Eating My Words

I am here to tell a story about a young employee named Graciela. She goes by Gracie in the office. Gracie was born on the road in Mexico when her mother was working her way north to get across the border. Her father is one of several men her mother met earning her way north. Gracie is a not so good looking, heavy, a quite brown girl. She works as a shipping clerk for us.

My job is CFO and my duties rarely take me into the bowels of of the company. But that day I was down there because a large client was on an emergency delivery and the delivery was delayed. I had a heated, profane, discussion with the Director of Supply Chain. Unfortunately the door was open and Gracie overheard my overly aggressive chewing out. Her eyes skewered me, her face spoke for her. Who was I to speak to her boss like that? It had been a long time since I had felt embarrassed at work.

I sent her a g*ft certificate to Amazon, with an apology. She refused the olive branch. I took her and her boss to lunch, she was not keen on being seen with me. This young woman put me in my place. And getting in her good graces was my new one and only goal. The question was, how low did I have to lower your head, surrender your pride? I went to her home, flowers, and an apology. I discovered in her mother a woman of doing, not words. In Gracie a woman of quiet honor, headstrong, but right. She accepted the flowers for her mother, gave me a talking to I deserved, questioned whether I had apologized to her boss.

I called for a shutdown of the plant, brought the executive team with me, apologized to her boss, in front of her 350 coworkers. I promised our employees it would not happen again. Respect I was reminded, is earned, with your behavior. I learned from a quiet woman, a woman of character what Grace really means.

Thank you for your attention,