A 5am Wakeup Call

It's been a rough day or so, hence the short post.  Yesterday I got the 5am call all of us dread: one of my manufacturing team members had lost her life in a car accident on the way into work.  She worked in one of the most technology-intensive parts of our company, and as the day progressed we learned more about her hopes, dreams, struggles, and sacrifices that made the event all the more tragic.  As President I feel a special responsibility for the people in the company, and I spent the day with my leadership team helping to comfort, console, and support friends, family, and coworkers.

Even at a family-owned and people-centric company like ours, this was a reminder that companies, and all organizations for that matter, are comprised of people.  On this blog we talk a lot about how most companies think of employees as just a set of hands.  An unfortunately much smaller group recognize that there's value in the brain connected to those hands.  We need to go another step and remember that there's a full person behind the brain, a person that goes home to a family and friends and has dreams, struggles, responsibilities, and aspirations.

Let's not forget.

Comments

[Ken]

Kevin,
Thanks for sharing an important and meaningful message, and my heart goes out to you and your coworkers and her family. It sounds like a very special company lucky to have a very caring leader.
-Ken

[Jennifer]

Beautiful message.

[Denise Wagoner]

Thanks Kevin. My condolences to you and your company.

[JD]

My condolences; time will heal this wound. I have found that such tragedies can bring an organization closer together. Thank you for sharing.

[Levy M]

You're absolutely right. Eventually, when the time is right, lean tools should be applied to this situation as well. Why was she speeding? What can be done to improve the situation? What is the root cause and potential preventive action. I realize that a lot of that is human nature and not inside the company's control, but what an example of the company's commitment to lean and people if resources were spent on the problem!

[Mike Gardner]

My condolences, Kevin. Years ago my supervisor was killed in an auto accident and one of the things that helped all of us was the close-knit family culture we had developed. I was a team leader at the time and I learned one very important aspect of leadership then--listen, listen, and listen some more. God be with you all.

[Ron Pereira]

I am very sorry to hear this, Kevin. My prayers, and the prayers of my entire family, go out to all those impacted.

[Frank East]

Thanks for remembering her.

[Eric Wade]

Thank you for sharing that in a thoughtful, dignified manner. My company once suddenly lost a young man who had been with us for many, many years, and, like many of the previous posters have stated, it was through the strength of the bonds of the people that we were able to cope.

Respect for people. Amen.

Eric Wade

[Jason M]

What a tragedy. I'm sorry.

It hurts me to read about individuals that die in car accidents because they failed to wear their seat belts.

A friend of mine in college lost his life when he fell asleep at the wheel of his car. He veered off the road, hit a telephone pole, and was thrown from the vehicle. He wasn't wearing a seat belt. He was only 19.

[Dan McDonnell]

Kevin

I have known you for a long time now, this is a tough thing for all of your employees and her family. Your words ring well with all of us, and your leadership in this trying time is something we can all only try to emulate.

[Eric H]

Sorry to hear it, Kevin.

I got back from vacation yesterday to find out that two employees in another department had been in a very serious accident. Unfortunately, they had been using the cell phone while speeding while not using their seatbelts. Meanwhile, we had to figure out whether or not to accommodate two employees in my department who have accumulated so many speeding violations in their personal vehicles that the company vehicle insurance will no longer cover them in our leased vehicles. I think the lesson we (not sure about you) will be focusing on is that safety is a mindset that applies at home and on the job, something we will press because we really care about our employees.

[Jim Stewart]

There are many left behind when one passes. However, death is the inevitable result of life.
Each of us has a chance at leaving this world behind on every given day. It may be more likely that one of our employees will pass than that a new machine will become available or some new material will improve our product.
Yet the latter is planned for and the former is met with shock, surprise and--often--inaction.
A plan for both death cutting one's career and a plan for retirement are important. It is important to fellow employees and is also very good for one's moral fibre.

Remember, too, there are family and friends that are suffering the shock of sudden loss.

Jim Stewart