No One Forgets a Great Manager

You know this if you have spent much time in the workforce, but really good and really bad management is impossible to forget. One reader reminded me of this recently when she wrote about my blog item on Northwest Airlines’ management troubles and contrasted them with Delta Air Lines under CEO Gerald Grinstein. Her comments are interesting and further evidence (as if we needed any more) of how far airline service has fallen under today’s shortsighted management:

"I read with great interest your article "Another Airline, Another Meltdown" earlier this month in the 7/2/07 Workforce Management newsletter. I have been a flight attendant since 1970 and was based in Minneapolis-St. Paul for a period of time and witnessed the poor labor relations that Northwest historically had with their employees from the 1960s until now.

"I was also an employee with Western Airlines when Gerald Grinstein helped pull it out of the financial crisis that they experienced in the 1980s. His actions helped my company survive and eventually be purchased by Delta Air Lines. He was a man of integrity then and continues to be so today. Delta was poorly managed by both Ron Allen and the ‘Enron school of management’ style [of] CEO Leo Mullin. Because of my previous experience with Mr. Grinstein, I rejoiced when he lead the coup that ultimately resulted in him being chosen to be the CEO of Delta, a position that he did not for the big bucks that other airline CEOs were paid, but for his love of the airline and desire to see our company survive. He did an admirable job in attempting to keep Delta out of bankruptcy but was ultimately forced to take that route by pilots who refused to renegotiate their contracts and had an outrageous pension plan. I took a major pay cut and experienced dramatic change in work rules, but I trusted the decisions that Mr. Grinstein made. This trust was rewarded when we came out of bankruptcy and Delta’s employees were given bonuses, raises and stock in the new Delta Air Lines.

"It is too bad that other CEOs do not have the integrity that Mr. Grinstein has shown for the 20 years that I have known him. He also did not overlook the fact that when internal customers are happy, customer service improves and customer satisfaction rises, which directly impacts company profits: a balanced scorecard at work.

"Thank you for a very interesting take on the industry that I love."

Got a comment about one of my posts, like this reader did? I love to hear what you have to say. Until we get the comment posting function going on this blog, send comments to me via e-mail: jhollon@workforce.com. I will post as many of them as I can.