As for how the company recovered from its crisis, the lesson seems to be that Braccini refused to retreat. Yes, his program of employee involvement ran into some sullen realities, both of group dynamics and of business. It is hard to redirect lines of authority. It is hard to expect people to take on responsibilities they aren't used to. Some won't adapt. And the whole thing is likely to be costly. But time heals wounds, and expenses don't last forever. Besides, Braccini figures, the ultimate solution was more involvement, not less. He instituted the weekly meeting of the entire company, with lunch provided by each department on a rotating basis. The "lunch chats," as they were quickly dubbed, became a vehicle to address grievances, to reassert solidarity, and above all to reestablish that this was a company with a rare degree of openness and common purpose:
* At an early meeting, Braccini and Robert Landau laid out the company's finances, showing the low profits for 1991 and the increases in health-insurance costs. No, they said, no layoffs were in the offing. The new computer would increase Pro's growth capacity -- which meant more opportunities, not lost jobs. Admittedly, the controller had been let go in January. But that was an individual matter, and the company would soon be hiring a new one.
* At another, employees voted to reestablish the teams. The CIC said it was working on it; Steve asked for, and got, a sizable group of volunteers to speed up the process. Soon, someone proposed that the newly constituted teams begin entering data into the new computer. That would not only get them going, it would let all the members familiarize themselves with the new system.
* At a third, several employees worked themselves up to confront general manager Landau about his management style. But what beforehand struck one employee as a "lynch mob" turned into a civil and productive confrontation. You're too cold, too blunt, said the employees. Hey, give me a break, replied Landau -- I've been here only a few months, and I'm feeling uncomfortable, too. Afterward, feelings softened. "Robert has totally blossomed," says a warehouse worker admiringly.
In fact, the lunch chat I attend, for all its seemingly trivial discussion of who would keep the coffee area clean, shows the culture Braccini has created. Sitting around in the cafeteria, eating lasagna and salad, 35 or 40 people from every part of the company assume they have a right to hear and take part in a dozen different discussions. How the company covers the phones while people are being trained on the new computer. Whether Pro will continue buying its San Francisco 49er season tickets for employee use. Who will work on the newsletter. People shout, crack jokes, carry on private conversations, challenge top managers (and one another) in no uncertain terms. Yet somehow the discussions come to closure, often with someone volunteering to do a survey to get more employee input. Even that dispute over the coffee area, once I think about it, doesn't seem quite so trite. Sure, most companies just assign some secretary, the low person on the totem pole, to make coffee and clean up, and maybe that's the most efficient way of getting the job done. But there's something to be said, in a company that relies on everyone's feeling that quality depends on him or her, for taking turns cleaning up. "Looking top-notch is a sign of quality," says Cheryl Caglia. "It gets as small as that."
What happens at pro will be worth watching for the next several months, indeed for the next couple of years: despite its accomplishments, the company's transformation is by no means complete. Before long the Braccinis will be moving to Austin. Steve is laying plans to manage an inventory depot not just for the parts Pro stocks but for other Applied Materials suppliers, too. For him, it is a chance to go back to what he likes best -- hands-on start-up mode. Cinde, who has recently been a consultant to the company, may get involved again, too; she now admits to being at least a partial convert to Steve's ideas. If Austin succeeds, other branch facilities will soon be on the drawing board. "We're going to double our sales in 36 months," promises Robert Landau.
But Landau will have to maintain the renewed momentum among employees at San Jose. The teams may be restarted, but they won't automatically begin functioning smoothly. The Continuous Improvement Council has taken on a new member, but it's still having trouble functioning effectively. Here, too, the prescription on the table is more involvement, not less. Braccini and Landau have agreed to make more financial information regularly available to employees, and Braccini is thinking of eventually establishing an employee stock ownership plan. But both moves will require sizable amounts of time and training before they make a difference in the way the company operates.
Not being a gambling man, I'm not sure of the odds on Pro Fasteners' eventual emergence as a distribution company par excellence, one of those models for others to emulate and learn from. I am sure that companies setting out along that road can learn a lot from Pro already. Like how rough the journey can be. And how long it can take. In some respects, after all, Pro is still warming up.
"These last two years," says Steve Braccini, "have been about learning to walk, then trot, then run fast. Now we're ready to compete."
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Research assistance for this article was provided by Martha E. Mangelsdorf.
