Watch as They Fall

Keep an open mind to the lessons that come as giants fall.

Tim Cook of Apple called Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg out for their lack of ownership in a recent speech. Watching leaders get taken to task for moral cowardice, and total abdication of responsibility was a soothing balm to an old wound I hadn’t realized I had been carrying.

I’ve had some really crappy bosses. In my 18 years of collecting a W-2, I’ve been verbally, physically, and emotionally assaulted — once fired for not taking a shot out of one of my female-managers bra. However, in some ways, my worst leader was one who just bugged me out of principle.

Ed was the owner of a small campus café I briefly worked for in my freshman year of college. In preparation for “Parent’s Weekend” on campus, he printed new menus with a 50% markup on most items. He made the mistake of not printing enough menus while not updating the computer system, so items rang up with the original prices. He also purchased and crammed a half-dozen new tables and a dozen chairs into the living room-sized café, managing to block an exit, the bathroom, and half the entrance to the kitchen. He did this instead of prepping additional food and drinks.

Predictably, the weekend was a disaster.

Students called me a cheat as I struggled to work around the messed up computer. Plates of food were spilled onto the laps of customers as we all tripped on the maze of chair legs because the tables blocked the bathroom. Still, everyone needed to use it after coming in from festivities, causing a continuous game of musical chairs. Ice, forks, and menus were strictly rationed.

Ed screamed at me at one point, as yet another party of eight left the café in disgust without receiving their food. Having already turned in my two weeks notice mentally, I said in the coldest voice I could muster, “One more word and I quit this second, and good luck managing this on your own.”
He shut up.

After 14 straight hours of constant running and being screamed at, Ed locked the doors as I stared at the deconstructed cafe in horror.
Ed then walked to the register, took the cash drawer, and went to his office. He cheerfully shouted, “let me know when it’s all clean, and you can go home,” before shutting the door.

Cook’s speech highlighted some of the best lessons I learned from Ed.

I remember Ed whistling a happy tune as he tallied up his earnings from the day as I swept around the endless chair's legs, hobbling on numb and bleeding feet.

Cook pointed out the short-lived joy of claiming credit without accepting the responsibility.

It took me three hours to get that place back into reasonable shape for the morning shift. Meanwhile, Ed took a nap.

And finally, Cook said,

Ed’s café closed a few weeks later.

I was thrilled and unsurprised to see the “closed” sign hanging on the door. Students, who were the cafe’s bread and butter, were disgusted that he overcharged their parents. Taking into account newly purchased equipment and wasted food, Ed lost more money than he earned. And it was not a shock to anyone when the staff walked out or quit days after the fiasco.

Terrible bosses make for memorable stories. Learning by example is easy, and learning what not to do is even easier.

Tim Cook has harsh words for the leaders of industry that control our lives. Watching what these giants do correctly will make for fantastic learnings. However, keep your mind open to the lessons that come as those giants fall.

It can be far more satisfying.

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