"No, I'm sorry, he's taking the day off." The branch administrator answered with resignation in her voice. "I'll let him know you called or we can schedule something in two weeks." As a leadership team, we had discussed the idea for two months, so two more weeks would be okay. Thankfully, we had decided early enough that a delay should be acceptable for the outcome. But, truthfully, we had reservations regarding our ability to contact this firm legend in the first place.
Bob had worked for the company since its early days, and I believe his office was number 30. Almost 50 years later, my office was 3,000 and something and for me to listen in on the conference call to invite this man to our summer regional meeting was both an honor and a privilege.
I was the newest leadership team member, and because I had only been with the firm for three years (1996), I still needed to figure out the company protocols for retirement. The company is a sales organization, and I started my office from scratch in 1993. By scratch, I mean zero clients. I worked out of my home and walked door to door in Cedar City, introducing myself and handing out business cards.
Linda and I had decided to change our Oklahoma surroundings after waking up one morning to realize the commute was driving us both crazy. It wasn't just the commute from home to work; it was the commute to go anywhere. We had purchased a small (first home) on the borderline between Tulsa, Broken Arrow, and Bixby; therefore, everything was miles away. Shopping, work, church, preschools, and dance classes. A 45-minute drive one way for a 45-minute dance class meant you were stuck for three hours. When I applied for the new job, I was informed I would have an answer in two months. The offer came through in two days.
I opened our company's 5th office in Utah; there were six in Nevada, three in Idaho, and eight in Arizona. Bob had been the regional leader for the western United States at some point, with his regional boundaries extending from Canada to Mexico. However, as more and more offices opened in the west, Bob's region had been chopped up, divided, and thankfully more minor. Our current regional leader lived just outside Las Vegas, and our current region covered a large geographic area; however, it was not half a continent.
Rumor had it that Bob was going to retire, and because he had been the regional leader of our fledgling area as a leadership team, we wanted to invite him to one last summer meeting. The problem is Bob only worked one day a week.
Working for the firm and running our own offices had its privileges. However, the ownership of setting your schedule was a two edge sword, and I had seen many a new salesperson throw the opportunity out the window by taking too much time off for golf. "You'll work like crazy for seven years, then you can coast for three," my mentor had said. "What happens after three years?" I had asked. "You'll work like crazy the rest of your career." He had smiled. The implication is that current business and referrals would pick up, and you'd stop looking for sales; prior connections would come looking for you. "Longevity," he had said, is the key to success in our industry.
At the end of the leadership team's regular business, our regional leader decided to call Bob while all of us were still on the line. A new term has emerged since the nightmare of COVID in 2020 called Quiet Quitting. Priorities shifted dramatically with COVID and even our CEO having discussed the devastating psychological impacts of the lockdowns during our last summer regional meetings. [1] As restrictions lifted, "quiet quitting" became the buzzword to explain this shifting of priorities as workers gave up the idea of going above and beyond at work. [2]
We all understood Bob only worked on Thursdays; none of us considered him lazy or slacking in his duties to his remaining clients. On the contrary, Bob had given most of his clients away to be serviced by new offices in the area, thereby growing the firm. That benefitted the new office (no starting from scratch), the client (closer attention), and Bob, who could finally slow down and enjoy the transition from work to retirement. To me, Bob was a hero. From the first time I heard he only worked one day a week, I was sold. "Bob's retirement plan," I had called it, and working just a few days a week (or only one) has always been my goal.
"I'm sorry, he's not in today." The branch manager said upon our inquiry. "It was our understanding he worked on Thursday?" our regional leader asked. "Yes; however, something came up, and he decided not to come in today." "Oh, okay, can we call him next Thursday? "Let me check his schedule... No, I'm sorry, he's taking the day off."
My hero.
Written November 1, 2022
References
[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/quiet-quitting-are-workers-taking-advantage-or-taking-control-154103038.html