“My MillerKnoll Dealer Boss Is Crazy!”
Dear Stephen,
I work for a MillerKnoll dealer and, to put it politely, there are days I think my boss has completely lost touch with reality. One day, they tell us we’re the best dealership in the country, and the next, you can hear them screaming from the other end of the office because a salesperson gave away another point on a discount or because the manufacturer’s Area Vice President wouldn’t approve special pricing on a major project. Sometimes they’re yelling at one of us. Other times, they’re on the phone with the Area Vice President, and every word echoes through the office. One minute we’re celebrating landing a seven-figure project.
The next, the entire office has gone silent because everyone is listening to another shouting match.
What I find interesting is that almost everyone who deals with them seems to come away with the same impression.
The manufacturer’s Area Vice Presidents and sales representatives know exactly what I’m talking about because they’re usually on the receiving end of those phone calls. The A&D firms we call on every day have their own opinions too. Quite honestly, not everyone enjoys dealing with my boss. Ironically, many of their longtime customers absolutely love them. They built those relationships themselves over many years, and customers respect them because they’re knowledgeable, passionate, and always willing to fight for them. More than one customer has smiled and said, “They’re a character.” Around here, that’s usually a polite way of saying they can be a little… different.
To make matters worse, we’re not located in a major metropolitan market where people come and go. We’re in a smaller market, and reputations travel fast. People talk. They always have. They always will.
For years, I’ve heard people quietly speculate that the dealership has been for sale and that buyers aren’t interested if the owner stays involved. I have no idea whether that’s true or just another story that has taken on a life of its own, but it’s a rumor that never seems to go away—especially now, with so many MillerKnoll dealers being sold.
I’ve spent a lot of time wondering what happened. Did success change them? Did money convince them they were always the smartest person in the room? Or were they always like this, and nobody ever had the courage to tell them? I have a family to support, so walking away isn’t as easy as people think. Still, I wonder how much longer I can work in an environment where everyone seems to spend more time managing the owner’s moods than growing the business. I’m also one of the dealership’s top producers, and I honestly believe I may even have the opportunity to buy into the business someday if I wanted to. But do I really want to buy into their reputation? Or would I simply become part of a reputation I didn’t create, but would eventually inherit?
What do you think?
Signed,
“I Hope My Boss Never Sees This”
-------------------------
Dear “I Hope My Boss Never Sees This,”
Your letter made me smile, because almost everyone thinks their boss is crazy at one point or another. Truth be told, if you interviewed everyone who has ever worked for me, I’m sure a few of them would say they thought I was crazy too. Leadership is funny that way. Sometimes the boss really is the problem. Sometimes the employee is. Most of the time, the truth falls somewhere in the middle.
Before we decide your boss has completely lost touch with reality, let’s remember something important. Most people don’t build successful companies because they’re ordinary. Owners and entrepreneurs are often driven, opinionated, impatient, and willing to take risks that other people wouldn’t dream of taking. Those same qualities can frustrate employees, but they’re often the very qualities that built the business in the first place.
One thing I’ve learned in executive recruiting is that very few people tell the owner the truth. Employees want to keep their jobs. Vendors want to keep the account. Friends don’t want an argument. Even longtime customers often choose diplomacy over honesty. Before long, even well-intentioned people begin telling successful leaders what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
I don’t believe success changes most people nearly as much as it changes the people around them. The higher someone climbs, the fewer people are willing to disagree with them. Success has a way of creating an echo chamber, and that’s dangerous for any leader.
The best leaders don’t surround themselves with people who always agree with them. They surround themselves with people who care enough to disagree.
You made another observation that jumped out at me: Some people avoid dealing with your boss, while many of their longtime customers genuinely enjoy working with them. That doesn’t surprise me at all. The truth is, if you asked ten people about your boss, you’d probably get ten different answers. Some would call them brilliant. Some would call them impossible. Quite a few would probably say both. That’s leadership. That’s entrepreneurship. That’s human nature.
Owning a business can also be lonely. Employees leave work at the end of the day. Owners usually don’t. They take the problems home with them. They worry about payroll, margins, manufacturers, competitors, and making enough money to keep everyone employed. None of that excuses treating people poorly, but it can help explain why successful people behave differently than they did years earlier.
The two sentences that jumped out at me weren’t about your boss at all. They were, “I have a family to support,” and, “I may even have the opportunity to buy into the business.” Those two statements tell me you’re no longer deciding whether your boss is difficult. You’re deciding what kind of future you want for yourself.
You devoted almost your entire letter to explaining your boss’s behavior, yet only a few sentences to explaining your own future. That’s understandable, because it’s human nature to believe our happiness depends on someone else changing. In my experience, that’s rarely how life works.
I’ve watched talented people spend years waiting for an owner to retire, sell the business, change their personality, or suddenly become the leader everyone hoped they would become. Those stories rarely end the way people hope they will.
As for buying into the business, that’s a decision I’d make with my head, not my emotions. When you buy into a business, you’re not just buying its customers and financial statements. You’re buying its culture, its reputation, and its leadership. If your reputation is one of your greatest assets, make sure the business you invest in strengthens it instead of asking you to spend years overcoming someone else’s.
Instead, ask yourself a different question: If nothing about your boss ever changes, where do you want your career to be three years from now? That’s the question that deserves your attention.
At the end of the day, whether your boss is eccentric, demanding, brilliant, difficult, or some combination of all four really isn’t the question. The better question is whether you’re still learning, growing, and moving your own career forward. You can’t control your boss, but you can control your own preparation for whatever comes next. That’s where I would spend my energy.
I’ll leave you with one final thought.
In executive recruiting, I’ve learned that every successful business eventually becomes known for something. Some are known for their products. Some for exceptional customer service. Some for innovation. Some, unfortunately, become known because of the personality and reputation of the owner.
You’ve already invested a good part of your career there. Before you invest the next part of your career—and perhaps your money—decide whether that’s the reputation you want attached to your own name.
If the answer is yes, buy in. If the answer is no, don’t expect the reputation to change just because your title does.
Stephen Viscusi