Nick Hall - Minutarian
One Profits Most Who Serves Best
While Service Above Self is the principal motto of Rotary International, One Profits Most Who Serves Best is also recognized as an official motto of our organization. During the Great Recession of 2008, I was working part-time at two comparable organizations in Orlando and observed firsthand how each tackled declining profits in two very different ways.
One owner made a very pragmatic decision
that prioritized the needs of the organization, while the other placed equal emphasis upon serving the needs of employees. Now, more than a decade later, one is still struggling, while the other is enjoying record profits.
In 2008, both organizations needed to cut costs by 20 percent in order to remain solvent. One owner instructed his second in command to cut staff until the goal was met. The most experienced employees were the first to go because they drew the highest salaries. It was an efficient solution that resulted in the fewest
number of employees losing their job.
The second owner organized a meeting of all his employees who anticipated the worse. Much to their relief, his first words assured them no one was going to be terminated. Instead, he told each employee, from the recently hired hourly worker to the highest paid executive, they would need to take a 20 percent reduction in salary. They also were told they could take an extra day off each week in the event they needed part time work to make up the difference. In addition, he promised to restore the lost wages when the economy turned around and business resumed at a brisk pace.
The pragmatic approach was appropriate and accomplished the necessary objective. However, the organization lost years of experience by terminating the
most senior workers. Furthermore, the remaining employees had to work twenty percent more to pick up the slack, all the while worrying about the next downsize. Some may have felt a sense of guilt that a colleague was suffering financial hardship, while they continued to do a job they were less qualified to perform.
While not the intent, the decision turned out to be neither fair nor beneficial to all concerned. And It certainly didn’t foster good will. The approach that impacted everyone the same was also appropriate and
accomplished the necessary objective. However, in a subtle way it embodied the Four Way Test. It was fair since everyone was treated equally. It was also
beneficial for both the organization and employees who now had an incentive to get the business on sound footing so they could receive their promised back pay.
That might explain why no one chose to take an extra day off. If anything, they pulled together and worked even harder. When business did eventually pick up,
all the previous experience was intact. There was no question the person who cut expenses while serving his employees as best he could, did indeed profit most.
Not only are Harris Rosen’s properties in Orlando enjoying record profits, but starting in 2020, the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel will host District Governors Elect from around the world along with an entourage of staff and trainers during the annual, Rotary International
Assembly. It’s a very lucrative contract. The other owner in the same city is in the midst of a second round of downsizing.
Yes, it is true, One Profits Most Who Serves Best!
