Some years ago, Pioneer Hi-bred International, where I was
employed, purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer’s sales representatives used
Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new
price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held
terminals, the economics made the purchase of Norand look interesting. 61)
Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside
agriculture. But after several years, the emerging laptop
PC technology made the hand-held units out-of-date. Pioneer sold Norand at a
loss. 62) Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide
equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if
Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than
it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.
63) The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban made annual formal visits to each of
the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to
employees’ concerns. When he went into the meeting room for his first visit
after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, removed his jacket and
neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his
collar and rolled up his sleeves. What he said next was the last thing I ever
expected to hear a CEO say. He said, "I made a mistake buying
Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the
purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to
take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you. "The
room was quiet for a moment before he asked for questions. A
great man and leader stood before us that day. 64) As I sat listening to him,
I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give
to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
65) In the brief moment of silence before the questions
started, I recalled thinking that I would follow him into any battle.