Mary Jane’s Presentation
"Today we have a serious issue to discuss. A couple of weeks ago the group vicepresident went to a conference and returned convinced that First Guarantee needs to become a place that is mote energetic and enthusiastic. He is convinced that energy and enthusiasm are the keys to product ivity, successful recruitment , long-term retention, great customer service, and a host of other qualities that we need in order to compete in our changing and consolidating business. He called a meeting of the leadership group-and at that meeting he referred to the third floor as a ’toxic energy dump.’ That ’s right , he called our floor a toxic energy dump and said it needed to be cleaned."
Mary Jane looked at the startled expressions. A comment came quickly from Adam, a long-term employee: "I ’d like to see them do this work. It ’s the most boring work on earth."
Then one of the least energetic employees said, "What difference does it make if there is energy here? We get the work done , don’t we ?"
No one challenged the accusation that their energy was toxic.
Mary Jane continued, "I want you to know that this issue is not going away. Oh, the group VP may lose interest, and Bill might forget about it with time, but I will not. You see, I am in full agreement. We are a toxic energy dump. Other parts of the company hate dealing with us. They also call us ’the pit.’ They joke about us at lunch. They laugh about us in the halls. And they are right. Heck, many of us hate coming here, and even we call this a pit. I think we can and should change that ; I want you to know why."
The startled expressions were now replaced with truly stunned expressions. The silence was complete.
"You all know my st ory. How Dan and I came to town with our hopes, dreams, and two small children. How Dan’s sudden death left me alone. How Dan’s insurance didn’t cover many of the big expenses. How I found myself in a difficult financial position.
"What you may not know is how all this affected me. Some of you are single moms and dads and know what I am talking about. I needed this job, and I had lost my confidence. I went with the flow, never doing anything that could threaten my security. I t seems funny that my security is now threatened and it may be be cause I went with the flow. Well, those days are over.
"Here is the bottom line. I still need this job, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my working life in a toxic energy dump. Dan’s lesson had been lost on me until now. Life is too precious just to be passing through to retirement. We simply spend too much time at work to allow it to be was ted. I think we can make this a better place to work.
"Now the good news. I know a consultant who works for a world famous organization and is an expert on energy. You will meet him eventually. Today I am going to convey his first bit of advice: We choose our at titude."
Mary Jane continued by discussing the concept of choosing your attitude . Then she asked if there were any questions.
Steve raised his hand. When Mary Jane nodded to him, he said, "Suppose I’m driving my car and some idiot cuts me off in traffic. That causes me to get upset and I may honk or even make a gesture, if you know what I mean. What’s with the choice thing? I didn’t do it ; it was done to me. I didn’t have a choice."
"Let me ask you some thing, Steve. If you were in a tough part of town, would you have used that gesture?"
Steve smiled. "No way! You can get hurt doing that ."
"So you can choose your response in a tough part of town, but you have no choice in the suburbs?"
"OK, Mary Jane. I get it ."
"You couldn’t have asked a better question, Steve. We can’t control the way other people drive, but we can choose how we respond. Here at First Guarantee we don’t have a lot to do with selecting the work that needs to be done, but we can choose how we approach that work. I want all of you to think of ways this is true and see if you can identify things we can do to remind ourselves of our choices. Good luck. Our work life depends on it."
The second staff meeting was much like the first. When she didn’t get any questions, she used Steve’s question from the first group. It was 10:30 on Monday morning. She was drained from the meetings, but realized it was her first opportunity to choose her attitude. And she did.
The week sped by. She made a point of walking around the office each day and being available to talk about the idea of choosing your attitude. When she saw Steve, he said, "Boy, you really nailed me at the staff meeting."
"I hope I didn’t embarrass you."
"Mary Jane, you did me a big favor. My life has been a series of reactions lately. You reminded me that I have important choices to make and that I can make them if I have a little self -control and courage."
"Courage?"
"I am in a bad relationship; I need to do something about it. I can see now that reacting and feeling like a victim is not going to solve the problem. The problem needs to be confronted. I’m sorry to be so evasive, but it is rather personal."
"Good luck, Steve, and thanks for trusting me with your story."
"Oh, we all trust you, Mary Jane. It’s just that this work is so boring and all we hear are complaints. We feel like we’re always under at tack. Keep at it ; I’m behind you all the way."
She was pleasantly surprised by the many words of encouragement. While staff members were not sure about the details, most liked the idea of creating a more satisfying work environment.
Then on Friday it happened. She walked off the elevator on the third floor and was confronted with a giant poster. On the top it said: CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE, and in the middle were the words: MENU CHOICES FOR THE DAY. Down below the menu were two drawings. One was a smiling face and the other was a frowning face. She was ecstatic. They do get it! she thought to herself and raced to her office to call Lonnie.
After telling him about the menu, she suggested they finish their discussion. Lonnie asked about lunch Monday. Mary Jane said she really didn’t want to wait until next week, so they agreed she should come to the market on Saturday and bring the kids with her.