Growing up I’ve had some interesting and not so elegant jobs. Early on in my working career I cleaned sewers for the McDonald, Ohio Street Department. When I worked for a summer at Cooper Weld Steel in Warren, Ohio I hooked pink steel bars in an area called the cradle for the cranes to pick up and move. Another job I had at that mill was to jump down on the rail tracks and shovel the steel slough out from between the rails and scramble back out before the next railcar came with another red hot ingot. Talk about sweating on the job!  

In all sorts of organizations there are jobs that have to be done whether they are pleasant or not. It doesn’t matter, they have to be done.  Some will complain and others don’t but the people who perform those tasks do the whole group a service, right? As for those other employees, I’m sure many feel that they are just glad someone is doing it and that it isn’t them. The attitude of the workers who are doing the must do jobs tells us a great deal.   We’ve got to admire those people who take on those tasks with good humor. 

This week I saw a job that raised the idea of taking one for the group to a whole new level for me. I had the pleasure to tour a small plant that is part of the Heluva Good Cheese Company. This little manufacturing plant in Wolcott, NY makes horseradish. They grind horseradish for 10 hours a day four days a week. Frank is the grinder. His work station is kept behind a large plastic barrier. I took one step into his space and my eyes instantly teared up and closed, I couldn’t keep them open. Frank is in there for most of the day four days a week. I asked him if you desensitized. His answer was simple and straightforward. “No.” His supervisor told me, he never complains.  When Frank isn’t grinding he’s picking up other parts of the line to keep it moving. He is a real team player!  

What does that mean to the group? No one has it worse them Frank in that plant. He comes in gets his job done and helps out. He brings a lot to his team and they are lucky to have him!  

If you’ve got a Frank make sure he knows how much you appreciate him!