Sometimes what we hear....
When I was 24 years old i got moved to Atlanta to manage a warehouse cross-dock operation. The operation was subcontracted , so the people I would manage would not be working directly for me. On my first day, I met the two supervisors that would be working for me. One was a young guy from Atlanta called Mike. The other was a more seasoned fellow from New Orleans, called Damien. As much as I was a typical northerner, they were typical southerners.
As we walked across the warehouse floor, watching the workers loading and unloading shipping containers, we talked and were getting along quite well. After all, I was brand new, had a lot to learn and wanted to listen and observe.
Once in a while I would say something like "Its absolutely critical that we get these containers out by 5 pm", or "safety is something I really want to focus on". And the response from Damien was always "I know that's right."
I know that's right? After hearing that for about the fifth time I was getting agitated. To be honest, I wasn't looking for him to tell me if I was right or wrong. I was trying to give some direction.
The younger supervisor saw that i was getting a little hot under the collar and pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong. I told him and he laughed. "Down here, when we say that , we mean that we understand what you are telling us."
Good thing I had a translator!
A bit later I asked them if they wanted to grab a bite to eat. Damien replied with "I done et". Mike leaned over to me and said "He has already eaten." My translator!
Goes to show, we have to take time to learn and not quickly jump to conclusions. Sometimes what we hear is not what is being said!
As we walked across the warehouse floor, watching the workers loading and unloading shipping containers, we talked and were getting along quite well. After all, I was brand new, had a lot to learn and wanted to listen and observe.
Once in a while I would say something like "Its absolutely critical that we get these containers out by 5 pm", or "safety is something I really want to focus on". And the response from Damien was always "I know that's right."
I know that's right? After hearing that for about the fifth time I was getting agitated. To be honest, I wasn't looking for him to tell me if I was right or wrong. I was trying to give some direction.
The younger supervisor saw that i was getting a little hot under the collar and pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong. I told him and he laughed. "Down here, when we say that , we mean that we understand what you are telling us."
Good thing I had a translator!
A bit later I asked them if they wanted to grab a bite to eat. Damien replied with "I done et". Mike leaned over to me and said "He has already eaten." My translator!
Goes to show, we have to take time to learn and not quickly jump to conclusions. Sometimes what we hear is not what is being said!
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