Growth

Charles Percy, business leader and former senator from Illinois, was elected president and CEO of Bell and Howell at the tender age of twenty-nine. On this auspicious occasion, he was interviewed by a national business newspaper, and the conversation went something like this:

Reporter: “How did you make this incredible jump in such a short time?”

Percy: “I read the book.”

Reporter: “What do you mean?”

Percy: “When I got my first position at Bell and Howell, I applied the standard time-management principles:

Itemize. I listed the results I wanted and the tasks required to achieve them.
Categorize. I put similar items together.
Prioritize. I decided what things were most important and which ones could be put aside for later.
Delegate or eliminate. I decided on what could better be done by someone else and, more important, what didn’t have to be done at all.”

Reporter: “What’s so unusual about that?”

Percy: “Some might find it unusual that I delegated or eliminated everything.”

Reporter: “Everything? Weren’t you worried about having nothing to do?”

Percy: “No, not for long.”

Reporter: “What happened?”

Percy: “Interestingly enough, another position opened up in the department. When the personnel manager called down for the specifications to begin the hiring search, my manager said, ‘We don’t need to hire anyone. Let’s just give the job to Percy. He doesn’t have anything to do.’”

Reporter: “What did you do then?”

Percy: “The same thing I did before: I itemized, categorized, prioritized, and delegated or eliminated.”

Reporter: “How much of your work did you delegate or eliminate this time?”

Percy: “All of it.”

Reporter: “Didn’t that worry you?”

Percy: “Not really. Before long, the department manager’s position became available. When the personnel manager called down for the position specifications, the boss said, ‘We don’t need to hire anybody. We’ll just give the job to Percy. He doesn’t have anything to do.’ This went on for some time, until, five years later, the board of directors was looking for a new chief executive officer. Guess what they said: “Let’s give the job to Percy. He doesn’t have anything to do.’

What do you think about Charles Percy’s story? Was he just being lazy? Was he taking advantage of others? Or was he actually helping others grow? Maybe delegating all of that additional responsibility to others was the best thing he could have done, helping them to progress while giving him a chance to focus on bigger issues.

Resources Library