People make the difference
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 1/1/1998
Back in November, Lawson Products CEO Bud Kalish sat down with Industrial Distribution to talk about his company. But before the interview got underway, Kalish had to take a phone call -- from an employee at one of the company's branches.The employee was just calling Kalish to say thanks for helping him work out a problem he was having with his supervisor. Rather than get in the middle of the argument, Kalish had told the employee to settle the problem himself, and gave him several ideas on how to handle it. The conversation ended with Kalish saying that he would, indeed, be down to visit that employee very soon.
"To me, the people are the most important part of our business,'' says Kalish, who began his career at Lawson Products sweeping floors in the company's store-front start-up 41 years ago.
As evidence, Kalish pointed to some of the programs Lawson Products has to honor employees. There's the SLP Club, named after company founder Sindey L. Port, which honors employees for their years of service. Employees are inducted into the club and given a nameplate on a giant plaque at company headquarters after being with the company for five years. Employees then move up the ladder, so to speak, by going to the 10-, 15-, and 20-year bracket and so on, as they continue working for Lawson.
In addition, if you're ever at Lawson's Des Plaines office around 9 a.m., you're likely to hear a woman's voice announcing the birthdays and company anniversaries being celebrated on that date. The announcements are made every day and are usually followed by a visit from the boss.
"These are the little things I think are important in getting a job done,'' says Kalish. "'I don't care what they're earning, it's never enough. But if you can make people feel good about coming to work...''
Kalish didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: If you make the office a nice place to be, then people are going to want to come to work and they are going to want to do a good job.
Kalish's own office attests to the importance he places on relationships. During the interview, he pointed to a drab-looking print on the wall opposite his desk, explaining that a space planner who worked on the building put it there several years ago. Kalish says that although he dislikes the print, he left it there to form a contrast to his choice of artwork.
"I don't even know what that is,'' Kalish said of the print. Then he immediately turned and pointed to a wall to the right of his desk that was crowded with snapshots of employees and sales agents. "But I can look at these pictures and tell you a story.''
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