A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where
I
was employed, purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's
sales
representatives in the field used Norand hand-held
terminals
to upload daily sales information and download new
price and
sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of
these
hand-held terminals, the economics made the purchase
of
Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed
Pioneer
to explore high-technology markets outside
agriculture.
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC
technology made the hand-held units obsolete. Pioneer
sold
Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent
of the
annual profits to divide equally among all employees,
so our
profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had
not
purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was
lower
than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was
not
pleased.
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal
visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about
the
state of the business and to listen to employees'
concerns.
When he walked into the meeting room for his first
visit
after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group,
removed
his jacket and neatly folded it across the back of the
chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and
rolled up
his sleeves. The next thing he said was the last thing
I
ever expected to hear a CEO say.
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am
sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower
because of
the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by
the
purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a
bit
smarter now, and I will work harder for you." The room
was
quiet for a moment before he asked for questions.
A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I
sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and
that he
deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and
to
Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
In the brief moment of silence before the questions
started, I recall thinking that I would follow him
into any
battle.
