Take A Position

Some years ago I was out with a good friend. This friend was a very savy businessman as well as an accomplished investor. He had purchased a small manufacturing company, grew it very profitably and did very well investing the proceeds. I wasnt particularly happy at the time with my returns and really had no stradegy or thought process when it came to investing the money I had managed to save. I asked him, what is your thought process on not only investing but managing the business ? He told me one thing....

"Take a position"

I had no clue what he meant by that. He explained that he did not invest in the sense that most people view the word. He did the legwork and then took the allocated funds and took a position in either an industry or a company. Maybe more than one position but always using his funds to maximize the return. I would buy a hundred shares in ten companies. He would buy one thousand in two. He would take a position. In his company, he took a position in his employees. Real profit sharing, perks, benefits. He was all in for his people and they were all in for him.

Not only did I follow the advice financially, I began to see that the idea of taking a position had value in business. Companies take a position, employees take a position. It happens daily in all business if that venture is successful. I thought back and saw stark examples of how that has played out in my career. 

When I came out of school I was hired into what was, at that time, a premier LTL trucking company. A good many of you who read this will know the story. The company took a position. It wanted ex college athletes to go out on the docks and fight the battles with a unionized workforce that was, back then, a law onto itself. They hired us, trained us, motivated us and put up with all the issues of twenty one year old ultra competitive people. HR wasnt a big department back then. We also took a position. We were all in for the company, our careers and the boss who hired and managed us. We worked hard, played harder, the company prospered and our careers took off.  It was win, win for everyone.

Some years later, I lived another example. There was a domestic freight forwarder with a vision. Needing top people to start and grow they took a position. Managers were hired and given incentives that were unheard of. Salespeople were hired at commission levels no had ever seen. We then took a position. As Managers and Reps we were again all in. The company grew, employees were in many cases set for life. A legendary success story was born that has spawned countless careers and even other companies.

I have also seen the other side. The side that many people also see. Companies that view employees somewhere in between a necessary evil and an expense that must be tolerated. They would never take a position because they are incapable of it. They cannot see the need nor the reason to be all in on anything. You pay people the bare minimum to keep them. Promise incentives but never deliver. Keep cutting back as business drops and pat yourself on the back for being a smart manager. These are the anti position players. They commit only to their own security, short lived though it usually is.  

Every person that has ever started a business and succeeded took a position. Every employee that built a career took a position. Every company that was ever described as a great place to work took a position. Every boss that backed and supported an employee took a position. Behind every successful organization are people that are taking a position every single day and trusting others to do the same.  No party cheats the other or minimizes the importance of employees, companies and customers. I often ask upper management when I am working with them "Do you trust your employees ?". I ask employees "Do you trust your Management ?" The answer is always the same - which is why there is a consultant there. Dysfunction abounds.    

So next time the opportunity arises.....Swallow hard, trust your insticts and take a position !