Kev3188,
sometimes..
without diplomacy in some situations in general.. some may find they wont even make it through the front door or hit the "Proverbial Brick wall"
Okay, try this one: "Professional, but resolute." The combined board of this new company needs to realize that we (yes, everyone) bring value to the show. Period.
They may say they do, and shower us with fluffy comments saying the same (after all, that plays well to the masses, right?), but these platitudes are a mile wide and an inch deep. The truth is, their actions say otherwise.
It's a two-pronged approach:
First, they do things that give the
illusion of caring ("call me Richard," the DL "family," etc.). They are putting a ton of energy and resources into portraying themselves as men/women of the people.
[SIDEBAR: Don't any of you DL'ers find it odd that a guy that has worked there for ~ 1 year talks about
"our family?"]
Second, on the DL side they are playing on your pride in your carrier. This, of course, makes it much easier to spread the lies and half-truths that their PR machine keeps spitting out.*
From what I've seen it's working quite well to their advantage. For the record, I'm not knocking anyone for digging the Widget, but when it defies reality, it deserves to be called out.
Is no one over there willing to admit that sometimes the emperor has no clothes?
As long as we continue to collectively whistle past the graveyard, they will continue to behave in the same manner. Why wouldn't they?
Look, we all want to be recognized as valuable to our company. That's true of any industry. But the cold reality is that the NW/DL board couldn't give a rats a$$ how much each of us bring to the plate. The way to change that is to beat them at their own game. Know the rules so you can bend them properly, you know?
*= Before someone asks me for an example, here's one: "DL's non-union employees generally enjoy better pay and benefits than their unionized counterparts at NW" This is simply not true, but it's out there, being repeated over and over.
Milquetoasts, hows that?...you say, wait a sec!... you are a pretty smart guy.. without the need
to prove anything, but please....do not(to anyone out there who now thinks they may have to prove something....) flex any muscles or chant "we are the men, men, men, men" cause then I know we are going to be in trouble....
I have to admit this one went straight over my head....
