Ed Flom, Chairman and CEO of Florida Steel Corporation, addressed the Harvard Business School Club of Florida West Coast on the subject of “Leadership.” To illustrate one of his points, Flom told this story:
I once became really annoyed at my daughter Julie (who was two or three years old at the time) and decided on an old Army routine to punish her. I told her that whenever she spoke to me, every sentence had to begin and end with the word “Sir.” “Sir, may I go out and play, sir?” “Sir, the boys are picking on me, sir!”
Later I had to go to the drugstore and invited Julie to accompany me (provided, of course, that she sit in the back seat of the car). About halfway to our destination, I felt a little hand on the back of my neck and heard this statement: “Sir, I love you, sir.” That did it! I quickly changed routines and learned yet another lesson.
To view this resource, log in or sign up for a subscription plan
