LESSONS LEARNED (home)

One of my co-workers at the Registry reflected on the actions of the Blood Center’s Management by concluding “You shall reap what you sow”. Others have summed up the situation with the idiom “What goes around comes around”. I prefer the ethic of reciprocity, “Do onto others as you would have others do onto you”.

If you’ve been with a company for many years and you are a key employee, or you are joining a company as a senior level employee, demand an employment contract. If they won’t provide that security to you, either join a Union or find yourself a better job.

If you’ve made significant contributions to an organization, you should enjoy some equity and security. In the non-profit sector, this can’t be an ownership interest, but you should have a voice in things, and an assurance that you won’t become irrelevant.

As I’ve always told other people, mergers or acquisitions almost always hurt employees, while top management almost always benefits. If you don’t loose your job outright, you will certainly have less job security than you did previously. Don’t believe them when they tell you nothing is going to change. If there’s a way for your company to remain independent, find it. Bigger is not always better.

Before you donate to a charity, take a look at their IRS and State filings for the past few years. The Internet is a good place to start your research. Perhaps even visit their offices to get a first-hand view of things. If you feel they are fiscally responsible, and they are fulfilling the mission they were granted tax-exempt status for, go ahead and write that check. Otherwise, find yourself a responsible organization to support.

If you want to sit on an organization’s Board of Directors, don’t be a rubber stamp. Ask the tough questions, think critically, and get involved with the direction of the organization. Know what’s going on. Take your fiduciary responsibilities seriously. Make sure the President, CEO and other officers are answerable to you, and not the other way around. Be a watchdog, not a lapdog. It’s not a popularity contest, and you’re not there just to keep the seat warm. Your responsibility is to the organization and it’s donors or stockholders, not to its officers, who serve at your pleasure.

Lawyers just might deserve the reputation (or lack of same) that they’ve gotten. I used to believe that the practice of law was an honorable profession. Now I look at it more as a calculated game. Exitus acta probat; The ends justify the means. Perhaps my adversary believes that they fulfilled their obligations, or perhaps my adversary thought they could ignore certain obligations because I was in propria persona. Maybe I was treated just as they would have treated an attorney that was representing me. Perhaps any attorney representing my former employer would have dealt with me in a similar fashion. I leave it to the reader to come to his or her own conclusions. I was always taught to try and win “fair and square”, and to play by the rules. I still believe you can follow the rules of the game and win. If you don’t think so, maybe it’s time to quit.

All employers should verify the credentials and backgrounds of employees. Boards of Directors should do the same with company officers. A person that represents his or her background honestly will never be offended by such scrutiny. In fact, it is in his or her best interest. Personally, I have no problem with a background investigation, credential verification, drug testing, criminal check, or any other scrutiny an employer might wish to exercise relating to offering or continuing employment.

Question… Was Sleazy one of the Seven Dwarfs? e-mail me your answer.

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