Conference 7.286::digital

    The climate of this entire conference is beginning to sound an awful
    lot like a meeting of the United Auto Workers Union when the subject is
    General Motors.  G.M had/has so much disregard for the workforce that
    the union is the only thing they can turn to.  It make you wonder if
    that lesson will ever be learned, does it not?
    
    /bob

    Re .0
    
    I just realized I referred to Tuesday 7th November for the next Bill
    Steul meeting. Of course I meant Tuesday 9th November at 5:30.
    
    Dave

    I am on vacation this week. I was considering driving down to the Mill
    this afternoon to hear this talk. Fortunately, as it turns out, family
    commitments make that impractical.

    I have to agree with Dave that this sends a bad message. When people
    are afraid to remind a VP of a previous announced commitment that's
    scary. It seems to me I wrote a note in this conference earlier about
    management by fear and intimidation. What sort of manager surrounds
    himself with people who are afraid to hold them to their commitments?

    		Alfred

    I was there as well.
    
    Remember, we have only our best guesses as to why he did not show. 
    When we do not have adequate information, the conclusions we jump to
    are invariably negative.  There may have been a very valid reason why
    he did not appear, which everyone would approve of. Bill will have a
    chance to share that next time.  I urge as many as possible to appear. 
    The fact that he is willing to even listen (I hope?) is a major step
    forward.  

    Here is how I think Bill Steul should have handled it.
    
    First I will assume that the meeting with Bob Palmer was absolutely
    critical and couldn't be postponed or held later. Assuming that is
    true what I would have liked to have seen was the following.
    
    At exactly 5:30 or a few minutes later Bill Steul should have walked
    into the room PERSONALLY and said something along the lines of.
    
    	"I'm extremely sorry but I won't be able to meet my prior
         committment to speak to you this evening. I am in the middle
         of a meeting with Bob Palmer that can't be postponed.
    
    		(I'd have then liked to have heard the high level reason
    	 	 assuming that wasn't too confidential).
    
    	I really apologize for causing you to waste your time but I hope
    	you can understand. I have rescheduled the meeting for xxx, I
    	hope you can come by then."
    
    He could then have returned to his Bob Palmer meeting.
    
    Now the above would have been the mark of a real leader who cared about
    the organization.
    
    Dave

    I understand that people don't like to be kept waiting.  However in my
    everyday work I have had many dealings with Bill Steul.  He is
    undoubtedly one of the most ethical managers I have met.  He cares very
    much about people and the company and this comes across very clearly. 
    I think that we need to remind ourselves that he has given up three
    very precious evenings in order to spend time with Digital employees. 
    I know that if he was late for something that was so important to
    him, there must have been a very good reason for it.  Can we be more
    positive and instead of taking it so personally and assuming that he's
    now one of "them" appreciate the fact that he does care enough to
    commit to spending time with us.  He also did not "blow off" the
    meeting, he was late, and I for one can forgive him for that knowing how
    crucial his meeting must have been with Bob Palmer.  Bill's first
    communcations meeting was a great success and I know his next two will
    be also.  I hope that many people will go and meet him.

    Re .-1
    
    If he was going to be late he should have informed someone of that.
    Instead at 5:50 we were TOLD to leave by someone who said and I quote
    as best as I can remember:
    
    	"nobody wants to go into Bill Steul's meeting with Bob Palmer"
    
    So he was not "late". He didn't turn up before people were told to
    leave. I stand by my original statement "he blew off the meeting". I
    explained in a prior reply how it could have been handled
    professionally.
    
    Dave

    So call him.

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To:     See Below



                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     03-Nov-1993 07:55am EST
                                        From:     Bill Steul @MLO               
                                                  STEUL.BILL AT PNDVUEA1 at MLMAIL at MLO
                                        Dept:     Finance
                                        Tel No:   223-3321

TO:  MILL EMPLOYEES                       ( PAPER MAIL AT PNDVUEA1 at MLMAIL at MLO )


Subject: COMMUNICATIONS FORUM                                        

I want to apologize for being  late for the communications forum last night 
and thank everyone who attended.

We will pick up the second of the three sessions at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 
November, and do the third session on 16 November.

Thank you for your understanding.

I look forward to seeing you on the 9th and 16th.

Regards.

ps



To Distribution List:
(deleted)

    re .7
    
    It would be even better if Bob Palmer himself (after being told by Bill
    about the meeting) would come out and explain to everyone that he needs
    to meet with Bill urgently and so sorry can everyone come back again
    some other time?

    The meeting was supposed to start at 5:30.  At 5:35 a "spokesman" told
    the audience that Bill was delayed.  Fifteen minutes
    later the spokesman made a judgement call and, rather than have
    everyone wait, decided to tell them that the meeting would be
    postponed.  He felt it was better to let people go home, rather than have
    them wait for Bill who was unavoidably delayed.  Bill got out of his
    meeting at 6:05 and before he headed up to the meeting, was told of the
    decision which had been made.
    
    He didn't blow it off.  People were kept informed.  A judgment call was
    made in what was felt to be the best interest of the audience.  

    RE: Last few...
    
    
    Bill, the same as anyone of us can get wrapped up in things and
    forget appointments, no matter how important! I would venture to 
    guess that all of us at one time or another has done the same and
    that we were very appreciative that who ever it was gave us a break
    and the benefit of the doubt.
    
    I also think that his efforts to tell us what's happening should
    not be minimized. It is not easy to talk about tough subjects, in
    these tough times and answer tough questions. That's why so few
    of the upper management have done it.
    
    So... give him the benefit of the doubt, don't be offended or
    discouraged because he will make good at the next meeting.
    Don't knock him because he didn't handle it the way you would have
    liked to if you were in his shoes.
    
    Just $0.02 from one fallible human to another,
    
      dave
    
    

  If I had organized the meeting, I would have had a contingency plan in case
Bill Steul was late. That is, something to fill the time, such as an alternate
speaker or video. Just sitting around in an auditorium for a half hour can be 
very boring. I also would have kept people there for another 15 minutes or so 
before sending them home.
  Was the first session videotaped, and will the next two be? It won't be con-
venient for me to attend these, but I would like to hear them. I don't ask
questions in large meetings like this, so I won't miss anything from not being
there.

    What ever happened to common courtesy?
    
    JP

    How was the "make up" meeting? 
    
    			Alfred

    Glad you asked.  I thought it was excellent.  Some introductory
    information was shared which then evolved into a discussion of more
    critical issues around direction, morale, and the recent tuition
    reimbursement (or lack thereof) announcement.
    
    I felt Bill was candid and open to continuing these in whatever forum
    made sense.  This kind of two way dialogue is absolutely critical to
    resolving many of our problems;  I applaud Bill for taking this all
    important step.