Business

I’ve thought it over Boss, and I Quit!

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2021

Jim Cathcart

That was the headline of my resignation letter in 1977. “I’ve thought it over and I quit!”

I was the Senior Program Manager of Individual Development programs for the 356,000 members of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees. My role was to develop, promote, train and manage these programs through a volunteer field force of 250 young men in all 50 states. It was a thrilling job that included much travel and many speeches to hundreds or thousands of Jaycees at conventions nationwide.

My job allowed me to collaborate with my heroes like: W. Clement Stone, who had been partners with Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, the most popular success book of all time; and Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World, and president of Success Unlimited Magazine. I visited The White House and met President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office for a one-on-one photo. It was the most exciting time of my 30 year life up to that point.

I will forever be grateful for the privilege of serving in this position, and for the profound lessons I learned while there.

And then I mastered my new job.

My boss was Don Varnadore and his boss, our Executive VP, was Al Simensen. Don was my mentor and my champion. He believed in what I could do. Al was skeptical. He thought I was “a bit much”, sort of a “Mister Motivation” and he questioned whether I was real or all show.

That was all the challenge I needed. For over a year, I worked long hours and gave way more to the job than was reasonable to expect. Many times I worked late into the night and occasionally fell asleep at my desk. My productivity was immense! I was producing high quality work (their opinion, not mine) and winning awards for my department. I wrote a new Leadership Dynamics program and Communication Dynamics that sold over 76,000 copies in the first couple of years. I worked with the Million Dollar Round Table to publish “Family Time, a Revolutionary Old Idea” for the Jaycees. I curated an audio album by W. Clement Stone called the “Personal Success Series.” These were just a few highlights of the many great projects I championed while there.

Try Try Again

But, despite my massive efforts and measurable results, I was never selected as “Staff Officer of the Month.” The reason that mattered to me was the awardees would have their name added to a permanent plaque that was displayed in the lunchroom at Jaycees Headquarters where we all worked. There were about 100 of us at the time. I had never been considered a true contributor in my life before.

I went to Don Varnadore and asked what I needed to do to be selected. He coached me, but still no acknowledgement came. So, I took on even more. I enrolled in night courses at the local community college. I joined a Toastmasters club. I volunteered to conduct before work and after work training programs for the HQ Staff for no pay. These were highly popular and focused on job related skills; public speaking, travel tips and strategies, speed reading, effective listening, and other topics. I also crafted a plan for merging the personnel management and training of our staff into the duties of the Individual Development programs office. I was not asking for a raise, just more opportunity to show my abilities. Still, no permanent acknowledgment. It mattered to me that I could achieve a lasting recognition for my contributions. Nada.

Miracles still exist

One day, as I was returning from a trip to Utah to study the Family Home Evening program developed by the Mormon Church, I said a prayer. “Lord, I’ve done all I know to do. Please take the wheel and guide me as to what to do next. And, please be bold, don’t hint. I want to know it was you.”

The following day I had an appointment to meet with Joe Willard, the general agent for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma office. He offered me a full time job as his confidant and advisor, plus trainer for his 19 insurance agents. He also offered me a penthouse suite corner office and use of the secretarial staff for my professional speaking career. Gasp! This happened on the very next day!

I thanked God and wrote a letter to Al Simensen. The headline said, “I’ve thought it over Boss, and I quit!”

My departure was amicable and I still have friends from those days long ago. My new life with Mass Mutual led to six years of training, consulting and speaking for them nationwide and in their home office in Massachusetts. I went on to speak to most of the world’s leading insurance companies and was once the opening keynote speaker for the Million Dollar Round Table! My life was, is and has been blessed on so many levels. As of today I have delivered more than 3,300 paid speaking engagements in all 50 states, most of Canada and literally around the world. Joe Willard became one of my lifelong closest friends and my career has blossomed beyond my greatest dreams. I’m grateful, deeply grateful.

What this means to you is:

Sometimes your best efforts, even with great measurable results, are not going to generate the kind of acknowledgment you may desire. My goal was to leave my mark, to be counted among the people who mattered. I wanted to be able to see my name on the wall along with my predecessors. But it was not meant to be…at least not there.

Upon leaving the Jaycees, I commenced a career that has taken me around the world three times, having 20 books I’ve written published by the nation’s leading publishing houses, inducted into the Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame and I’ve served as President of the National Speakers Association. All of the great awards, certificates and acknowledgments that are bestowed upon professional speakers have been provided to me and my feelings of incompleteness from the Jaycees experience have long since been wiped away by rewards of “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, poured into my lap.” Luke 6:38

The same principle applies to you.

What have you been pining for, dreaming about, and hoping to earn? Have you been giving more than enough but not receiving the outcomes you targeted? Maybe it’s time to give up…control. Just as the song says, “Put your hand in the hand of The Man who stilled the water…calmed the sea…” Pray for guidance and then look and listen. God doesn’t need to hint. You will know if it is right and from Him.

When people say to me, “I think God is trying to tell me something”, I say, “Really, you think the Creator just drops subtle clues and expects you to pick up on them?” Maybe your prayers have been more like pleading rather than placing yourself in His hands. Just pause, take a different look, get a broader perspective. It may well be that a slight change in direction could put you a path that will make all your dreams come true.

Do your best where you are, grow where you are planted. When you outgrow your current place, branch out and look for a new direction, but don’t stop doing more than you are required to do. Overfill your place. Give full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Those who do this will be noticed and rewarded even if not from the direction they’ve been seeking. Be the best bargain of a worker that anyone could ask for, give your employer and your customers a raise through your performance and your compensation will surely come.

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Productivity in Flight

You can handle so much in the air that you’ll have less to do going forward

Published

2 months ago

July 16, 2023

Jeff Davidson

When you are flying and told to put your cell phone in airplane mode, you might think that your productivity will suffer. However, when I turn on my email function and dictate into the phone, even surrounded by the heavy airplane noise, my cell phone, an Android model, works well with few transcription errors.

This particular article was written at 35,000 feet. I was in airplane mode at the time, with all kinds of sounds around me. Yet the phone faithfully recorded my dictated words.

If I have notes with me, and enough time on the flight, I’ll be able to dash off three or four articles in one sitting. Chances are you have the same capability.

Maybe you’re not writing articles per se, but you could be creating future blog entries, making notes to your staff or to your boss, or writing messages that you’ll send to friends and relatives. So what if you can’t send them at the moment that you finished dictating? You’ll be landing soon enough, and you’ll have the capabilities to resume sending and receiving email. Then, bingo! You’ve handled so much in the air that now you have less to do going forward.

– – – – –

Business

The Cancel Culture at Artspace in Raleigh, North Carolina

Making a federal case out of a 20 second, honest mistake

Published

3 months ago

July 7, 2023

Jeff Davidson

American Thinker — The USA, the land of the free and home of the brave. With its weaponized DoJ and FBI, are we truly free? And what about tyranny at the state level? As part of their pro-LGBTQ+ agenda, the House Democrat Party in Michigan has passed a law to fine or incarcerate residents using the wrong pronouns in addressing another person.

The bill, HB 4474, criminalizes making somebody “feel threatened” by terminology including employing the wrong pronouns. The proposed legislation would replace the current Ethnic Intimidation Act. If enacted, it will be a felony hate crime in Michigan, with up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, for causing protected classes to “feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened,” regarding gender identity or sexual orientation.

I Am a Fugitive from Justice

I am blessed to reside in North Carolina, not Michigan, where my recent crime is not yet a felony. My letter, directly below, to the Artspace Board of Directors and, below that, the correspondence leading up to my letter, spell out the grievous sin for which I am guilty! As you will see, clearly, I am a lost and nonredeemable soul:

Greetings Artspace Board Members,

I am a six-year volunteer with Art Space of Raleigh, having started in March of 2014, and serving through March of 2020 until COVID-19 shut us down. I resumed volunteering once the “First Friday” visitors were back in swing.

During my time as a volunteer, I was on site, perhaps 60 to 64 times, missing about 10 First Fridays due to my travel as a professional speaker and cruise ship speaker. My volunteer experience initially included serving wine and beer. I then became the food server for many years. The supervisors, including Mary Kennedy, were glad because I was one of the few who never consumed the Artspace food!

During some First Fridays, I stayed on for a second 3-hour shift, on short notice, when other scheduled volunteers did not appear.

In addition, I served as a volunteer on some weekends during Family Days directing a variety of activities for kids. I also volunteered at the annual benefactors banquet – a black tie affair with lavish hors d’oeuvres and entertainment.

After COVID-19, I was assigned to the education room. During such sessions, parents with children or children on their own would create some type of art or craft. The new supervisor was David, who praised me on several occasions during my nights of volunteering, as I always arrived early, took few breaks, did not require refreshments, and handled crowds of all sizes.

In March 2023, I was a volunteer once again. Then, I was traveling on the first Friday in April and in May, so I was not available again until June. hen I signed up for June weeks later, I saw that my sign-up had been removed. When I re-signed, I was informed by David via email, out of the blue (see below) that I had committed a grievous sin 10 weeks before and could no longer volunteer. Ten weeks.

I have included, verbatim, sequential correspondence between myself and David.

Jeff Davidson

Hi Jeff,

I apologize for not responding to you sooner. I am going to politely ask that you no longer volunteer with Artspace moving forward. We have appreciated your support, but my colleague Danny reported that you used inappropriate language that could’ve made attendees feel uncomfortable while volunteering during March First Friday.

At Artspace, we’re striving to create a space that people from all walks of life can feel comfortable in and we need volunteers who reinforce that culture. Again, thank you for the support but I feel its best if you no longer volunteer with Artspace.

Best, David

Greetings David,

I did not knowingly use any inappropriate language at any time. Before you came on board, I was a volunteer for 6 years every First Friday at Artspace, and was widely acknowledged as an asset on First Fridays.

Now, I hear this kind of accusation. What specific language does Danny have to report? I would be most interested in knowing the specifics as opposed to some general accusation. If you’re going to make an accusation, let me hear what it is.

Jeff,

I’m happy to give you a call later today to discuss. However, as the Director of Community Engagement and the person who manages Artspace’s volunteer program this is my final decision. Please let me know the best time to call you today.

Thank you, David

David,

You can call me anytime {he never did, I had to force a call}, I’m interested knowing a couple of things:

* What does Danny say that I said, verbatim?

* Next, if I happened to say something that he thought was inappropriate, why did he not tell me at the time?

* Why does it take 3 months to find out such news?

* Also, don’t be concerned that I’m going to attempt to continue to be a volunteer.

* Nobody, including me, wants to be around anybody that does not like them.

I received praise from you the times we’ve encountered each other, and now you’ve taken the word of an associate that I’ve done something so terrible that I must be banned forever from Artspace, without even first talking to me about it.

This is leadership?

Jeff Davidson

No News by Phone

On the phone, I could not get him to give me any specifics or even anything of substance, just vague utterance about some terrible faux pas that merited instantly canceling me. So, I called to his boss, who he had not informed. She was surprised because she had seen me many times on the job and knew that I was on asset. To follow up, I sent her the email trail:

Greetings Ms. Jones,

Here is the email trail [all included above] leading to the phone call in which David would tell me nothing and when I attempted to gain any useful information about the alleged faux pas, he hung up on me. In my 20+ years of volunteering for WUNC, the Flower Shuttle, Tunnel to Towers, Cystic Fibrosis, March of Dimes, and the NC Museum of Arts, I have never experienced anything remotely like this.

Thanks for your attention, Jeff Davidson

At the request of his boss, David sent me a formal letter, now adding on other previously unannounced “multiple reports on your inability to follow instructions during volunteer shifts.” You and I have seen this before: someone has a weak case so they throw in more vague, (bogus) assertions to “shore up” their argument. Then, when they stonewall you by phone and you get upset, they throw that in as well.

Case closed: looked at all the infractions!

Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your six years of service to Artspace. Our organization appreciates your continued support over the years assisting with First Fridays and other programs. Unfortunately, we no longer see Artspace’s volunteer program as a good fit for you, and we will no longer need your assistance as a volunteer.

We have come to this decision after we received multiple reports on your inability to follow instructions during volunteer shifts. A staff member reported you made inappropriate comments related to gender in reference to a family visiting Artspace during First Friday on March 3, 2023. Everyone is welcome at Artspace and our staff strives to create a safe space that is welcoming to people of all ages, abilities, genders, and backgrounds. We want to retain volunteers who will reinforce that expectation and respect the culture that has been established.

Not only did your comments make that staff member feel uncomfortable, but dismissive comments related to gender identity could have jeopardized that family’s positive experience at Artspace. The hostile behavior you displayed when confronted about this incident over the phone only further displays that it is time for us to part ways. For those reasons, I am respectfully requesting you no longer volunteer with Artspace moving forward.

We thank you for your service and hope you find success volunteering with another local organization. Please know you are still welcome to visit Artspace and attend our community programs.

David,

Multiple reasons? Hardly. Thanks for your continued non-explanation. If you’re referring to the two little kids, dressed in bright colors, with long flowing hair, giggling at the back table for over an hour, who I mistook as girls, it was an honest mistake that anyone could have made. There was zero malice on my part. I was seeking to help them with their art project, as all other youths required, roughly, only 30 to 40 minutes.

I said to them, verbatim, “Ladies, can I help?” They had been unsupervised for at least an hour, and then a parent, apparently their parent, seated nearby said, “They’re boys.” I immediately told them I was sorry for their error. Not the world’s worst offense, and highly likely not the first time someone has erred in relation to them.

I then went immediately to Danny and asked him about the two youths and he said they were boys. I told him that I had mistook them. That is the whole incident.

You, David, apparently want to make this a federal case, and make defamatory statements as if I’m some type of troglodyte with a history of bad behavior. I strongly sense that you were looking for a way to depose me as part your personal brand of cancel culture.

As for the phone conversation, you were intentionally vague and unresponsive when I had a legitimate right to know what I had done that was worthy of your punishment. I asked for any type of detail and you offered next to nothing. And you kept accusing me of pressing you, and then you hung up on me. Even now, it has taken several more weeks to get any kind of information from you and I had to go to your supervisor, at that.

For shame, David.