Touching the Lepers Tour
“Fake people are like costume jewelry: They look great for a while, then all of a sudden, their true selves ‘shine’ through.”
There are some things in life that you hear that always stay with you. This is one of those things, “Touching the lepers tour”.
I was fairly new to Crayola. I started as an Industrial Engineer, working to make improvements on the factory floor. In doing so I got to know many of the production workers and we came to like and trust each other.
Some had been around for 40 years or more. They remembered when they could go to the corporate offices and meet with the company’s president to say hello or to discuss a problem they had. Under new management that practice had stopped and ended their working relationships with the president and other executives.
But, on occasion an entourage of the company leaders would tour the factory floor, acting as though Crayola was one big family and they were all one. When that occurred, the employees had a term for it. “Touching the lepers tour”. They were in essence the downtrodden being honored to see just how much their leaders cared about them and were one with them.
It was at the some time both funny and not.
They felt no kinship to their leaders and were not shy to let them know it. Twice a year there were company wide meetings with all of the employees and the executives who would tell everyone how well the company was doing and to answer any questions.
Not one office person asked any questions. But there were so many from the factory people that there was not enough time to address them all. And the executives left the meeting, angry that those lowly workers, their “family” had the audacity to ask such direct questions and to put them on the spot. It took six months for them to get over it and do it all over again.
After a while the question section was stopped and it was propaganda time only. Then the meetings were reduced to one and then not at all. So what was left was the touching the leper tours. Even those were few and far between.
“Bad leaders believe their team works for them. Great leaders believe they work for their team.” — Alexander den Heijer, Motivational Speaker
In one of my jobs, I was Director of Quality Assurance for the company.
My office was on a mezzanine with most of my employees and our Quality lab below me on the first floor.
One day the entire department came to my office laughing. It seems the company president was on a tour and made a wrong turn into the labs. He had no idea where he was and who the people there were. To not give up such a great chance, they did nothing to help him out and watched as he fumbled and stumbled to talk to people he had no idea who they were and what they did.
That went on for what was probably forever for him with him finally thanking them for their efforts for the company. He left and they laughed and came to share it with me. It was the ultimate “Touching the lepers tour” because he had no idea who these lepers were.
I wrote once about a fellow who was in charge of our Winfield Kansas plant.
Alan and I worked on many things. As I went up the corporate ladder, I always met with Alan when I was in the Kansas plant. We often had lunch or dinner together.
One day he thanked me for still talking to him now that I was a Director. I was stunned. Apparently others had stopped dealing with him as they got promotions. Really? How and why do you do that. A friend is a friend. But others do not think that way and the friend at some point becomes the unwashed, a leper. That is terrible.
“When you were made a leader you weren’t given a crown, you were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.” — Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric
I do not know how many other companies acted like we did.
Sadly, I bet it is many. And then they wonder why people are not loyal or do not care. Granted, the president of a large company cannot maintain relationships with everybody. But knowing what is going on in your organization and showing people you really care about them is part of the job.
That is why I always got along better with the factory workers than my co-executives. They are real and speak their minds. And they appreciate honesty and caring.
I hope this message reaches the right ears and minds and executives all over pay attention and do something about it. Your people are valuable. Without them you do not have a business. And they are not lepers so stop treating them as such.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter H. Christian was a founding partner and president of espi, a business consulting firm in Northeastern PA. Previously he was an Executive at Crayola Corporation. He has worked with 300+ clients in business development, profit improvement, operations, IS selection and implementation, and Project Management. He has 40+ years of experience in strategic and facility planning, CI, lean, and supply chain. He has helped companies to realize millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements adding and retaining thousands of jobs. He has authored the Amazon bestselling business books, “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers” (4 out of 4 star review on Online Bookclub) and is published in a variety of professional magazines. He is most appreciative of Dr. Rodney Ridley and Donald Schalk of the O’Pake Institute, Alvernia University for their support in allowing him to teach this important course
