Deja Vue 1990-Homage to Jerko Sesartic

My best friend in business school Jerko Sesartic from Croatia recently died. He shared with us a story of how he turned around his concrete factory from a million dollar loss to a milllion dollar profit.

When he took over as director, he was honored for his spectatular performance with a grant to attend business school in Switzerland at IMD. He told his 1000 workers that each and every Tuesday he would meet with any worker that wished to talk. He assured them it would be confidential. They could discuss any concern.

So the very first Tuesday there were five hundred employees. After 6 -12 monhts it dwindled down to 5-10, then little by little over the years he only saw 1 or 2 people.

Nevertheless, every Tuesday there was one lady who religiouslycame. She would not talk. She would just cry, and after five or ten minutes she would thank him and depart.

So after 2 or 3 years he eventually had the courage to ask her why she was returning. She politely responded to him: "It's simple. This is why you are a success and we work hard for you and do whatever you require. He then asked her what she meant.

She answered: You do not realize what it was like we were young and residing in a nation for 20, thirty, 40 years where you could trust no one, not even your family. If you said something negative or complained it could be reported to authorities and you could possibly be interrogated and jailed. The loneliness and solitude was terrible and the threat was awful and stifling. When you arrived, you transformed that.

We know we can trust again as a result of you being the boss. You are the first person I and all of us at the manufacturing plant have been shown and we have learned that you can trust your fellow human beings. You have shown us how to have and enjoy and appreciate life and believe in our fellow human beings.

We are no longer alone.

Many thanks!