By Jathan Janove (Guest Contributor)–
My friend Max began his career in operations and later became drawn to the human resource field. Before his retirement, Max served as chief human resource officer for major corporations.
During our many years of working together, Max always struck me as the quintessential HR professional. He didn’t just keep employers out of legal trouble. He helped create great workplace cultures.
Max shared a pivotal professional experience with me. While he was still in operations in the 1970s, his boss, the vice president of operations, was, according to Max, “one of the nicest, kindest, gentlest human beings you could possibly meet. He never had an unkind word to say about anybody – except for one occasion.”
Here’s Max’s account: “My boss and I were walking down the hall at our workplace. As we passed the door marked ‘Personnel’ (that’s what HR was called in those days), he stopped. He turned to me and said, ‘Max, don’t go in that door unless you want to meet somebody that knows more than you do. Or unless you want to feel stupid. Or unless you want to meet the police.’”
This comment became an inspiration for Max. After he moved into the HR field, he became determined that neither he nor members of his HR team would ever be perceived this way.
Max had an incredibly successful career as an HR leader, but with one notable failure: he didn’t take proper care of his friend and employment law counsel, Yours Truly. I learned first-hand that Max’s focus on culture didn’t come at the expense of compliance and claim prevention. Max was a downright lousy client! Given the size of the workforces he dealt with, I should have been billing way more hours than I did! Sigh. You owe me Max!
Given the choice of anyone, whom would you want as a dinner guest and what would you talk about?
Winston Churchill. I would love to spend an evening discussing his philosophy of leadership and enjoying his amazing wit and humor. I have tried to follow his example –with one exception. As an observant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), there’s been one practice I’ve been unable to follow – his customary morning glass of six ounces of Scotch. Sorry Winston.
What’s something in your life for which you feel grateful?
The list is long. Going back generations, no one in my family had ever gone to college. My dad completed high school and my mom dropped out in ninth grade to help after her mother died. And yet, my parents kept pounding in the importance of education. I probably couldn’t have made them happier than when I obtained an undergraduate and subsequently a graduate degree.
Both of my parents had a strong work ethic and were devoted to their kids, and later their grandkids. My dad never told me he loved me. But I always knew he did. One thing he did say, “If you want to repay us for the support we gave you, do it by taking good care of your kids and your grandkids.”
I’ve tried to follow dad’s direction ever since.
If the current you could provide real-time advice to a younger you, what would it be?
As a young man, I tended to be pretty blunt with my opinions. If I disagreed with something I’d jump in and say so and be prepared to debate whomever it was I disagreed with.
Looking back, a better approach would have been to ask questions and explore the other person’s position first. “What makes you think this?” “What led you to this conclusion?’ “Help me understand your position.”
Truth shouldn’t be a sword. I’d tell my younger self to learn more before jumping in with your opinion. Since learning this lesson, I’ve done much better in my career, at home and in my church positions.
What would you change about the way you were raised?
When I was six months old, I contracted polio. As a result, my development was delayed. The youngest of four boys, I was pampered by my parents and siblings. It was, “You look tired; I’ll take of it.” “Just stay home; don’t tax yourself.” “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Because of the sympathy factor, I was able to get away with behavior I shouldn’t have.
Eventually I rebelled. Despite growing up in an observant LDS environment, as a teenager, I pursued girls, alcohol and other sources of mischief. At age 17, I was married with a child. We lived in a small apartment. I got a job and with great parental support was able to continue in school. This marriage was not meant to be and we were divorced by the time I graduated high school. This was an incredibly traumatic experience.
From an early age, I wish I would have been held more accountable for my behavior.
What’s a treasured memory?
During my rebellious years, the support I got from teachers, a school counselor, and a woman in our LDS ward helped turn my life around. They gave me positive reinforcement while encouraging me to change.
I remember being told, “Max, you have great potential. Don’t waste your life.”
As I began to take this advice to heart, I started dating Cheryl. She’d been a junior Prom Queen, a student officer, the ultimate role model. I remember asking myself, “Why in the world would someone this good want to date someone like me?”
Whatever the reason, thank goodness Cheryl stuck it out. This June, we will celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary. I couldn’t imagine having had a better life companion.
What’s an embarrassing moment in your life you’re willing to share?
When I worked at Philips, I had a great boss. The CEO Dennis Phil was British. He was a great mentor, kind and gracious, and never lost his temper. But when you crossed the line with him, you knew it.
At a meeting with senior executives, the dress code came up. I made a wisecrack. “With our engineering group,” I said, “a t-shirt is a tuxedo.”
The comment didn’t go over well, especially with the Chief Technology Officer. And my boss gave me a look that told me everything.
Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make one final dash. What would you save?
I’d grab as many pictures and photos of family, kids and grandkids as I could possibly fit into my arms.
Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time that you haven’t yet done?
I think I would like to serve another mission.
A few years back, Cheryl and I served a two-year mission in Oakland, California for the LDS Church. It was a life-changing experience. We worked with people that were of color and poor, a huge contrast to what Cheryl and I had experienced in our lives. They faced inner city life challenges we’d not faced: poverty, crime, and violence. 90% of the people we worked with didn’t have a car.
And yet we were inspired by the people we met. People who, despite huge daily challenges, were kind, honest and caring. There was an African American man we got to know who’d been in a gang and served time in prison for drugs, robbery and attempted murder. He was kind, gentle and humble. And he remains grateful that the murder attempt was unsuccessful.
We met women and men who’d been shot, stabbed, and suffered permanent physical injuries yet weren’t bitter. They persevered without anger, hate or malice, and with kindness and a desire to help others.
If health permits, and whether for the LDS Church or another organization, I would like to go back to an inner city like Oakland and work again with the amazing people in these communities.
What do you find spiritual in life?
I find spirituality in just about everything: The Old Testament; The New Testament; The Book of Mormon; the beauty of the desert, mountains and Pacific Northwest; music; and great books, not just about religion, but about life. I find spirituality in freedom and free will. I know that bad things can and do happen and that suffering exists, but we’re more than just temporal, physical creatures. It’s inconceivable to me that there isn’t a Supreme Being.
Jathan Janove is Principal of Janove Organization Solutions, http://www.jathanjanove.com. Through consulting, executive coaching and training, he works with employers to create fully engaged workplace cultures. He also practiced law in Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.
