1993 D4 Rebuild - Is that a beard? This past week I helped interview some candidates for a shift supervisor position. Interestingly enough, all of the candidates would be first-time supervisors. While reviewing the candidates in a meeting just a few days ago, I couldn't help thinking about my first supervisory experience. An intertwined chain of events concluding with a whirl-wind last minute interview process landed me as one of the youngest general foremen in the company at 27. Before I realized what was happening, I was supervising over 45 skilled millwrights with an average age of 44. Many of these guys were old enough to be my father, two of them my grandfather, and I still couldn't grow a decent beard. Along with the 45 skilled millwrights were a day turn foreman and three planner foremen, all with 25+ years of experience to my 6. I was very fortunate to have a strong mentor who helped guide me through a treacherous workplace minefield. Rather than micro-manag
Most of us will spend a majority of our career in Middle Management. Instead of dreading it, embrace it for what you can glean from living in the ultimate squeeze play.