I've always enjoyed getting out of headquarters and riding on route trucks with our sales people or touring stores where we sell our snacks with Frito-Lay sales managers -- except for Oct. 17, 1989.
In August of 1989 my wife, Janis, and I and our four children moved to San Francisco as part of my job to help start-up of a new Frito-Lay West division office. As we prepped for the move, Janis asked, "I don't know about moving away from Dallas. Don't they have earthquakes in San Francisco?"
"Trust me," I said, "these earthquakes are way overrated."
Only three months later, I was on a market tour in Denver when the news hit that there was a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in San Francisco. I immediately called Janis, but could not get through until the next day since phone lines were down. So I spent a pretty sleepless night wondering what was going on at home. I finally found out that everyone was OK.
A few days later, the kids had to write stories at school about the earthquake, and one of my sons wrote, "It was really cool watching the houses bounce up and down. Only my mom freaked out."
"I did not freak out," Janis said indignantly when my son brought home what he’d wrote. And to me, she added, "And by the way, what did you say about trusting you?"
Except for that experience, I have only great memories of working the field, alongside our frontline sales team, thanks to their positive attitude, strong work ethic and passion for people. The 19,000 sales people who deliver our snacks and merchandise them in more than 300,000 stores every week are the backbone of Frito-Lay.
The collective work ethic of our sales team is always reinforced when I attend market tours, and we ask retail store managers which company provides them with the best service. Most of the time they say Frito-Lay is No. 1, and we're always in the top three.
Just as impressive is how our sales people who deliver this great service also support each other, especially in times of need. "We work at a company where people are our foundation," says Randy Melville, Frito-Lay Sales Vice President, "and they truly care about each other."
An example of that caring is the story of Kevin Eby and his family. Kevin is a sales manager in Harrisburg, Pa. Last year, Kevin's brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind his wife (Kevin's sister) and new born triplets. Kevin's entire sales team rallied together to raise and money and donate gifts for Kevin's sister and the babies, so they would have a Christmas, and they plan to make it an annual tradition.
I find Kevin's story very reassuring, because I believe that there are many people in each of our communities who share the same values and passion to help others as the Harrisburg sales team that rallied to support Kevin's family. While I was fortunate that nothing happened to my family during the earthquake while I was on that market tour, I know that if I had needed help, there would have been Frito-Lay people at my side. Please share with us how people work together to help others at your jobs or in your communities.
I work with non-profit agencies and I am always amazed to see how many people who have very little, will give of the little that they have to help someone else. I have seen families give their last dollar to someone when they have needs themselves. I have seen corporations give just for the sake of giving without asking for recognition from anyone. There are also those who are only out for themselves but I am happy to say that in my experience they are rare. It may seem like there are a lot of them because they are reported in the news but there are very few of them. You don’t have to look far to find someone who finds the joy in giving. In this age of greed and selfishness, there are those that care about others and are unselfish in their actions and deeds. In the age of corporations taking from anyone they can, to build up themselves and pad their pockets, there are those companies that quietly try to improve the lives of their employees and the communities around them. Our organization is producing a made for TV movie that will be distributed across the US to salute the good that is going on in our society and show the good that people and companies do. We hope that by introducing the great things that are being done it will catch on all over the US and neighbors will once again help their neighbors and together we can find a way out of the financial and cultural problems we find ourselves in. We need to stop looking to the government and to everyone else to cure the problems we see around us and take responsibility for our own actions and stand up to make our communities better for all of us. It is hard when you put yourself out there and work with the needy, leaving your comfort zone and putting it on the line, but, only by joining together, can we make a difference. You cannot hear one person singing in a crowd, but if a crowd sings the same song, you can hear the message. It is time for all of us to stand up with one voice and one message and help one another. This is the only way we can be what we once were. So get out there and make in difference in your part of the world. You will be surprised how fast others will stand up to help. You may think that you are only one person but one drop of water combining with others makes an ocean and the ocean can change the face of the earth. Look for opportunities and you will find a way to join other to make it better for all of us. It is not call the UNITED States of America for nothing. Let’s unite for the right to help others.
Posted by: Deborah Smith | January 28, 2009 at 02:37 PM
I volunteer as a member of the Brand Leadership Council for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas(http://www.unitedwaydallas.org/), and agree with your comments. I really support the new United Way campaign -- Live United -- and its mantra of Give, Advocate, Volunteer. It is more holistic because it addresses the points that you raised -- advocating and voluneering. Frito-Lay is a strong supporter of the United Way, both in giving and with our employees volunteering.
Posted by: Chief Blogger | January 29, 2009 at 07:34 AM