Lose that every-man-for-himself attitude

Drug Store News, July 8, 1996 by Marie Griffin

Good business decisions aren't always good for individual people, and good people aren't always treated well. Those facts of life are dampening the positive impact of a generally healthy business climate and contributing to a feeling of insecurity that, on some level, affects nearly, everyone.

There's no question that the mood at the most recent NACDS Marketplace Conference was refreshingly upbeat. As one of our veteran editors put it: "I could tell it was a very good show because I didn't hear complaints about anything." And, yet, in small clusters on the edges of the cocktail receptions and dinner parties, people were sharing their true feelings and plans. Not everyone is optimistic about their own personal prospects.

In part because of mergers and acquisitions, many companies in our industry, on both the supplier and retailer side, have become more effective, more profitable and more powerful. And, yet, consolidation, downsizing and company or divisional closings weigh heavily upon people because they almost invariably translate into lost jobs (at least in the short term).

In addition to the people directly affected, the industry as a whole experiences psychic fallout as customers and suppliers, brokers and wholesalers, friends and acquaintances bear witness to the unfortunate impact these business changes have on individuals.

Although they were given a death-sentence reprieve when the FTC blocked Rite Aid's takeover bid, the people at Revco will not quickly recover from the five-month-long visceral reminder that no company is secure in today's environment; the people at Taylor Drug, meanwhile, are about to be victims of the fate Revco escaped. With rumors about more mergers and takeovers on the horizon, most people ask, Who will be next? Many wonder, What if the next one affects me?

There is no longer any assurance in hard work, a good track record or even strong relationships. Experience--which, hopefully, translates into a salary commensurate with all those years--can actually become a liability when one is forced out into the job market along with a host of colleagues with lower salary requirements.

Even people employed by big stable companies who seemingly are doing well, quietly admit that they feel vulnerable.

One friend has had tremendous success in sales over the past few years--bringing in business worth tens of millions of dollars--and yet he confided to me that he was deeply disturbed because his company's top executives were talking about cutting people in the organization.

But, I asked naively, isn't your company doing fabulously well?

"Have you ever heard the phrase, `What have you done for me lately?'" my friend replied. "They want more." Then he sighed and said: "We busted our butts to bring in all this business and people are going to be fired anyway."

Another friend of mine, who was a casualty of changes on the retail side, is struggling to make the transition to a less glamorous role in sales. He confided that he learned who his real friends were--and who they weren't--once he no longer held the buyer's power of the pen. At the show, he was made keenly aware of how differently suppliers are treated as compared to buyers.

While we all must understand intellectually that job security is a thing of the past, no one is really addressing the human and personal issues surrounding this new fact of life.

People in positions of power and influence need to take a serious look at the morale of their own organizations, as well as the industry as a whole. (It's not simply what you do, but how you do it that makes a difference to people. I am sure the great minds of the business can find ways to make these times of transition less painful on the people involved.

But, even if you can't personally make a job-saving impact on your company, not to mention the industry, you can make a difference on a personal level. Start by abandoning the every-man-for-himself attitude. Each of us is vulnerable and none of us can afford to turn our backs on a person in less fortunate circumstances. Similar circumstances may someday befall you. Whatever your position on the totem pole, there is no one who isn't able to lend encouragement, support or at least an ear to somebody who needs it.