June 25, 1992 The day I got back I posted the operations director's position internally. Diane applied. So did Rick M., my board member. I had sent the description to the rest of the board and the consultants. Today, after discussions with Diane and two board members, I ask the current telemarketing supervisor to go back to work in the production area. She handles this surprisingly well. I feel an urgency to hire an operations director quickly.
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June 26, 1992 I meet with one of my favorite clients. For the first time, I let her dictate when we will talk about the project. We spend 45 minutes talking about vacations, families, and our jobs. I consider it a superhuman effort not to flip open my organizer to our agenda. I had never realized how prone I am to getting to the heart of a meeting, talking about the subject at hand. We conduct business for less than 25% of the meeting, and we part. I am uncomfortable, but as with so many things I have been doing this year, I struggle with myself not to slip back into my old habits.
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June 29, 1992 I interview Chris H. for the operations position. She sets a salary requirement that is almost 60% more than my budget for the position. She is coming from a multimillion-dollar company. My favorite advice from my marketing consultant, Jan R., rings in my ears: hire the best person available for the job. And Chris would be perfect. But I just can't justify the expense. I discuss this with Dwight F. and George S. They agree with me. Chris H. and I do agree that she will work for us as a consultant until I can figure out a way to bring her into the company when we can afford her.
June 30, 1992 I have asked Dwight F., who has hired hundreds of managers in his 40-year career, to come to my office and interview Diane and Rick M. He spends an afternoon, about an hour with each of them. I am not in the room either time. He leaves before we have time to discuss the interviews, so I call him at home. Dwight says that Diane's experience while I was in Italy has her primed. She wants the job badly, knows our current operation well, and could hit the ground running. Though Rick is a good candidate, Dwight feels he would need six months or more to get oriented to the company. Also, Dwight reminds me that coming to a small company after being a senior manager at a major university might be a culture shock for Rick. That is true. If he needs a new chair, he probably calls Purchasing. If he needs computers, he writes them into the next year's budget. I still consider discount mail-order catalogs to be required professional reading.
I know based on the board's previous advice that they will recommend I keep looking. However, my instincts tell me we need someone now. I hire Diane on a three-month probation and agree to suspend the search to give her a chance to prove herself and give her a chance to see if she likes the job. If she doesn't, I agree she could go back to her old sales position. Six months ago I would have selected Diane purely on common sense and gut reaction. I still reach the same conclusion but feel more relaxed about the decision. The written job description is a first, also. The board never specifically asked for it, but I have a growing sense of accountability to them.
July 1, 1992 Tonight I bring my paperwork home in a box with two handles. I did not accept my bookkeeper at the end of his probation, and I am now keeping all the books for the company. I also have to prepare a training schedule for Diane and get our bookkeeping back into some order simulating standard accounting practices before handing it over to a new person. The board is a help, yet I still feel I am out there by myself, really. Diane may be the beginning of a new chapter for us -- the first time that I get out of the way and really let employees do what they do best. I also feel this growing concern about the vagueness of my dealings with the board. I am not as "in charge and focused" as I would like to believe I am. Where are we headed? I'm determined, once I slide the operations plates over to Diane's sticks, to begin work on that. And maybe, thanks to the board, I'll begin to scrutinize everything more closely than ever before. I am tired.
* * *
The Diary of a Small-Company Owner, Continued . . .
Is it going to be possible for Brattina ever to get out from under the daily details of running her company? Will the board, in the end, turn out to be a help or a hindrance to her dreams of growing DRM? And what about Diane? Does she have enough experience? Will Brattina really give her free rein?
Look for Part Two in June
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Founder: Anita F. Brattina
Company: Direct Response Marketing Inc., Pittsburgh
Formed: April 1, 1984, as a direct-marketing consultant
Other Shareholders: None
Initial Capital Investment: $27,000 in personal funds
Current Primary Business: Telemarketing service bureau providing lead generation, data collection, research, and fund-raising
Primary Markets: Manufacturing, high-tech industries, communications, medical supply, health care, and nonprofits
Sales-Revenue History:
1989 $248,138
1990 $268,723
1991 $367,422
