"A bad example"




Note: Emails are organized in the order received, with first received at the top.

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Dear Jim,

My name is {withheld} and I work for {withheld} in Brazil.

I have been reading your texts and advices for the past 2 months and would like to express that most of the subjects you deal with in your weekly written texts are entirely applicable to the South American Market, specially in Brazil.

Same problems, same subjects, same conclusions.

Especially this last text about putting together all bosses and name them as bad apples.

My career is still in the beginning, since I graduated on chemical engineering only {withheld}.

But my position in the company as a {withheld} gives me the opportunity to see the company in a different way compared to most of employees at my age.

Your text are certainly helpful and every now and then I spread your words here among colleagues and friends.

Please keep up the good texts!

Best regards,

{withheld}

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Dear {withheld}

The reason I {withheld} many things in your letter was I was concerned if your name and employer were identified, my next assignment would be to rewrite your resume after you were terminated! Thank you much for your honest appraisal, and I would urge you to stay true to your convictions, even if it does cause you to change employers in the future. Give my regards to your mother and father, who obviously did a great job of teaching you as a child and young adult.

Jim

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Jim:

Oh, my!

I think I spent my entire career educating bosses, up to and including my board when I became CEO. I'm sure my subordinates did the same to me. The toughest sell was my dad, Stanton. He was the ultimate conservative (I sometimes use "conservator"). Loved sulfite when we were dying for the lack of kraft's strength.

Personally, I always believed in "managing by walking around." We always had good union relations; even our strikes were "friendly."

But there are rumors about me to this day. Can't be helped, just go with the flow.

George Mead
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
USA

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George:

The context here was the bad apples; they can't be trained.

Jim

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