Guy builds a company and after 25 years

playing poker last night, one of our big hitters who is sales manager for a large national frozen pizza maker, just got told that he will be given a promotion to national sales manager, a pay cut, and a total rework on commissions. He is 63 and the owner's son has become his supervisor and has told him his work is unacceptable, and he does not like his spreadsheets. The kid is 27 and coming from a computer background and knows nothing about human connections which get a frozen pizza into national and regional food markets. So the owner's son got in his face, told him he had to do more work, that he was performing horribly, that his spreadsheets were all wrong, and fortunately the man kept his dignity and temper and will prepare for just one more older person being pushed out prematurely from jobs. He has put together some incredible deals with supermarkets and could probably a huge raise going to another emerging market frozen pizza maker with his connections, but big or small companies have it down to an art on older employee disposal.

2seaoat wrote:playing poker last night, one of our big hitters who is sales manager for a large national frozen pizza maker, just got told that he will be given a promotion to national sales manager, a pay cut, and a total rework on commissions.  He is 63 and the owner's son has become his supervisor and has told him his work is unacceptable, and he does not like his spreadsheets.  The kid is 27 and coming from a computer background and knows nothing about human connections which get a frozen pizza into national and regional food markets.  So the owner's son got in his face, told him he had to do more work, that he was performing horribly, that his spreadsheets were all wrong,  and fortunately the man kept his dignity and temper and will prepare for just one more older person being pushed out prematurely from jobs.  He has put together some incredible deals with supermarkets and could probably a huge raise going to another emerging market frozen pizza maker with his connections, but big or small companies have it down to an art on older employee disposal.

Doesn't make sense.

Maybe he can figure out a way to handle the young guy. After all, "Old age and treachery always overcome youth and skill."

Thanks for that link. I haven't heard the song in a good while. I always liked the line "even though we've spent our lives charging up the wrong side of the hill, old age and treachery always overcome youth and skill."
Generally speaking, I've usually found that to be true.
I do love Willie and Waylon. Got to see Waylon out at our fairgrounds several years back and have seen Willie in several different towns at several different times. Even got to talk to him on the phone once when he was at his sister's house. But I always wanted to see them together, , and never got to do that. Just one of those things I'll always regret.

Well I played poker with this guy last night, and he announced that he alone got his company's pizza into whole foods, yet he reports to the owner's 29 year old son who has been riding him trying to get him to quit. He has consulted with legal counsel, and the sudden rash of bad reviews and criticism when he has landed this whale account is going to slow their attempts to get rid of the old guy.

2seaoat wrote:Well I played poker with this guy last night, and he announced that he alone got his company's pizza into whole foods, yet he reports to the owner's 29 year old son who has been riding him trying to get him to quit.  He has consulted with legal counsel, and the sudden rash of bad reviews and criticism when he has landed this whale account is going to slow their attempts to get rid of the old guy.

            Three cheers for him!!  He should keep copious notes and plan to write a book.  Triumph in the end will make a great story we'd all like to read. May he prevail!

I had similar situations before I wised up about employment contracts. It'll take years to resolve... if ever.

I had similar situations before I wised up about employment contracts. It'll take years to resolve... if ever.


I have heard nightmares the last 15 years of people over fifty being targeted and dumped. One of my friends who is dying from an auto immune disease which is attacking his kidneys and liver had huge success in being a manufacturing rep for industrial pumps and air dryers. He would double the sales in his territory, and once he got over fifty they would regularly cut his territory, and add a twenty something person to take that portion of his book of sales. He would take about four years to build his commission numbers up and they would take territory away and give it to a twenty something person. Three times before he medically retired they tried to screw him to force him to quit and he just kept doing better. The problem is that after busting his asz for that company, and at a time he should have been reaping huge returns on his book of sales, they took 60% and then he is sick..........the war on old people in the work force continues.

My pizza guy had also had gotten into Aldi foods which is a growing German grocery company with huge sales. The 29 year old however is telling him his spreadsheets do not do what the company needs. The kid is trained in spreadsheets and this guy was selling pizzas and building this company when the kid was in seventh grade learning how to work an excel spreadsheet.

I talked to him and said blow the kid out of the water by simply going on line and hiring a spreadsheet template contractor to build all kinds of sophisticated templates after talking to him about what he needs, and then set it up on his laptop and email some templates already coded to input into an access database where he could build forms and have a historical data base off current and past spread sheets. Beat the kid at his game by simply showing how insignificant a spread sheet is compared to landing Aldis and whole foods. It does not matter. The kid wants him out, but he is under advise of counsel building a paper trail when the inevitable happens.

Interesting and appalling stuff.  

And oh sure, those upcoming corporate tax savings will trickle down to the little guy via more jobs, higher wages, etc.  

Right.

The elimination of the alternative minimum tax, the attempts to eliminate the estate tax, and the continued need to cut corporate taxes are not about a middle class tax cut. It has all become bull chit, where propaganda has replaced truth or science.

2seaoat wrote:The elimination of the alternative minimum tax, the attempts to eliminate the estate tax, and the continued need to cut corporate taxes are not about a middle class tax cut.  It has all become bull chit, where propaganda has replaced truth or science.

Whether by propaganda or "feelings," truth and simple FACT are being replaced everywhere.

2seaoat wrote:playing poker last night, one of our big hitters who is sales manager for a large national frozen pizza maker, just got told that he will be given a promotion to national sales manager, a pay cut, and a total rework on commissions.  He is 63 and the owner's son has become his supervisor and has told him his work is unacceptable, and he does not like his spreadsheets.  The kid is 27 and coming from a computer background and knows nothing about human connections which get a frozen pizza into national and regional food markets.  So the owner's son got in his face, told him he had to do more work, that he was performing horribly, that his spreadsheets were all wrong,  and fortunately the man kept his dignity and temper and will prepare for just one more older person being pushed out prematurely from jobs.  He has put together some incredible deals with supermarkets and could probably a huge raise going to another emerging market frozen pizza maker with his connections, but big or small companies have it down to an art on older employee disposal.

Well, remind your friend this kind of thing has gone on since time immemorial.  Hard work & good results don't always result in a lifetime of appreciation.  Loyalty in business (and government) rarely lasts forever.   That's just the nature of things.

But tell me .... why did the names Ivanka, Jared, and Donald Jr suddenly jump to mind when I finished reading that?  Dog eat dog, and all that.

(look ... I didn't even have to say their whole names, you all instantly knew who I was talking about.  Like when one says Cher, or Bono, or Madonna, etc.   We have a celebrity government !!! )

EmeraldGhost wrote:

2seaoat wrote:playing poker last night, one of our big hitters who is sales manager for a large national frozen pizza maker, just got told that he will be given a promotion to national sales manager, a pay cut, and a total rework on commissions.  He is 63 and the owner's son has become his supervisor and has told him his work is unacceptable, and he does not like his spreadsheets.  The kid is 27 and coming from a computer background and knows nothing about human connections which get a frozen pizza into national and regional food markets.  So the owner's son got in his face, told him he had to do more work, that he was performing horribly, that his spreadsheets were all wrong,  and fortunately the man kept his dignity and temper and will prepare for just one more older person being pushed out prematurely from jobs.  He has put together some incredible deals with supermarkets and could probably a huge raise going to another emerging market frozen pizza maker with his connections, but big or small companies have it down to an art on older employee disposal.

Well, remind your friend this kind of thing has gone on since time immemorial.  Hard work & good results don't always result in a lifetime of appreciation.  Loyalty in business (and government) rarely lasts forever.   That's just the nature of things.  

But tell me .... why did the names Ivanka, Jared, and Donald Jr suddenly jump to mind when I finished reading that?  Dog eat dog, and all that.

(look ... I didn't even have to say their whole names, you all instantly knew who I was talking about.  Like when one says Cher, or Bono, or Madonna, etc.   We have a celebrity government !!! )

Or Adolph or Vlad or...