I am currently employed at a large Tier 1 automotive supplier. When I first started there over thirteen years ago, things were much different. The company as a whole was small. Our division was very profitable due to the fact that the owners of the company allowed the General Manager to have full control of his plant. The management team worked very well together. There was a feeling of family working together for the success of all. Since that time, our division has been through several ownership changes. It makes you feel like a game piece on a game board. What name will be on the building this week? We are now part of a global supplier. There have been many changes forced upon us by men in suits, sitting in their ivory tower, counting their money, in another country. Many of the good employees that I started with thirteen years ago have gone. To better things, I hope. I am saddened by the state of things today. The plant is still profitable, but due to non-profitability of other plants, our plant is made to suffer. We are used to cover the mistakes of others. What I have seen happen to good people sickens me. I have witnessed good people get thrown under the bus as well as being tossed under myself. There is no long term vision, only ‘we need to hit our numbers for this month’. Now instead of trying to solve problems as a team, the first thing to be done is to find out who is to blame and call the bus driver. The General Manager was once very active out on the plant floor. He would spend time with the employees and know what was going on in their lives. Since having to answer to the “Ivory Tower”, he has retreated to his office and keeps the door closed. I do believe that the bureaucracy will be the death of our plant. Where have I heard that before? : ) A former peer is now in a management position and it has changed him. He is being taught to rule with an iron fist and has the keys to the bus. He is now in a position over his former boss and he reminds him of it on a daily basis. But, there is hope. I have begun the quest to provide new information and a new way of thinking. You see, I fell in with a couple of really talented ex-engineers who are pioneering a Leadership Development Organization. These guys just published a best selling book and this organization is literally exploding across North America. This information is being sprinkled throughout the organization and is beginning to change lives. People are getting hope back. Thank you for providing Constructive Leadership. God Bless, Kevin