TrainingForum Feature: Mike Marino, Jr. DTM

I would like to say that, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. I believe everyone wants to constantly improve. I believe each one of us is created as perfection; however, the results we create are excellent, so there is lots of room for improvement in what we do. The associates I hired in my bicycle and lawnmower shop were never perfect; however, they were excellent. Working with them as they improved taught me new ways to show forgiveness, understanding, and patience.

My first employee was in a wheelchair from an auto accident that happened when he was sixteen. I hired him to answer the telephone and talk to customers who came into the store. My second employee had one arm. Word spread that I hired people with physical challenges. The placement officer at a local community college with a rehabilitation school called on my business about hiring people with physical and mental disabilities.

One day the placement officer asked me to interview a young man who was having trouble finding a job. He told me that David was a little shy, did not talk much and was afraid to go on interviews. He requested that I grant David an interview just for practice. He plainly told David that I had no positions open at the time and the interview was just for practice.

When David came in for the interview, he hardly said a word. I told him what we do at the bicycle Shop and showed him around. When the interview was over I told him I would keep his application on file. Then I took a few minutes to coach David on how to apply for a job. I told David to keep showing up (figuratively) because the number one thing an employer wants in an associate is dependability.

David was very quiet (he was evaluated as a slow learner in school). Every ten days or so, for weeks after the interview, David walked into the bicycle shop and stood by the front door. He never said a word, just stood by the door. I would tell him kindly, "I really do not have any positions open at this time." I wished he would go away but he kept showing up!

The shop was a very labor-intensive place to work, with students unloading trucks, assembling bicycles and lawnmowers, making repairs and waiting on customers. I usually had seventeen employees at one time, mostly high school and college students. David continued to keep coming by about every ten days. He never said a word.

One day, shortly before Christmas, a large tractor-trailer backed up to the shop, packed with 250 new, unassembled bicycles. It had to be unloaded right away or the driver would leave, and it might be a long time before I could get him back for the delivery. It was raining. Some of my student workers (without physical limitations) chose not to brave the weather to get into work, so I was short handed. The place was crowded with shoppers. Frustrated customers were waiting to be served. A line formed at the counter. It seemed everything was going wrong and on top of it, David came in the front door and just stood there. I looked at him and barked, " Well, all right! Fill out a time card and help me unload this truck!"

David worked for my bicycle shop for eighteen years. His dedication was a model for me. He came to work every day thirty minutes early. He could talk; however, he rarely chose to. He was a man of few words. He drove my truck and made deliveries. He went to the bank to make daily deposits. David would assemble and check out all of the new lawnmowers. The customers would brag about David, saying, "He doesn't talk, but he really shows you how to operate a lawnmower!"

I got into the habit of looking over at David for advice when I was making decisions. David would nod or shake his head. He helped me make a lot of good choices. Eventually, I let David run the business when I was out of the store taking care of other business.

David was a blessing. I really feel that God sent David to me. I did my best to find David a better paying job with better benefits. However, he would not leave! I learned much from him.

David drove a Corvette. One day a college student employee said, "Mr. Mike, you must be paying David more money than you do us, look at what he is driving." Within earshot, David heard. He simply held up his lunch bag, implying, "I bring my lunch. You buy your lunch. It is not how much you earn, it's how you manage your earning."

I am so glad that David kept showing up. He was my last employee when I retired and closed the shop. I was able to hire over eighty five women and men with physical and mental challenges and coach them into more gainful employment in the community. I would look for what they could do, not what they could not do, as it is easy to find what people cannot do. I was 98 percent successful. I had just a few results that did not work out. I found my associates to be loyal, honest, and dependable. Consciously, I worked to remove their fear of being fired by encouraging them to make business decisions freely and by not pouncing on their mistakes.

I encouraged my employees to constantly look to better themselves, whether it was within my company or somewhere else. I loved to coach them on how to apply for jobs and encouraged them to tell their prospective employers, "Please do not look at my disability.

Look at my ability. Let me show you what I can do. I am honest, I am dependable, and I am willing to listen and learn." I told my associates if they left me for a better job and it did not work out, they could always come back. I looked for better paying jobs for my employees so I could hire more people with limitations who needed a place to enter the job market. I was blessed beyond my fondest dreams when I hired people with physical and mental challenges. Listening to and learning from them was a bountiful gift sent to me.

Success Is A Team Effort. No One Succeeds Alone. Will be published in September by James & Brookfield Publishers, Roswell, GA 30076. This is one of twenty chapters with twenty different authors that will be in the book written by Doug Smart CSP.

Mike Marino calls himself a Resource Awareness Coach on Human Potential.
He writes and speaks on fun as a resource for pleasure, productivity and maximizing potential. He is a New Orleans based professional speaker and Training Consultant. For more information please feel free to contact him at inperson@gs.net.

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