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One Man's Life journey in the Coffee Industry and Life

So 2 guys walk into a bar at closing on a very busy saturday night. They get to the bar at the very same time and try to order a pint of beer at the very same time, from the same bartender. So the bartender informs them that his taps are almost empty, but he thinks he can get one more good pint off the final tap that is working. The two men look at each other and start to reason with each other and to the bartender why they are worthy of that last pint. The tall man says, hey you know, I have nothing but I have been working all week and saving up to afford this one pint of beer. I have been looking forward to it for a whole week, and the smaller man says, Oh, I hear you, but I have 3 little kids at home and I finally got out of the house, and I just want to enjoy this one pint of ice cold beer, and to enjoy my silence and solitude. Well the tall man with all his compassion says to the smaller man, hey then, let me buy you the beer with my money and we will share it.  Well by now with all the conversing the bell rings, the bartender informs both men the place is closing it is last call. So the tall man says to the father of three, hey I'll buy the beer, sneak out the door, go over to that park across the street and split it. The man agrees and leaves the bar and stands on the sidewalk waiting for the tall man. The tall man smiles, orders the pint, drinks it and walks out the back door. Never to see the other guy again. The other guy waited over a half an hour before he figured it out. Who's right? Think about it, is the tall guy a jerk or was he just doing the other guy a favor? What's the answer?
Well that is kind of where I was in 1994. I had a very important position in a family run business, where there was a lot of family bologna going on. We had a great plan, but not enough talent to really pull it all off. I mean I asked for more skilled people who could have brought us to a new level, but it was not to be. It was up to me, and that had its own limitations. Sometimes the boundaries are very ambiguous, and some times they are so right down the line there is no wiggle room. These are some of the constraints dealing with someone in complete control!
I can't tell you how many times I heard, "you give people enough rope they are going to hang themselves"!! Well that makes a lot of sense. How about you give people the tools to succeed and they will prosper??? I don't don't know but sometimes there was great pleasure when people failed at my company, and I never understood it, I took it personally, the owner didn't. He'd say, "hey you have to be a realist, most people end up disappointing you". Well yeah if you don't tell them what the common goal is and that everyone is here for one reason! But hey, I was learning and forming my opinions on the run. This guy owned the business, and he signed my paycheck. It just didn't make me feel very confident of the long term possibilities. I was torn but still a good soldier. I still can't explain it. I didn't agree with the ideologies, but I also thought I could smooth over a jaded human being, who by the way, built a very successful business, long before I got there. It is the chicken or the egg. But either the chicken needed to die or the egg had to break. What a journey, so far.

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