Back from the Motor City

This will be short and sweet as the work on my desk is unbelievable. I flew into Detroit on Saturday morning, getting up at 4:15 AM to catch a 6:00 AM flight to Phoenix. This is the same scheduled flight that I was on way back on September 11, 2001 when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York. I've taken that flight four or five times since the event and it always brings it back for me, the feeling of helplessness and disbelief that a small insignificant nation would attack the great United States of America. I stopped for an hour and a half in Phoenix and was able to eat some breakfast and begin to wake up after sleeping on the plane from Sac to Phoenix. I feel sorry for my seatmates as I always get an aisle seat for more legroom and then fall fast asleep effectively imprisoning the middle and window seat passengers.

The flight from Phoenix to Detroit was three and a half hours of sheer boredom and I arrived to find the limo driver holding a handmade piece of cardboard with "Burns and Wilcox" written on it at the baggage claim area. We met up with the Fresno Branch Manager and made the half hour drive out to Farmington Hills. We meet and stay at the Westin Hotel and it is a nice facility. That said, I arrived at five-thirty tired and ready for a shower and the hotel did NOT have my room clean. They told me that they'd call housekeeping and they'd have the room ready in five minutes. I told them to "take ten, I want clean linens".

I met one on one with Alan Kauffman, the CEO and owner of our subchapter "S" corporation on Sunday afternoon. Burns and Wilcox is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kauffman Group, so this was the big cheese. He asked me how I thought we were doing in Sacramento. I told him that we were finally in the black and would make a small profit in 2005 of $100,000 after losing money the previous 5 years and losing $200,000 in 2004. I thought that the right people were in place going forward and that Sacramento was on the verge of breaking out as a branch. Alan proceeded to tell me that our branch was the worst performing branch in the company and that our ROI of .88% was so bad that if we were a grocery store, he'd close us down. He was unhappy with my personal production and wanted me to take a more active role in production and let the office "run itself". I was floored and saw the turnaround of the branch as a huge success and a personal accomplishment. I left the meeting deflated and discouraged. That was Sunday afternoon.

Monday night at the awards banquet, Alan was giving out awards and said that, "there is a big success story within the company and that this young man has a great future with our organization and that he has turned a losing branch into a branch on the verge of a breakout....The Gold Branch of the Year for Division III goes to Ken Lyon and Sacramento!" I sat stunned at my table and walked up with some seriously conflicted emotions. To say that I'm enormously confused is an understatement. I left the meeting Sunday figuring that it was time to find another job and spent Monday night fielding congratulations from my colleagues.

I've asked Harvey, the regional VP to come out to Sacramento next week and address the staff. I don't know how to address the conflicting images given to me at the meeting. Are we doing well and on the verge of something big or are we the "worst performing office in the company?" Are they happy with the success of the office, but unhappy with my performance? Did I fall asleep and wake up in the Bizarro world? Clarity would be a welcome respite for my troubled mind right now.

On a brighter note, the remodel of our house (Phase I) is finished. The tile is in and looks great. The backsplash is particularly nice, where Brian and Darla designed a nice effect above the cooktop with tumbled marble. The countertop is in and looks excellent. I will get pictures put on the site on Monday. I got home Wednesday about 1:00 PM after getting up at 5:00AM that morning for a 6:00 AM pickup at the hotel. That was 2:00 AM California time for anyone paying attention. I got home and Brian was working on the backsplash. Darla took off to have lunch with Daniel on his birthday and I took a long shower and a short nap after. I awoke and went with Darla to Home Depot to pick out some new baseboards for the house and to also look at carpeting. We decided after the new tile floors, to replace the existing carpet in the house. We have carpet in the living room, family room and all four bedrooms. I got home about 4:00 PM and started working on the baseboards. I wanted to do the laundry room so we could put the washer and dryer back in there and I could park the Mustang in the garage. I also did the front entry so we could put the armoire back up and get the coats and clothes out of the master bath tub. Finally, I did the kitchen and inside the refrigerator nook so that we could get the refrigerator out of the family room and back into the kitchen. I honestly don't do well with clutter. Brian was amazed that I could fly home from the east coast and get right into work. Well, it needed to be done.

The results of the remodel are amazing and I look forward to the new carpeting later this month that will finish the project. Now, we'll just have the master bathroom, the roof and the windows on the back side of the house, including two sliders to replace. Darla also wants a new refrigerator, dishwasher and eventually a new oven and microwave. Aside from those minor items, we are good to go here at the Lyon homestead.

Well, as mentioned, my work awaits and apparently I am being solely measured on my own production. My production naturally has taken a toll to running this branch and getting our Modesto Service office up to speed. I have my marching orders, the problem is it's hard to lead a team through dense fog. I'll manage...or maybe that was a poor choice of words. God Bless and I'll update this after the weekend. Ciao.