The Future of Business:
The Graybar Way
I believe that
if you live right, life has a way of coming back around to give you what you
have been giving to others.
Some call it
karma, some reaping and sewing; I call it a wonderful life.
My work
affords me the opportunity to meet and greet people who do the things that we
don’t pay attention to but could never live without.
We’ve all
sat behind a Graybar truck and have had the benefit of their business.
I recently had
the chance to meet the folks who provide electrical, communications and data
networking services throughout this nation.
I’ve worked
with amazing companies and have met some really powerful people. This past
weekend, I had a chance to peek into the future.
Every so
often, I work with an all women’s audience. I love this work. I believe that as more women succeed in business, everyone will have the opportunity to succeed in
life.
We’ve all got a
ways to go; men need to sponsor and support more women and women have to do a much better job supporting each other, but
that’s a conversation for another day.
When I’m
lecturing, I like to get to the meeting place early. I want to take in the space before it’s
filled with the great minds that will occupy it.
This past
weekend, I walked towards the meeting rooms a little lost and a little
confused. A young man wearing the company’s logo shirt stopped and asked if he
could help me.
I thanked
him and told him that I was looking for the Women in Graybar or W.I.N.G.S
breakfast and he smiled and said, I’ll show you the way. The young man told me his name and informed
me that he did not have the privilege to attend but he was sure that I would
enjoy it.
I actually
scratched my head. I was confused and amused at the same time.
I’ve been
speaking at women’s meetings since I became a woman but I’ve never seen a man
yearning to attend one.
There were
other folks sitting outside of the room. They all acknowledged me and said good
morning.
I walked in
the room expecting it to be empty, but I was surprised to be met by the CEO
herself.
Kathleen Mazzarella (The Margin Ninja) is brilliant, energetic, warm and compassionate and she is the
future of business.
Kathy is one of two woman to lead a Fortune 500 company of this kind, and the only one of this size but she is as humble as
she is powerful.
Kathy extended
her hand to greet me, squinted her eyes, read me faster than I’ve ever been
read and decided that a hug was my preferred greeting; she was right.
As the room
began to fill up, I was surprised and somewhat proud to see that this women's event was attended by men as well. The men made up about 40-45 percent of the
room.
In an industry where men make up an overwhelming percentage of the workforce, and women a tiny percent of the leadership, Graybar is truly remarkable.
After I
spoke, folks stood in line to greet me. They all shared heart-warming stories, tears
and laughter.
What moved
me to my own tears was the number of people asking what they could do to change
the world. Some wanted to find young folks to sponsor, some wanted to combat
racism and sexism and some wanted to level the playing field.
Kathy, the
CEO was still there waiting for me and when everyone else was gone, I asked her
how she managed to find so many amazing people.
She smiled
and said, “We hire nice people. Business is work, it should be done with good
folks.”
We stood and
talked longer (actually we closed the place down) and I left smiling.
Life is
coming back around.
Graybar was founded in 1869. It’s got a remarkable history
of firsts in electricity, telegraphs, telephones, fire alarms and much more. You may not know who they are or what they do, but you can not live without them.
Graybar is
hiring. If you are smart, flexible and kind, if
you want the world to be a better place and know that it starts with you; if
you want to work hard, learn, think, grow and be happy, Graybar has 800
positions that may just have your name on one of them. To learn more
The Graybar
way is the future of business, it’s smart with a heart. Get on board or be left
behind.
Be you, be well, be the
future.
Bertice Berry, PhD.
Nice post. I was unable to attend that event, but I've heard nothing but great things from the meeting you held. I spoke to a couple young women that attended that were one of the vendors at the trade show and they said they needed tissues afterward and got in that line to hug you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story and passion with the group from Graybar and our supplier peers.
Todd
Graybar
National Market Manager
As a male employee of Graybar Electric I do believe we will be a Greater, Stronger and more Successful company as we all support our female employees. The four Greatest women I've even known would agree with me. My mother, my Wife, my Sister and our President Kathy Mazzarella.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great story! Gave me chills and makes we wish I was there to meet you.
ReplyDelete"it's smart with a heart"...... my Favorite part! That describes us!
ReplyDeleteGreat read thank you for attending and speaking. Wish I could have been there. Sounds like a special moment.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post to read and makes me proud to be part of the Graybar team. I hope you enjoyed your time with us, hopefully you will be at another future WINGS meeting.
ReplyDelete