Story 4 | Conviction

A Truly Motivational Story A Truly Motivational Story of Leadership and Trust of Leadership and Trust by Barry LaBov by Barry LaBov Another installment in the Umbrella Series

Foreword So often we look for the “secrets of success” or the “seven keys to leadership” only to 昀椀nd the answer isn’t a secret and it isn’t so complex, but it sure is dif昀椀cult. Conviction is based on a true story of a man who took a group of individuals who had proven themselves as underperformers — they were ex-convicts, in fact. Over a period of years, he earned their trust and, in so doing, he enabled them to elevate their performance and their lives beyond their expectations. If he could do that with ex-convicts, what could we achieve with our employees? Conviction written by Barry LaBov illustrated by Becca Watson and Shane Starr ©2022 LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, Inc. 609 East Cook Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825 All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in any form except for personal use or review. The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author has neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.

It was another typical weekend night — Bill working late, after hours. Bill ran Bill’s Outerwear — he sold camping and hiking clothing and all kinds of outdoor gear, including umbrellas. Earlier in the day, Janice, a longtime employee of his, had decorated the store for their annual week-long sales event — their biggest event of the year. But Bill wasn’t satis昀椀ed with her work — it didn’t “pop” — it wasn’t, well, it wasn’t what Bill would’ve done. So, as he had done for the last countless years, he spent the weekend “昀椀xing” Janice’s work. Bill thought, Janice doesn’t care, she doesn’t realize that this event makes or breaks us. The displays have to be great. I just can’t trust her to do the job. It was 10:30 p.m. The last time Bill looked outside, it was midday; the sun was out and it was beautiful. But Bill didn’t have time for that — he had to save his store from ruin — Janice’s store displays. Bill was a good guy. Hard-working, honest, dependable, he loved what he did — everyone knew that. He was told that he was a good boss. But still he was the only employee working late to make sure everything was perfect. Bill had thoughts 昀椀ghting in his mind — maybe I’m a lousy boss and don’t have a single employee I can trust. Maybe I’m too nice of a guy and let people go home too early. Maybe I do what I do so well that no one else can live up to my standards. The thoughts were con昀氀icting and demotivating. The one thought he didn’t allow to creep into his mind was that this was not the only time each year he got like this. This was more the norm than the exception. His average weekend consisted of him either going into work frustrated or staying at home obsessing on work — either way he was no fun to be around. Which made it hard for some to understand why his wife, Mary, stood by his side. He dialed the phone at his desk. 4

“Hi, honey, I’m coming home. Sorry. I know. I just want things to be perfect…I can’t trust Janice to do what I need; she doesn’t care like I do. Sure, I’ll pick up some — do you want a quart or a gallon?” Mary was always understanding. She was rarely disagreeable. Maybe she was too understanding, Bill thought. It was late. He felt exhausted, but he also felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through his system — the store sure looked great. As he was thinking of the annual sale, he was rehearsing his conversation with Janice. He was a master at those conversations. It’s funny; the imaginary conversations were so different from the real ones. He’d imagine laying into Janice: Janice this is it. Clean up your act and start acting like the store manager or get out. But usually, it was more like: Janice, I really liked your displays, I just stayed late and tweaked them a little. I knew you wouldn’t mind. To which Janice would always smile and say nothing. Bill’s mind stopped wandering. He looked at the road. He must have missed his exit. Now he was going to be even later. He took the next exit and saw a light in the distance. He drove up to what looked like a run-down gas station. Actually, it was a run-down gas station, without the gas pumps. The name on the sign was Buck’s Bass and Bait. Bill thought to himself, now, this is a business I’d love — no hassles, no overhead, hardly any employees. He opened the door. “Hey,” said a lady sitting behind the cash register. Her nametag said Linda. Bill responded, “I’m looking for some ice cream…and the way back to the interstate.” “I didn’t think I recognized you. I know all my customers. The ice cream is in the freezer.” As Bill was walking back to the freezer, Linda took out all the money in her cash register and counted it and put it in an old wooden box. She then wrapped the box with a rubber band and put the box in the next room, on a messy desk. 5

Bill thought, wow, for all she knows, I’m here to rob her. The door opened and in walked a policeman of some kind. He wore a badge. “Hey, Linda. Staying out of trouble?” “You know it.” “Has Phil stopped by? He’s looking for work; I thought you’d be good for him.” “Not yet, but I’m sure he will,” Linda replied. “But everything’s okay?” “Yeah, it’s great — see ya.” Out went the policeman. By then, Bill had watched enough of this. He had too many questions. It was already late, the night was shot, so why not? He decided to ask Linda about what was going on. “Linda, it looks like you have quite a little business here.” “Thank you.” “How long have you owned this place?” “Well, I worked for the previous owner and then — ” Bill interrupted — “You worked for the previous owner, 昀椀gured you could do it better, bought him out and now you run the place — right?” “Well…” “You probably got sick of making someone else rich and wanted to be rewarded for all your work. That’s the only way I’ve seen it happen. Employees just don’t care about their jobs or companies, only the owners do.” “Well, if you’d let me speak, I could set you straight.” 8

Bill shut up. He was surprised that she talked to him like that, but after all, she was a strong entrepreneur like Bill, right? “First of all, I did get tired of working for the previous owner, but I didn’t make him rich — he went broke tryin’ to run this place. Yes, I wanted to be rewarded for my work, but most of all, I just wanted a job — I had a husband and a kid to support.” “So how did you buy this place?” “You’re not listening close enough — I don’t own the place, Buck does.” (Bill remembered the sign out front: Buck’s Bass and Bait.) “I’m sorry, I just thought that by the way you handled the money and seemed to run the place — ” Linda interrupted Bill this time — “Mister, I do run the place. Like I tell everyone, I’m the boss, Buck is just the owner.” “Was Buck the guy that walked in a few minutes ago?” “No that was Kenny, he’s the law.” “He watches over the place?” “No, he watches over me — he’s my parole of昀椀cer. He checks on me every week. Plus, he sends me new leads on employees, mostly his clients — folks getting out of jail.” “You mean you’d hire” — Bill stopped himself, but it was too late. “Yes, we hire people like me — it fact, all of our employees have had run-ins with the law, but they’re good people.” Bill felt he had imposed enough but was intrigued with this Buck guy. “Do you think I could meet Buck? I’d like to learn how he does this.” 10

“He’d probably be okay with that. He’ll be in at one o’clock.” Bill thought, aha, the poor sucker works the late shift, a typical owner after all. Bill replied, “Well, I’ve got nothing better to do, it’s already 12:30 a.m.” Linda laughed. “Well, mister, if you want to wait here till after lunch tomorrow, that’s 昀椀ne with me, but I’d recommend you get some sleep 昀椀rst — besides, your ice cream will melt if you don’t get it home.” Bill was embarrassed. “Sorry, I thought you meant he was coming in at 1:00 a.m.” “No, Buck stops by around one in the afternoon every day. Don’t come real late, because he only stays for a couple hours — he only works 15 hours a week.” Linda saw Bill’s eyes open as wide as they could after a 20-hour day. “Now I know you’ll want to meet him.” “Well, I’ve de昀椀nitely got to meet Buck — tell him I’ll be here tomorrow.” Bill jumped back into his car, half elated, half guilt-ridden. It was late, his wife had been waiting up. When he got home, she was asleep. Before Bill could sneak into bed, Mary turned to him and said, “When are you going to stop doing this to yourself and everyone else?” Bill only said, “Maybe tomorrow. Maybe things will be different.” Sunrise came quickly. Before the kids woke, Bill was on the way to his store to prepare everyone for the day — this was going to be a big week. An entire week of sales promotions, lots of customers, it was going to be exciting. But when Bill came in, the mood was low. Janice was crying. She wouldn’t look at Bill. 11

“Janice, what’s wrong?” “You did it again. You changed all my work — I have no purpose here, no value — you think you can do it better than me — well, do it without me — I quit.” This was not in the script that Bill had been rehearsing on the way in this morning. “But Janice, you’re my best person; you can’t leave me before the sale starts.” “I won’t leave before the sale — I’ll 昀椀nish it out and then leave. I care too much to walk out after everything I’ve invested in this place.” All of a sudden, everything looked different to Bill. The sale wasn’t as important. The ideas that he spent all night implementing throughout the store weren’t that big of a deal. Maybe Janice’s way was even better. But why was he thinking these thoughts now? Why couldn’t he be more like that Buck guy? The morning 昀氀ew by. Bill kept watching the clock — he felt drawn to meet Buck. As Bill drove, he thought, what does Buck have that I don’t? I bet he’s one of the guys — hangs out with the employees — well, that’s not my style. Maybe he pays them great or has great bene昀椀ts. I pay pretty well — always could be better, I guess. Bill drove up at 1:00 p.m. and looked around. There was one car in the lot — a 10-year-old Jaguar — must be Buck. Well, he’s not one of the guys — his employees drive pick-ups, if they drive at all, thought Bill. 12

Bill walked in and saw half a dozen people behind the counter or sitting around talking — How could Buck afford all of these employees? There was Linda. “I thought you’d stop by. He’s out back.” Bill walked through the screen door and saw a mid-昀椀fties man talking to a teenager. “I don’t care what you do. Go to college, don’t be like your old man — he doesn’t want you to turn out like him.” “Yes sir, Buck. I promise I’ll go.” Buck turned to Bill, “Linda told me about you. You want a tour of the place?” “Sure,” Bill replied. For 15 minutes, Buck walked around the little building introducing him and explaining his business. “I was at a huge corporation until three years ago. After 25 years of service, they strongly urged me to 昀椀nd employment elsewhere. I searched in the papers for a business I could run for a few years before I retire. Of course, I didn’t know what I was getting when I bought this place.” Buck had a husky voice and an infectious laugh. Bill gestured toward all the people in the store, “You mean all these employees here?” “Employees? There are only two employees here today — the rest of the people you see here are customers. They like to hang around.” “Why do they hang around?” 14

“Well, some of them don’t have anywhere better to go; some of them are hoping we’ll hire them. That’s how we get our employees — they’re customers 昀椀rst, then we hire them — or actually, then Linda hires them, if she likes them.” “When you said you didn’t know what you were getting into when you bought this place, what did you mean?” “Well, I had no idea what kind of people were here. Most of our customers have had run-ins with the law.” Buck started to laugh. “In fact, most of them were either on their way to jail or on their way back from jail.” “What about turnover? Surely you have high turnover.” “We haven’t had any turnover in two years, which is pretty good, considering the industry we’re in.” “You must pay pretty well.” Buck’s laugh was louder than ever. “I pay minimum wage with no bene昀椀ts. That’s okay with the employees; they know how much we make.” “What about theft?” “Well, since our employees know anyone who might break in, those types stay away.” “I mean employee theft — shrinkage.” “My employees don’t steal.” “Never?” “Would I let them run the store and handle my money if I thought they did?” Bill was surprised. “The convenience store industry is rampant with shrinkage, yet you have a store of convicts…” 16

“Ex-convicts,” Buck corrected him. “Right. You have a store of ex-convicts, people who have been convicted of crimes, and you have no stealing, no turnover, and you pay minimum wage and no bene昀椀ts. Anything else you’d like to add?” Buck smiled. “Well, I only work three hours a day and no weekends.” “What do you do for 昀椀fteen hours a week?” “I counsel employees, if they want someone to listen to them. Once in awhile, we’ll go out and eat somewhere together, but not often. If Linda needs to discuss what stuff to order for the store, we’ll do that. And there is something I do that they really like.” “What’s that?” “I tell ’em what I think. I don’t whitewash anything. They know whatever I tell ’em, I believe. Period. They don’t get that anywhere else. They get a lot of people saying what they want to hear. I tell ’em, ‘Don’t come to Buck to hear what you want — come to me to hear the truth.’” “Buck, I’ve been trying to run a business for years. I have high turnover, a lot of stress, and I never seem to know what to do. Here you are, you walk right into a business and run it better than anyone I’ve ever known.” “Well, hold on a minute. I didn’t say I was always like that.” Buck shook his head as he continued in a husky voice, “I didn’t start out like that. After I bought the business and found out what kind of employees I had, I was scared stiff. I didn’t let anyone touch the money. I worked 80 hours a week, and I was a mess. Finally, I realized that I was afraid of being vulnerable — vulnerable to the employees, vulnerable to failure. It dawned on me that what I was 17

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afraid of was already beginning to happen — I wasn’t making any money, I was miserable, the employees hated me — it was terrible.” “What did you do?” Bill asked. “Well, I don’t know if you’re a religious man — I am — but when you give yourself to your faith, you have to give up all control. It’s hard to give it up, because you’re afraid of what you’re going to miss. But then you realize.” “Realize what?” “You realize that the control you thought you had was nothing — it’s a joke. We have so little control over our destiny that it’s unbelievable. Sure, you can decide whether you watch a TV show or take a drink, but the big things, like who you fall in love with, how long you live or who your parents are — the biggies — you have absolutely no control over them.” “So, what did you do?” “I decided to trust.” “Trust anyone to do anything with your company?” “Absolutely not,” Buck said. “Don’t confuse competence with integrity. I wouldn’t expect a person with no training to run my cash register. They need to be trained, and until they can do it right, we keep watching and training ’em. What I can expect is that, once they learn how to run the register, they’ll be honest and not steal. Simple as that.” “So, you trust your employees with your money. You’re in a cash business — a few dollars could be stolen.” “Could be, but it doesn’t happen here. Linda and Ernie handle my money, put it in a cardboard box, wrap a rubber band around it 20

and leave it on my desk every day. Some weekends, there’s thousands of dollars in that box, and it’s all accounted for. And don’t forget Linda’s role in this. Everyone she hires knows that, if they steal, she’ll 昀椀re them on the spot. She tells them that if one of them steals, they’ll ruin it for everyone else. They kinda self- discipline themselves.” Linda interrupted, “Buck, we need to talk.” Bill watched as Buck and Linda spoke in his of昀椀ce. There were dozens of 昀椀shing lures on his desk. Linda was crying. Buck stood up and, with a faint laugh, said, “You tell your boy he’s lucky to have a mom like you. Otherwise, he would’ve been spending time behind bars.” Linda looked grateful and went back to work. Bill asked, “If you don’t mind, what happened there?” “Well, Linda’s son is a good kid, but he has problems. Linda walked into his bedroom last night and found a bunch of 昀椀shing lures that he stole from us. Linda gathered ’em up and brought ’em back. The last time this happened, it was worse. I came in and there was $300 on my desk. Evidently the boy stole a bunch of stuff, and Linda found out and confronted him.” “So at least the boy brought the money in.” “Nope. Linda took the money out of her pocket and paid me. Linda’s my best employee, that’s why I pay her 50 cents an hour more than anyone else. She’s had a few problems, had some bad men in her life, but she really runs the place well.” Linda and Ernie walked up; Buck invited them to sit down. As Bill watched and listened, he noticed that, while both Ernie and Linda were not as articulate as Buck, Buck would listen patiently to their every word, never interrupting, always showing extreme respect. 21

Buck said, “Ernie’s been with me for a couple years. He did hard time, I think 14 years or so of it.” Ernie said, “As owners go, on a scale of one to 10, I think I’d give Buck a seven or eight — he don’t like to open up the store at 7:00 a.m.” Buck laughed. “You’re right, I don’t like to open at 7:00 a.m. — that’s your job.” Bill, trying to make conversation, turned to Ernie, “I’ve been here for hours today, and the same customers have been here all along. Those are some loyal customers.” Ernie, showing his personality, grinned and said, “Well, I don’t know if I’d call them loyal customers. I would call them loyal beer drinkers.” Bill, being serious and sensing the interview was coming to an end, said to Ernie, “With all the employees having the backgrounds that they do, are you surprised that Buck trusts all of you?” Ernie replied, “I really don’t think that Buck thinks we’re stealing nothing.” What an interesting way to respond — all he had to say was, “We don’t steal.” Bill was intrigued but realized it was time to go. He thanked Buck, Ernie and Linda, not knowing whether he would ever speak to them again. 22

Bill could barely get inside his car before his senses were overloading. If Buck could trust people who were convicted of crimes, why can’t I trust a good and capable person like Janice? Did I contribute to or maybe even create the entire situation with Janice? What would have happened if I trusted her? Would she have been at the store until midnight instead of me? Then his mind shifted to Buck. Does he really trust these people, or is it an act? Even so, it would’ve been no better if he worked 80 hours a week, frustrated and feeling isolated from everyone — including his family — like me. 23

Bill picked up his phone and dialed Janice. “Janice, I made a mistake. I should have left your displays as they were. I don’t know exactly why I changed them — all I know is, it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you, because I do. Maybe I was scared or nervous. Whatever it was, I was wrong.” Janice paused a moment and almost asked if this was really Bill or if it was a joke. “Okay,” she said. Bill continued: “I’d like a favor from you. Would you change everything back to how you had it?” Janice was stunned, but sensed Bill’s sincerity. “Yeah, I can change it back. If you stop by late tonight, you can check it out and make sure you like it.” Bill sighed. “No need for me to see it. Do what’s best. And thank you.” 24

Bill took the exit near home and surprised his wife, who wasn’t used to seeing him enter the house in the daylight. “I thought I’d come home a little early today and see what it was like.” Hugging him, she said, “How is it so far?” “Great.” Bill held Mary tighter. “I had quite a day today. Maybe we could sit down and talk about it. I’m going to need you to help me stay on track.” 27

Janice worked until 2:00 a.m. making the displays perfect, and she left fatigued but proud. The sale was a success, like it had been in the past. Janice decided to stay on for awhile to see if Bill really had changed. Two years passed. It was midday, the sun was out and it was beautiful. Bill realized he had to wrap things up to go enjoy it with Mary and the kids. Bill picked up his phone and dialed. “Janice?” “Hey, Bill.” “When you have a chance, why don’t you stop by my of昀椀ce?” “Sure, gotta wrap something up, then I’ll be in.” 28

Bill’s thoughts turned to Buck and all he had learned. He decided to call the store to see how things had progressed. A stern, frustrated voice barked out, “Bait shop.” Bill was taken aback. “Uh, can I speak to Buck?” “Buck don’t own the place no more. I bought it off him a couple of months ago.” “Is Linda there?” “Nope, got rid of her and her friends. Try Buck at his house. Gotta go.” Bill nervously dialed Buck, his heart pounding. “Hello,” a husky voice answered. “Buck, this is Bill, remember me? We talked a couple of — ” Buck interrupted: “Yeah, I’m guessing you must have called the store and found out I sold it.” “What happened?” “Well, I never planned to own it forever, and I got a good offer. The guy who bought it is a nice guy, but he’s in over his head since he got rid of Linda. I told him not to do that. Big mistake. Now he’s working sunup to sundown, killing himself and everyone who works for him.” Bill, sensing that the conversation was soon to end for at least another couple of years, asked a question that had been on his mind for two years. “Buck, I’ve always wondered something, and I hope you don’t mind me asking.” “Well, I was wondering how long it would take you to get around to this,” Buck replied. “You want to know, did I really trust my employees, right?” “Exactly.” 31

“Well, here’s the whole story. Yeah, from time to time, stuff would come up missing, or we’d be a few dollars short once in awhile. But I 昀椀gured it was a whole lot more painful to assume people were stealing than to just trust them. In the end, I 昀椀gure I had less stomach acid, I was a better husband to my wife and I worked a lot less hours. Did someone at some point steal something from me? Yeah, I’m sure. But I wasn’t going to let that spoil everything.” “What are you going to do next?” “I’m thinking of starting up another store south of here. It could be fun.” “Would you hire the same type of people?” “If they’d have me,” Buck said with his trademark laugh. Bill said goodbye to Buck, probably for the last time. It was amazing what Buck had done. For a moment in time, he took a group of people who were downtrodden and ostracized and gave them a chance to raise their lives to a level that they had never experienced. And, as it happened, they were happier, they had a purpose, the store prospered and Buck lived a ful昀椀lling life. Bill looked up. “Hey, Bill, you wanted to talk?” Janice said, interrupting Bill’s daydreaming. “Yes, I did, Janice. I think it’s time you became vice president here. It’s time for me to focus on other things here at the store — the store’s in great hands with you, so let’s make it of昀椀cial.” “Thanks, I’ll do my best. I know I can do it. Like I’ve been saying the last couple of years, I’m the boss, you’re just the owner.” Bill smiled and felt a sensation that he had grown comfortable with — vulnerability — and it felt right. 32

• Doing, or re-doing, someone else’s job robs him or her of learning, and failing or succeeding. It also takes away that person’s pride and passion. • A great employee at a great company acts like the owner. Like Linda said: “I’m the boss, Buck is just the owner.” • A leader should not do an employee’s job, but must do his or her job: guiding, counseling and trusting. • A great leader seeks out different ideas and approaches and embraces difference. If you think, “That’s not the way I’d do it,” it just might be a good idea. • A great leader doesn’t try to be “one of the guys.” And employees don’t want that either. • The less you need to advertise for employees, the better your company. • No amount of bene昀椀ts or wages will overcome disrespect. • Open yourself up to your employees. Be vulnerable, and they will open their hearts and minds to you. • The greatest respect you can show someone is to be honest with him or her. • Don’t confuse competence with integrity. Train people to be competent, then trust them to be honest and do what is right. • At the best companies, employees discipline themselves. They want to protect their environment. • Nobody is perfect; sometimes a person slips. Accept that. Obsessing on it and assuming everyone is dishonest will breed more dishonesty. 34

About the Author A two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and inductee into the Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, Barry LaBov is the founder and president of LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, Inc. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, LaBov & Beyond is an agency nationally renowned for its passion and its integrity as well as for its niche: creating strategic marketing, training and communication solutions for corporations with dealer, distributor or sales representative networks. Its client base is comprised of some of the most respected corporations in the world working in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aviation, transportation, 昀椀nancial services and health care. Through the Umbrella Series of business parables and books, Barry and his team 昀椀nd an entertaining, involving and enlightening way to share with readers The Most Important Business Lessons Under One Umbrella. They not only explore the issues most vital to business success today—passion, leadership, change, entrepreneurialism, vision, loyalty, the tearing down of business silos—they bring them to life, in full, vibrant color. Indeed, lessons from the Umbrella Series have been brought to life as corporate learning events, interactive DVDs, keynote speeches and through its own Web site (umbrellastory.com). In addition to his work on the Umbrella Series, Barry has authored two critically acclaimed business books: How to Sell and Be Yourself and Beyond Comparison. He’s also a published columnist in national newspapers, magazines and various trade publications and an accomplished and in-demand public speaker. In addition to its Fort Wayne headquarters, LaBov & Beyond also has operations in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and suburban Washington, D.C. For more information on how LaBov & Beyond can market, motivate or leverage your company’s products, services or distribution network, please visit labov.com, umbrellastory.com, or call us at 260.497.0111.