The Italian

Good morning... What can I get for you?

I haven't written much about the folks I worked with at the SSC. I'll take that opportunity today. The biggest influence on my during my time at SBUX Corporate was a fella I'll call "The Italian". He had a way about him... A mind about him, if you will. The Italian was my boss... for 7 years.

One of the things I enjoyed most about him (and there were many)... was his ability to cut through most people's crap by using simple phrases and metaphors... he used similes too.

For example... when someone came up with a "brilliant" idea that may or may not have had any relevance to a business driver, he might say something like, "Let's take that to the men's room, plug it in and see if it runs."

Whenever the stuff went down and folks were looking for people to blame, he might say "The customer isn't always right... but they're never wrong."

Or when projects just had a bad taste from the get go... he might say, "This project is like pushing spaghetti under a door."

The most memorable though, was when I first started at the SSC. I was new the corporate life having just spent 8 years in the field... so when I got there I was shocked to find out that there wasn't (and still isn't) really a system for keeping track of laptops and PCs. I asked about how we inventory equipment that is issued to partners when they arrive and how it gets monitored and audited each year... you know... like we do in the stores... like a business does.

His answer... "Yep, you're right... if a person had a mind about them, they could walk outta here with an office..."

Of course the Italian had way more influence on me and my development as a professional, but then you'd rather hear the funny stuff... I know... I read the web stats.

So, hats off to the Italian... and thanks for your guidance and influence. My family and I wouldn't be the same.

Now take this post to the men's room... plug it in and see if it works.

Pat Nerr...