“So, knowing each team member’s name is not just a thing to do that seems nice?” I had been talking to Ernie about his team. Remembering names was serious business for Ernie.

“No, I mean, I am probably pleasant enough,” responded Ernie. “But being able to call someone by name gets their attention. I believe it actually changes the way they feel about themselves. And quite frankly, the way I feel about them has a lot less to do with their attitude than the way they feel about themselves.

“I can give my team a bunch of pep talks and motivational speeches, but nothing has the punch, nothing makes the connection more personal, than being able to call someone by name.”

“So, knowing each person by name must create a warm and fuzzy feeling some people never get at work,” I said. I had been talking to Ernie about his team pictures collage in his office.

Ernie laughed. “Oh, it’s way more than that. Some of that sensitivity training stuff they send us through, would have you believe that it’s only important to establish a friendly relationship and get people to like each other. Like I want to win a popularity contest or something. But here is the real payoff.

“When a new team member suddenly realizes that I know he exists, that I can recognize him by name. And that a couple of times a week, I might come over and sit down next to him and strike up a short conversation, something else happens. Sure he may feel warm and fuzzy, but he also knows that he cannot hide. He knows that his productivity is important. He knows if he performs, he will receive some appreciation. He knows if he doesn’t perform, I am going to call him on it. He knows he is not a faceless line worker, but that I value his contribution each and every day.”

It didn’t take me long to notice something interesting in Ernie’s office. Posted over the side of his credenza was a collage of pictures, each with a person’s name. It wasn’t just five or six pictures, more like thirty-five or forty.

“Quite a display,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s my team,” Ernie responded with a smile.

“All those people directly report to you?” I asked.

“No, I have six supervisors in the mix, but that’s my team, forty-six people. In fact, I have two new guys right here.” Ernie showed me two new pictures, each with their name captioned at the bottom. “When someone starts on my team, we take a digital picture and I photoshop their name at the bottom. I stick it up here on my board, so I get used to the face and the name together. I gotta tell you. I used to be really bad at names, so this is my cheat sheet.

“What I really like to do is, wait a couple of days after someone starts on the line. They probably haven’t seen me up close since their orientation. I walk over, sit down next to them and I am able to call them by name. This place is so big, most people expect that I don’t know they exist, much less know their name.

“Every couple of days, I drop by and do the same thing again. I cannot tell you how important it is to be able to call someone by name.”

I stepped down a short flight of stairs into the coffee shop. Small groups of people were huddled around an assortment of morning elixirs. This was definitely not Starbucks.

Gordon was already sitting at a table and I could tell he had done some thinking overnight. We had been talking about connecting the goals of the company with the unlikely topic of boats and fishing.

“I know I kind of laughed you off, yesterday,” Gordon started. “It sounded a little far fetched, but I started thinking about it and it began to make more sense.”

I poured some cream in my coffee. So far, I had not said a word.

“I remember a sales manager,” he continued. “Every Thursday morning, he would load up his two best salespeople and take them down to a boat dealer and they would spend an hour talking about boats. It was kinda funny, because the owner of the company found out and said the time would be better spent going over sales data and prospect lists.

“He didn’t press it though, because things began to happen, volume picked up, margins were holding. And every Thursday morning, the sales manager would take his guys down to the boat dealer.”

“Did anyone ever buy a boat?” I finally got a question into the conversation.

“Yeah, they all did.” Gordon laughed. “Well, except for the sales manager. Turns out, he didn’t care a thing about boats. I even asked him about it. He said the secret to being a manager is to always talk in terms of the other person’s interests.”

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Registration for our next sales program (www.workingsales.com) ends on Monday September 25. Registration for our next management program (www.workingmanagement.com) ends today Friday, September 22, 2006.