Farewell to The Man (Xiao Wang)
John Wang respectfully left our company last week. It was truly a sad day, because John was the type of employee that managers dream about. The good thing about it is that John is still my friend and will be for many, many years to come. I've placed him on my network list and plan to be in communication with him until one of us dies. In fact, he demanded it.
John was everything an employee should be; loyal, honest, efficient, hard-working, and goal oriented. Everybody liked John. He was with our company for six years, and left only because he felt he needed a break from working, and he wanted to try something different. His reasons were valid, and everybody respected them. Still, as we cut the cake on his last day, it took all of my self-control not to keep my eyes dry. As the company's managing partner handed John the gift that the human resources director and I had chosen earlier that day, John glanced at me for just a second. In that brief point in time, he flashed a smile that said, "You have been a great boss." Later that day, he told this to me to my face. I told him that he made it easy for me.
John wasn't an account. He wasn't a computer technician, and he wasn't a shift supervisor. He was nobody's assistant, and he didn't answer the phones. John, who will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest employees this company has ever had, was a driver.
Great people can be found at any level in any company on any continent. I work with some managers whose professionalism and work ethics don't hold a candle to that of the driver called John. If every employee I am responsible for followed John's example, retention would be at an all-time high, efficiency would be near perfect, and I could sit at home watching the Simpsons while drinking Coca-Cola, and have my check sent to my house.
Over the next few days my human resources manager and I will evaluate what it was made John such a great employee we will endeavor to look for these personality traits in future hires. Even after John has left our company, he will continue to make a huge impact on productivity and efficiency. That's what fantastic people do.
On the eve of his last day of work, he drove me home. I almost cried, for I knew this was the last time we would do this as our daily routine. Earlier that day I had handed him a personal gift from my family. He couldn't even bear to look into the bag, which was probably better because both of us were fighting to retain our respective manly faces. I'm not ashamed of the emotion that we both felt, but we both had jobs to do at that time, which is something we've always respected of each other.
As I lay in bed that night I realized that one man, who had held a job often considered low on the company totem-pole, changed our company for the better more than most of the high-level managers who worked there. He had impacted our lives through motivation, respect, and example. In six years, Xiao Wang had made all the difference in the world, and he did it while driving a van.
Lesson learned: When it comes to making a difference within a company, titles are worthless. Titles don't define people; they only define jobs.
MJH
