes.”

“True — hopefully someone else’s mistakes. Did I ever tell you how I came to hire my best field hand, Bob N. Frappl? Now there’s a story with a lesson.”

“No, do tell.”

“Well, Bob N. was working for a small local construction company, S.T. Inc. The company owner, S. Lackh, was your typical small business owner: jack-of-all-trades — overworked, overstressed and underloved. He bid and supered all the jobs. Real nice guy, but could not delegate. That was his downfall. He made himself so busy, there was no possible way he could get everything done. This, of course, affected everyone under him.

“Case in point: Bob N. Frappl. I remember the day he came to interview with our company. He was so frustrated, I thought he might have an attitude problem. But he had just come from S.T. Inc., where he’d, one hour before, handed in his walking papers. ‘I can’t take it no more, working for S. Lackh,’ he said. ‘He’s nice enough, but…his desk, it’s made out of Swiss cheese. Everything falls through the cracks. For example, I need more material on a job site; Lackh doesn’t order it on time. I need an inspection; Lackh forgets to call. The owner calls Lackh with a change order; Lackh doesn’t call back. Electrical sub supposed to be there on Tuesday; Lackh doesn’t call him until Wednesday. I tell you, working for that guy is like shoveling manure with a pitch fork. Stuff all the time falls through the cracks.’

“Bottom line,” Manny said with a grin, “S. Lackh’s loss was my gain. I hired Bob N. and he’s been a star on my team ever since.”

“Great story,” I said. “So, to summarize, the company owner had a Swiss cheese desk, which upset his best employee enough to quit.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right. At first, I thought Bob N. might have been after more money. But that wasn’t it. He actually took a slight cut in pay to work for me. It’s all about pride. Bob N. is the type of guy who truly cares about his work. He doesn’t want his name attached to anything shoddy. That line of thinking fits well at my company — I’m the same way. Result: Bob N. Frappl has been with me for over 10 years now, and has brought us both considerable success.”

Tim K. Garrison P.E. of ConstructionCalc.com has authored books and short courses and lectures on topics relevant to builders. Got a technical or management issue? E-mail buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com. Tim reads every one.

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The views expressed in this article represent the personal views, statements and opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views, statements, opinions or policies of the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by the author and NAHB is not responsible for any direct or indirect consequences arising out of the views expressed in this article.

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