Birds of a feather

Birds of a feather flock together. I know you’ve heard this phrase before, and it’s something I’ve said my entire life. As I’ve gotten older I’ve seen how corporations and companies become imitations of their leaders. I’ve had people who have been with me since day one of this company, that’s spanning almost two decades. With that flock and group mentality comes the idea that it’s no longer about the individual so much as it is about the company, the group, your coworkers. The notion of the self takes second place to a greater priority. I’ve noticed in any sized company, the leader sets the pace for the types of people the employees become. The model set by the head of the flock helps foster the characters of the people working under him. If he’s a yeller and a screamer, the employees turn out much the same way. That’s one of the reasons I have my company motto “Do what’s right.” That motto helps set the tempo to a much larger beat than whatever basic instinct drives whoever would sit at the top.

Every once in a while, you’ll find a company that employees some questionable ethics. If the man in charge is one with questionable ethics, he’ll have no problem hiring others with questionable ethics. It creates a vicious cycle that’s nearly impossible to escape from, eventually consuming the business. Your behavior at the head of the flock creates the kind of mentality your followers and employees need to have. What you establish as “right” or “okay” becomes the golden standard across the board. If you see employees dealing under the table, it’s almost safe to bet that the owners operate the same way. Misery starts to love company, when you notice companies and their suppliers carrying on in underhanded activities, you need to disengage whatever you have attached to that business. Remember, next time you go in to work, that whatever you have at the top, whatever it is you are doing will rain down on those beneath you, either positive or negative.