In 1939 baseball manager Leo Durocher is purported to have said “Nice guys finish last.” Since then various biologists, psychologists, and researchers of every stripe have sliced and diced this statement to see:
1) Is it true?
2) If they can justify getting grants to research topics that nobody really cares about.
3) If it is better to be a nerdy, pale faced, lab coat wearing, balding scientist or a leather clad, Harley riding, heavy drinking, beard and tattoo wearing party animal that scores with all the hottest women.
Forgetting about the fact that Leo was quoted out of context and forgetting that the answer to number 3 is clearly “neither” the fact is that every office has some producer that is low maintenance non-rookie and near the bottom of the production ladder. The guy gets in on time, faithfully attends sales meetings, is a compliance officer’s dream, never loses a client and rarely acquires a client. Chances are pretty good she’s tried partnerships but they just don’t work out for some reason that you can’t quite put your finger on. This person is unfailingly nice. You want them to do well. You want to help them out. You hate the fact that they are at the bottom of the firm’s payout grid.
Cal had one. Let’s call him Nick. The guy was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. He actually knew how to calculate a Mutual Fund cost basis. And every year when the firm would announce its annual revisions to the payout grid, Nick was always dinged. Yes he would grimace and he even one time made a comment. But realistically there was nothing that Cal could do about his pay.
The temptation here is to say, well, tough rocks chump. The business is a meritocracy. The more you do the more you get. If Nick wanted to grow his business, so this logic goes, it was on him to get it in gear. And there is some truth in that.
On the other hand, there is something terribly cruel about seeing a Nick get kicked around by his firm that he loyally toiled for lo these many years. Maybe Nick should have gone to another firm that would have rewarded a low end producer like him. Maybe Cal should have found a way to kick him some accounts so he could get paid some more. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
Unfortunately, there are just some things you can’t fix no matter how hard you try. But there is one thing you can do for a Nick: treat him with respect and dignity. It is so easy to simply ignore the Nick’s of this world. They aren’t ever going to help or hurt you so the logic goes, so why spend any time on him? There is a simple answer to this question. In a business that does not value low end producers, the low end producer knows it. So when the manager treats even the bottom of the ladder with the simple decent respect a professional deserves, the manager is the winner. She will win a reputation in the community as a quality person. She will win the battle for respect in the branch. And it costs nothing.
The manager’s job is lonely. You know the Regional isn’t your friend. But a Nick can be a friend of sorts. No you probably can’t fix his pay. But there is nothing that says you can’t stop in his office just to chat. You can ask Nick about the market. You can buy him lunch once in a while as if he were a bigger producer. Do yourself a favor and do one for Nick.
Got a better idea on how to handle a Nick? Got your own version? Email manageia2@gmail.com
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