A Leader Who Cared – A True Story

Arnie (names changed) dragged his Arkansas accent down the Oregon Coast to become a boat builder at Freeman Marine. His coworkers appreciated his hard work but thought him naïve. Yes, they appreciated Christian values, but he was putting himself in danger.

The danger came from Joe, an aggressively prickly co-worker who wanted to be left alone. He was competent and focused, but not a bit friendly. Arnie’s coworkers warned him about Joe, saying, “Don’t ask him about his personal life, even his weekend, or you’ll wish you hadn’t.” Arnie asked, “Doesn’t Joe have a friend?” “No,” was their answer, “and he doesn’t want one.” Arnie paused, and concluded, “Everybody needs ah friend.” So Arnie committed to being Joe’s friend – as his coworkers watched in horror.

Arnie asked Joe questions, shared thoughts, laughed about life, and got no response, except increasingly fuming tension. Joe’s dirty looks and clear resentment had no noticeable effect on Arnie who continued on – until Joe turned like a bull to face him and said, “I HATE YOU!!”

Arnie paused and replied, “Well, I’m sure sorry to hear that … but I love you and I’m gonna love you the rest of mah life.” Joe couldn’t contain the adrenalin and rushed out the door.

One of Arnie’s friends put his arm around him and counseled, “That was a real nice try, Arnie, but you saw how angry Joe got. He’s been ready to explode for a long time, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to you. So please take tomorrow off. He’s likely to come looking for you.” Arnie took that in and asked, “Ya really think he’ll be looking for me tamarra? Well, then, I betta get here early.”

Arnie got there early, and as predicted, Joe came looking for him. He stuck his finger toward Arnie’s face, and shouted, “YOU! Someday … I’m gonna be JUST LIKE YOU!”

And it wasn’t long before Joe’s coworkers could talk freely to him like anyone else. Because Joe had a friend at work who cared, who he could trust to understand his pain.

Arnie also later had the courage to tell the company owner when he thought his instruction about mixing the paint would cause problems. The owner learned the hard way that Arnie was right. He promoted him to supervisor where all the other supervisors watched Arnie and learned.