Death of the Branch Manager

Abigail and Dolley readers for a nice change of pace, let's look at the current mindset of corporate America.
 Keep in mind, big business by and large is now completely dominated by leftists.  They are running companies the way they run government - from the top down.

(Disclaimer:  This blog is a broad stroke observation of the last 15 years in corporate america, it is not necessarily my personal experience nor is it an indictment of a specific company, past or present.  It is inspired by observations, news reports, friends and colleagues who all share their tales of woe.  It is not industry specific as these stories come from banking to retail to manufacturing to logistics to education.)

They have embraced the "economy of scale buys efficiency and cost saving model" with a reckless abandon.  Ignoring lost revenues, lost business, low customer satisfaction, and low employee morale they venture forth adding more and more layers of bureaucracy and processes.  Ivory Tower executives double down on failure and assert it is the people, the customers, and the soft markets fault - never stopping to consider that their MBA inspired plan is wrong.

It started with the destruction of the Branch Manager.  At one point, being a Branch Manager was the best job around.  They were captains of their ships, miniature CEO's, empowered to make money for the company, take care of the customer, and attract the best talent.  Capitalism at it's finest.  Market pressure would drive quality and the best and the brightest would make themselves and their company a handsome profit.

Influence by socialist university professors and executive MBA's, the Branch Manager's pivotal position has been largely eliminated or reduced in power to be completely ineffective.  It is destroying American Capitalism.

You Didn't Build That!

Abigail and Dolley readers I try to stay out of the headline of the day, minutia of the news cycle.  To be involved in the daily grind of outrage, death, and destruction is ultimately unhealthy.  There is nothing edifying about it.  Paul knew what he was talking about when he said, Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. There is very little about the news cycle that fits that criteria. 

That being said, I just can't seem to let Obama's speech in Roanoke pass without comment, as the wife of a struggling entrepreneur, I have to chime in.   "If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Marinate on that for a moment, that is flat out Communism.  It's code for, you have no right to the fruit of your labor - collectively, we get it.  I have intimated in my writings for the last few years of the struggle my family and I have gone through, much of it to do with the sacrifices we have chosen to make in pursuit of our own business.

I invented a revolutionary product in the sweltering heat of July in 2010.  For the last 24 months, my husband has worked to bring that product to market.  By doing so, we have sacrificed an income, spent all of our savings, and struggled with the overwhelming stress of economic uncertainty; in pursuit of the dream.  We have done it with no loans, no money, and no help from anyone.

Our story is not unique, it is the story of small business, it is the story of the origins of big business, and the story of America.  It is not surprising that Barack Obama has this view because this is HIS life experience.  The evidence to support this statement is abundant, one must simply look at his legislative record as a State Senator and a US Senator - there is no accomplishment in his WORK to justify his current position.  Hell, he's the most do nothing President we've ever had.  He's golfed more, vacationed more, and worked less than any President in modern times.  His Oval Office work ethic is said to be atrocious, arriving, if at all, after 10am and doing very little.  Why do you think he has all those "czars"?  They do the job that HE is supposed to do.

"You didn't build that, somebody else made that happen."
 
That is not an American worldview.  That is not a Capitalist mentality.  Once again, the Emperor Has No Clothes.

Manufacturing in America

Abigail and Dolley readers I have had a wonderful opportunity in my new position to sit and visit with business people from across the spectrum.  While confined to a geographic region, these business folks hail from companies large and small and cover the gambit of industries represented in the Southern USA.  I thought I would share some of the insights I have gathered on these conversations.

"We are doing very well but we are just waiting to see what this economy will bring..." - this is the overwhelming sentiment among business people.  Company health is solid, there is plenty of cash in the bank, and they have fundamentally changed the way they do business.  Risk and capitol investment are on hold, expansion is not in the cards right now, and even if they wanted to the banks are not lending.

"American manufacturing is returning.  Companies that had previously moved production to China are reopening factories in the USA.  We shipped an order to a factory in Mississippi that has not made this product in over a decade."  This my friends is good news.  The cost of fuel and labor has made the Chinese goods much less attractive.  If you factor in the absolute corruption in the communist run country you get a picture of a collapsing model.  I have written about the labor market in China before (Chinese Manufacturing) and how American workers and firms have a huge intrinsic advantage.

"We are always hiring at the plant but it's hard, dirty work and nobody wants to do it for $10/hour."  Hmmm, this one surprised me.  I guess when you get down to it, unemployment pays about the same wage and a lot of folks figure they are better off waiting for a higher paying job.  The thing about that is the benefits that this company pays equal about $8/hour and unemployment doesn't give you that.  Imagine though, if the income tax rate for corporations was cut to 9% what could happen to wages in this plant.

"Lead times on finished products have gone through the roof and retailers are still making Christmas purchases."  This plays into the first point but is quite telling.  Christmas purchases are usually completed and shipping commences in July - October.  Here we are in mid October and they are STILL buying.  For the first time in a decade, we did not have a peak season surcharge out of Asia.  This is a significant and fundamental change in the business cycle.  Folks are not producing on anticipated demand, they are producing by the order.

The companies that have survived this Great Recession have hunkered down, changed their behavior, mitigated risk, and saved their money.  The weak, inefficient, and poorly run enterprises have been weeded out.  Many misplaced workers are busting with ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America, just cash starved and waiting for a break.  A repeal of the stifling regulatory climate, tax system overhaul, and new leadership is all that is missing.  November 2012 can't get here fast enough.  When this thing turns and it WILL turn we are going to see an explosion.  I guess I picked a good time to go back into sales...

The Engine That Makes the Economy Run

Abigail and Dolley readers there is a lot of talk about getting the economic engine of America running again.  We have all sorts of government programs and they will all fall flat and cost us a fortune for little or no return.  The economic engine of this country has been and will always be small business.  There are millions of Americans out of work right now and I can tell you what they are thinking - how do I make a living now?  Many will start or have started a small business.

What is the biggest impediment to small business?  Regulation and red tape.  We must remove these impediments to get the economy rolling again.  We must make it simple for the guy that knows how to fix engines, to fix engines.  We must make it easier for business to get patents to protect their inventions.  We must make it so the small business person can get a loan to start their business.  We need government to get the hell out of our way so we can make it.  We must rethink the way we've always done things.  We must look for new processes, innovations, and technologies.  There is no shortage of entrepreneurs but there is an overabundance of bureaucrats.  What we are trying to right now is dig out of is an environment that hampers the great American Spirit. 

As for me and my family, we are going to make it happen for ourselves and in the process, we are going to live the American Dream.  May God Bless you and may God Bless America.

The Evil Rich Guy

Abigail and Dolley readers I have been on the road for the last few weeks visiting customers.  The life blood of my branches with this new company is small and medium sized clients.  All of these customers are "small business people".  Their desks are cluttered with paper, they have care lines etched upon their faces, they are living on coffee and cigarettes, and they are trying to keep their employees employed and their doors opened.

One of the clients was a couple of High School buddies who got an idea for a product and launched a firm.  One of the clients was a third generation in a family business that started out as his grandfather's general store.  Another was a man who had worked in corporate America for years and started his own firm.  All of them are hanging on, all of them are frustrated with the new environment in this country, and all of them said they would like to source in the USA but can't find anyone to manufacture their products.

We have to get out of these people's way.  We have to stop punishing their success with punitive taxes and adding to the cost of doing business.  We have to stop blaming these people for their success and we have to reward them for who they are and what they do.