On December 7, 1941, my Dad was seriously wounded in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Another sailor, Tommy Thompson saved his life that day. He recovered and went on to fight the air war in the Pacific aboard PBY’s as a Navy Crew Chief. His war time experiences did not totally define him but they were a big part of who he was.
He has been gone eighteen years. He always recognized December 7th and I learned to also. Dad was fiercely independent so he became an entrepreneur. He started three businesses one of which has been operating for fifty years now and is still in the family. There were things he knew that served him well in business.
- Things could be worse and they will get better. He almost died on the tarmac at Kaneohe Bay on the morning of December 7, 1941. When times got tough as they do occasionally for entrepreneurs he knew they would get better, there would always be another customer and that he could find them and he did.
- Your word must mean something. He had a reputation in the community for honesty and integrity. It was important to him and he did what was necessary to keep it sparkling clean.
- Say what you mean and mean what you say. Clear, to the point, no waffle words. You always knew exactly what he expected, and what he thought. He was once 86ed from his granddaughters softball game for heckling the opposing team’s pitcher. He never understood player self-esteem being more important than competition. (His granddaughter went on to be on the short list of best top ten collegiate pitchers during her university years)
- Determination – He had little education and and even less capital. His business plans were in his head. His chances of success slim. He did it anyway.
- Give people a hand – He picked cotton as a child and came to California like a family in a Steinbeck novel. That together with living though the depression and the war gave him a soft spot for people in need. Many people came and went through the doors of the businesses. Some even lived with us for awhile. A good many of them took advantage. He never lost his compassion.
- Your life get’s easier when those around you learn and grow. As soon as I could drive I was behind the wheel of a van and had my own weekend accounts and a couple of guys to work with me.
- Clear accountability – When a customer who my crew and I served complained Dad took me with him to talk to the customer and fix the problem.
- Buck up and get it done or I’ll find someone who will. He had no patience for laziness or whining.
- Ambiguity and gray areas were not for Dad – Teamwork was not in fashion back then. To Dad a team was a group of people playing baseball or football. People worked for Dad. His idea of a team at work would have been a group of people doing what I want, how I want it done – now. Crystal clear. No ambiguity.
Tom Brokaw called them the Greatest Generation and that sounds about right. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.
