………………………Anne Klein was close to all the people that worked for her…..She appreciated every single one of them, and knew it took a TEAM to make her company successful. Anne was the nucleus of her company….Every thing revolved around her, and no decisions were made without her approval….even though she had partners. They all knew the success of the company was due to her vision, and hers alone….When I started working there I soon realized how loyal and loving the entire company had been to her. I knew I had to EARN their respect. I made it my business to meet and know everyone’s name, and not hide out in the design studio. I hung out with the sales people, the cutters, the fabric people, and of course my pattern makers and sewers….every single person….I even made friends with Andre, who cleaned the place. We all figured out that with all of the overtime he put in “cleaning” he was the highest paid employee….LOL……As time went by we all got to know and respect one another. That’s the way Anne always wanted it …..one big family…..and I knew it was important for me to continue these close and warm relationships……..One day I was in the back room hanging with my buddies…..the cutters….They were an awesome group of men, and Donna and I had them working nonstop. We literally made hundreds of samples a season, and they cut them all! They were having a lunch break, and I went to join them. They were truly a bunch of crazy guys, and always teased one another and had great stories….It was truly a family….the whole company was a family and most people worked there from day one. Some had even worked with Anne at a previous company she designed for…..When i left the company 20 years later, many of the same workers were still there….some had retired, but most were were still with the company….On this one occasion, as we were having lunch together, and joking around, one of the cutters came over to me…..I so wish I could remember his name. I see and hear him as clear as a bell. He was a tall lanky guy with a very dry sense of humor…….He handed me this framed dollar bill. At first I didn’t understand why he was handing it to me. Then he said to look at it closer. That’s when I noticed Anne Klein had signed it! He told me the story how she liked to place bets with the guys…..but for only a dollar! I don’t remember what the bet was for…..It could have been about anything….How long it would take him to cut 40 pairs of pants???? Silly things……He won this particular bet, and she gave him the framed and signed one dollar bill……By this point we had all become close……He said he wanted me to have it!!!!! I was flabbergasted for so many reasons. I knew this meant a lot to him, and now he was giving me this great memento…….It meant so much to me…..I realized I was now one of them…..I was now part of the Anne Klein family…..It hangs on the wall in my office……I cherish this dollar bill, and what this present means to me…..These are simple little stories that would have disappeared with time, but have great meaning to only me……I’m very happy to share this rememberance.
They should add this story to the management classes at business schools — how to run a company where everyone feels important and works as part of the whole. What a wonderful team you got to join, and then lead.
What a wonderful story, Mr. Dell Olio. Thank you for sharing. In this world, we all need others in our lives to succeed. We need the grocery store worker so we can buy groceries to sustain our bodies, the street maintenance workers so we can drive to our necessary destinations, and we need the smiles and kindness from others to keep our spirits when they are lie. My life has been lived with the philosophy that strangers are friends we just haven’t yet met. I have yet to meet a stranger, but I have met many, many friends over my 69 years. Your tall, lanky friend thought so highly of you, as we all do, that he wanted you to have something g special to him. I know that it would warm his heart immensely to know that his gift meant just as much to you, all these years later.
What a wonderful story, Mr. Dell Olio. Thank you for sharing. In this world, we all need others in our lives to succeed. We need the grocery store worker so we can buy groceries to sustain our bodies, the street maintenance workers so we can drive to our necessary destinations, and we need the smiles and kindness from others to keep our spirits when they are lie. My life has been lived with the philosophy that strangers are friends we just haven’t yet met. I have yet to meet a stranger, but I have met many, many friends over my 69 years. Your tall, lanky friend thought so highly of you, as we all do, that he wanted you to have something g special to him. I know that it would warm his heart immensely to know that his gift meant just as much to you, all these years later.