Can a potato be a justifiable corporate reward?

We all need to be appreciated. That is where rewards come into play. The method of communicating appreciation is through reward.

As such, there are different rewards for different stages in life.

As many of us work, we find that a corporate reward is important. Indeed, as a worker, we often discover that a corporate reward is the only way that we get positive feedback from the boss, and as such, it is important to us. Life is more than just money, we need appreciation as well. How we are rewarded varies from company to company and nation to nation.

It depends on how we live our life.

When we work, we enter into a daily cycle that our biology conforms to. We get up. We brush our teeth. We shower and shave. We eat breakfast. We rush to work. Then, at work, we have a morning coffee and go through our email. This is a routine that is followed by millions of office workers all over the world. But what about the end of the day…

Routines

This is true of all people. Depending where I lived, I had different routines.  For life is actually like a bunch of individual rooms strung along like a train. You exit one room and enter a new room. Each room is different. Each time you move, change friends, get married, obtain a new job, or live in a different city, you enter a new reality. It is a new “room”. Within that new reality, you have new friends, new places, new activities, and new interests.

The realities change depending on your age, and where you live and what you do. There are no corporate rewards in school, instead your grades act as your reward mechanism. Later, after you graduate you start working either for yourself, or for someone else. If you work for someone else, chances are, they will provide you with some kind of incentive to keep on coming to work. Whether that is as simple as a friendly smile, or monthly dinner, it is and acts as a corporate reward. It is a way of providing you incentives to continue to show up to work.

Each reality, and each situation; each company that we work at can be considered a “room”. It is a “room” within a long chain of “rooms”. Each with it’s own set of rewards, benefits, and trials.

Consider the differences of the “rooms” as you grew up. For me, they varied considerably.

High School Student

In my early years, as a growing boy, I would wake up, get cleaned. Put on clothes and head off to school. I would stay at school all day. I did what everyone else did. We all did this. The school defined my educational routines. At that time, my routines were further subdivided into structured periods known as “periods”. There I would study, go to the gym to weight lift, or sit bored in “study hall”.

There were no rewards. It was what I did. The concept of rewards or even corporate rewards did not come much later; until after I graduated from school.

My first “real” job was as a temp worker in a coal mine. My first part-time job was as a stock-boy at a grocery store at 14 years of age. Then in the summer, I worked full-time in a steel mill.

At the end of the school day, I would leave the school and go to work. For I, unlike most of my classmates, worked after school. Depending on the year, I either worked in the coalmines, packed groceries in the local supermarket, or fought forest fires. (These were the only options to me at that time.)

After school and my work, I would then go home. My arrival would be around 9 or 10 at night. A plate of Saran wrapped table scraps was made by my sister and awaited me in the refrigerator. (She had to be repeatedly scolded, as the portions were perpetually meager.) When I arrived, the first thing that I would do is get the food. Typically the portions were unusually small. (It was a nasty sibling rivalry thing.) For instance, if the family had pork chops, my serving would be something like this; it was one tea spoon of corn, one tea spoon of potatoes, one pork chop and one tea spoon of applesauce.

Typically I would arrive late at night to a dark house. The rest of the family were either out or in their rooms. As such, I would turn on some lights. Get the food. I would pull it out and heat it in the microwave. I would eat it alone in front of the television set. At that time, I might catch a glimpse of ‘The Love Boat”, “Mork and Mindy”, “Three’s Company” , “Magnum PI”, “Hart to Hart” or “Remington Steele”. Then it was my toilet routine (clean, brush the teeth) followed by sleep.

There were variations to this routine. However, it was for the most part, pretty darn consistent.

College Student

College years were different. They changed as a function of which semester I was attending. However, the vast bulk of time the routine went something like this.

First, I would wake up. Then roll out of bed and then on to the floor. Two hundred pushups followed by two hundred sit-ups. (That was my routine. I was pretty darn muscular back then. You know, I needed to be ready to fight the “Red Menace”.) I would then change into my running clothes and run three miles. (I was very big on personal fitness back then.) Then back to a cold shower (The house where I lived was run by some “old school” German immigrants. They didn’t believe in hot water. It was too wasteful of energy.) The woman of the house would then have a nice breakfast made and waiting for me.

As a traditional German, the breakfast (das Frühstück) would consist of buttered toast with peanut butter, liverwurst and braunschweiger. She would have cut up onions, tomatoes and spices in oil that I would always put on top. I then would add some fine German mustard. Alongside this was typically a hotdog and soft-boiled egg. I would also be given a cup of strong coffee to drink. We would sit down together and chat a little.

It was my little morning pleasure.

Afterwards, I would hop on my motorcycle and go to the university. I rode a small used 250 cc Yamaha that I bought from my best friend for $200. I studied Aerospace / Mechanical Engineering which was more or less concerned with the propulsive and environmental systems on rockets and spacecraft.  Yeah, I was studying to be a “Rocket Scientist”. When I arrived at school, I would then attend class. Have lunch and then study until dinner.

I am educated as a “Rocket Scientist”.

Dinner gave me a chance to spend time with my friends. We would relax and talk. Then we would head out to the library to study.  Typically we would study past 11pm. Often, but not always, we would go to the law library to study as it was open after 11. We would call it quits at 2am. We would then go our separate ways, and I would head home to sleep. Typically, that meant munching on some “Cheez-It” crackers while I did my homework, then watching some late night shows until I went to bed.

At that time, a case of 24 cans of Genesee Cream Ale (beer) cost $1.

Married and Working at a Corporate Job

Of course it all changes when you get married and have a corporate job. You enter a new reality. Different jobs, different wives, different bosses, different roles all represent different “rooms” that you inhabit.

For me, I can confirm that there was a degree of similarity between different companies and different locations. You get up out of bed, shower and dress. Then hop in the car and off to work. I would typically grab a cup of coffee and a morning snack on the way through a drive-through. It was Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and a bagel when I lived in Boston. Whataburger coffee and taquito when I lived in the South. And, Carl’s Jr coffee and breakfast sandwich when I lived out West.

I think coffee is a great drink to have for breakfast.

That was then. Today, I can well imagine that it must be a (smushed) avocado on whole-wheat germ toast and a Starbucks latte in Seattle.

Work was work. For the most part, it was a life in a cubicle farm. It was a corporate hell. Oh, sure they tried to justify the mandatory blood collection drives, and the paltry 1% salary yearly raises (when the rate of inflation was 6%), and the absolutely humiliating HR policies. However, it was the life that I trained for.

In other words, “the big lie”.

Here’s a quick summary; Go to work and make it to my cubicle. Drink coffee while I scan my emails. If there is a “Green Sheet” newspaper by the door, grab a paper and review it over coffee. Answer emails. Get ready for a meeting. Fast food lunch. Back to the cubicle, then late afternoon meetings that began at 5:00 pm and lasted way past “quitting time”.

If you were important enough, you might qualify for a corporate reward. This corporate reward could be anything. Typically, it is a cheap pen with some “inspirational” logo and saying on it. Other things might include a little “trophy” that would have the company mission statement on it, or if the corporate reward was for a group, it could include a nice framed motivational poster.

Corporate Rewards during the 1980’s consisted of a cheap pen with an inspirational saying if you saved the company a million dollars.

Drive home.

Dinner with the wife. Do some chores or take part in a hobby. Usually this meant fixing the house, mowing the yard, or a household project. Then, watch some television. Play games on the computer, then off to bed.

It did not matter who I was married to, where I lived, what company I worked for, or what my job title was, this was pretty much my routine. I think that all of us have routines. There is nothing good or bad about them, they are just what we do out of convenience and situation. It sure does not sound all that exciting and adventurous, but that was my life.

I am sure that there are readers who have had a similar life. Maybe you would go fishing after work. Maybe you would go out and play some baseball with your kids. Maybe you would go take the dogs out to the park to run around. Maybe you would have a night out with your friends. There are many variations of this.

The reality that you inhabit is what you experience within your “room”. So, if you change your job, your city, or family, you will change your life. If you want big changes to your reality, you will need to make big changes to parts of your life. This might mean moving to a different country.

There is too much to discuss here about corporate life and the corporate reward scam that was oh so popular when I lived in the states. Here are some links to better expand on this subject;

• 18 Harsh Truths About Corporate Life Nobody Will Ever Tell You
• 5 Things The Corporate World Taught Me
• Six Lessons I’ve Learned Since Leaving Corporate Life
• 7 Things You Don’t Miss About Corporate Life After You Leave
• 5 Ways to Lose My Business As a Potential Customer
• 20 Signs You’re Just Not Meant For A 9 To 5 Desk Job

Struggling Teacher in China

When I first arrived in China I tried to find work in my field (Engineering management). I was unsuccessful. So while I was “pounding the pavement” looking for work, I took on side work to put “food on the table”. Those coming to America might find work driving a taxi, babysitting or working as a nanny. The same is true in China, except that expats need to find other venues to work. For me, I worked at what I was able to do, and provided a service. I taught ESL English to Chinese adults at a training center.

My routine during this phase of my life went something like this;

Up out of bed by 7am. Shower. Breakfast of noodles, baozi, mantou, or Congee. Coffee. Then off to work. I would arrive before nine as I was one of the most popular teachers at the training center, and was fully booked up.

I would teach ESL English one-on-one face-to-face with students and help them with their English. Depending on the student and the need, I would teach various things to them. Each class required a detailed study plan. In China, where I worked, if you wanted a student you needed to go out and compete against other teachers, other schools, and other (often cheaper) costs. Each student had to be obtained by my own personal sales charm.

Typically I would work a 12-hour day. That is 9am to 9pm. No break for lunch.

The classes were 50 minutes on the hour. That gave me ten minutes free time. That was enough time to go to the bathroom, or scarf down some delivered food. When I was free, I would either be involved in a sales conference (to obtain additional students) or making lesson plans. The entire time that I was doing this, I also was active in a job search for expat engineering positions. That involved quite a lot of work.

I would close up shop a little after 9pm.

We, well everyone in China, would also get a “corporate reward” for good work. Instead of a pen, or a coupon for a coffee in the company canteen, it would be a “red envelope” full of cash. The Chinese believe that rewards, especially a “corporate reward” would be best served in the form of cash. This was true for all the working staff, as well as for the students themselves. They would often provide me with gifts such as bottles of red and white wine, choclates, tea, fine china, or red envelopes full of money.

Anyways, once I was finished working, I would leave a little after 9 pm, and lock up the offices. For some twist of fate, I was often the first one in the office, and almost always the last one to leave.

Dinners, of course, varied. Being in a city (Shenzhen), we were able to eat BBQ outside. This would be a nice table on the sidewalk were we would eat anything from seafood, to chicken, to mutton. BBQ (shaoKou) is always best washed down with cheap cold Chinese beer. Otherwise, we might go to a “family restaurant” (A restaurant run by a family where they lived in the back.) There we would eat our fill of seafood or other dishes. Then off to the house for some wine and fun. Typically, I would go to sleep around 3am.

As the reader can see, life in China was quite different from my life in the States. Was it better? Was it worse? Like everything else, it was give and take; bitter sweet. Some things I missed. Other things I did not, and some things were simply outstanding compared to my life in the United States. The one thing that remained constant was that things were different.

Project Engineer in Pago Pago

For a time, I worked as a construction supervisor building a hospital in American Samoa. For those who are unaware, American Samoa is a small island in the South Pacific ocean. There, I entered a new “room” and began a new life with new friends, new routines, new habits, and new behaviors.

Typically, in the morning I was up before the sun rose. I would quickly shower and change into my work vest and hardhat, then hop into the truck to go to the company “tailgate” meeting. There all the employees would meet at 5am with the boss. It was held outside under a roofed pile structure with open sides. There were around one hundred of us there and you could tell when the meeting was held by all the pickup trucks and jeeps that were gathering about.

There, at the meeting, we would talk about the day and the various issues. Breakfast sandwiches would be served which varied from tuna fish, to hotdogs to hardboiled eggs. We’d go get a coffee and eat while the sun started to rise. Everyone would talk in Samoan, so I just sat there and pretended to know what was going on. Chickens, roosters and dogs would pace in and around all of us while we attended this meeting. There was always a daily prayer to start the day off right.

Then we would break and go off to the job site.

There, I would supervise the activity and make sure that everything would meet code and client expectations. They were a great group of guys. Let me tell the reader this; the nicest people and the hardest workers are the Samoans. If you ever have an opportunity to hire one, do it. It will be the best decision that you could ever make in your life.

Work would end around 3:00pm with a general cleanup and site lockup. I would then take some of the crew back to their houses. I would then go home.

At the house, I would pick up the wife and we would take a ride to one of the smaller towns and hang out on the coast. We would talk and watch the waves. Then back home for dinner and watch movies via the Internet. Then eventually we would be in bed to sleep before 11pm.

Even in the remote Pacific location, there was a corporate reward structure. Every few weeks or so, the boss would call us over to join him for a meal. He would have this big feast that we would get to participate in. In that case, the corporate reward was in the form of food and sharing a meal with the Boss.

As the reader can see, life in Pago Pago was quite different from my life in China. Again, some things were good and some things were bad. No, I cannot say that everything is good or that everything is bad. The only thing that I can say is that things were different.

Fast forward to today…

Life as a Boss

It doesn’t matter what you do, what you know, where you are, who you are with or what your dreams are. Eventually you will enter these “rooms” and your life will be different.

My life today is quite different from any of the previous roles.

I work at my own pace, on my own terms, to accomplish my own goals. I bike ride to work. It’s an easy ride, and very healthy unless it is raining. (Then you have a problem.) I arrive to work, say a nice cheery hello to everyone and take care of the issues of the day. Ah, the “issues” of the day.  Let it be known that most “emergencies” are artificial. That is to say that most things deemed critical by one person, aren’t really critical at all.

A client wants some things made before a certain deadline. Fine. However, they wait until the last minute to place the order. They take their time. Then, they use a timeline with no room for mistakes or problems and complain when problems arise. These problems generate a string of activities that quickly devolve into “issues” in need of attention.

Sound familiar? I am sure that others have heard of these things.

The funny thing about this is that the arrogance of certain customers all disappear when they meet me face to face. Business relationships are based on personality and friendships. If you have a corporate environment, staffed with drone workers, it bleaches out the relationships. People forget who they are and what they are doing and why. In order to compensate they are often under stress and make poor decisions which tends to bind up all the projects under their purview.

Work is a task that needs to be accomplished to help generate income for all participants.

With this in mind, my end of the day routine is rather typical. I make sure that everything is being accomplished and responsible authorities are put in place. I have to admit that our staff is quite good. They are generally hard working and attention minded. All are Chinese and consist of various groups of people from Marketing, Engineering, Customer Service, Quality, Testing, and other Logistics related roles.

Due to the nature of the work and our various situations, I have the cleaning lady come in and clean the office at 5pm.

She’s a typical Aiyi; meaning she is older and is under-educated. She knows how to clean and owns a small business where she cleans various offices. You could call her an “old school” entrepreneur. She’s a traditional Chinese gal, and as such she shows me due deference and respect. For, after all, I am the LAOBAN. (The interesting history of this term can be found HERE.) In China, the boss gets a far greater degree of respect than elsewhere in the West. The boss is treated like a king. It is a show of respect and honor.

When she comes in to clean, she comes to my office. Knocks on the door. Then enters when I say it is fine, and give me my end of the day potato. This is one of her most peculiar habits, and I am not sure of the origin of this tradition. My staff tells me that she does this out of respect for me. I don’t know quite what to think about it. My wife would be furious if I ate the potato, as I would be too full to enjoy a meal with her.

Yes, my corporate reward was a hot potato.

The potato itself is a standard potato. Truly there is nothing special about it. Often it is the size of a large hand that she carefully washes and cooks at home. Then she warms it up in the work microwave. She presents it to me on a tissue right in front of my work keyboard. It is presented plain. No salt, no pepper, no butter. It is just a plain baked potato.

Apparently, according to the (very interesting) history of the potato in China, it was at one time considered a very valuable and tasty uncommon dish. Now, of course, it is quite common. Every KFC serves French fries and mashed potatoes. (Here’s a fascinating article on the Chinese KFC marketing strategy.) But when it’s all said and done, let’s face the facts. A potato is a potato is a potato.

Or, maybe it can be much more than that, if you are a kitten…

An Overview

My entire life I have been educating myself, obtaining experiences and knowledge. I have been working to improve and better my life. Today, now as I brush against my retirement years, I have reached the pinnacle of all that I have worked for. Yes, it is true. I have reached that point in my life where others show honor, respect and reverence to me.

I now receive my end of the day potato.

So, with this in mind, are you the reader working towards that special moment in your life? Will all that you have made, experienced and built upon culminate in the kind of honor and respect that you deserve? Will you finally achieve that wonderful moment when you will be shown respect by others? Will you too, at the end of the day, receive your golden potato?

We can only hope.

How are you Rewarded?

All throughout the world people are rewarded for their efforts. If you are in a corporate job, say at a place like Google, that you are rewarded handsomely. I hear that they even let you have free soda. I also hear that at places like IBM you can actually wear casual clothes on Fridays. I am not at all kidding! I’ll tell you, it’s a new world out there.

A corporate reward varies from company to company.

When I worked at Delco Electronics, (at that time, it was part of the General Motors automobile empire), we were permitted to wear yellow ties once we entered the management ranks. Now, not everyone could wear the yellow tie, mind you. Only those with an office. That was a corporate reward (though some might call it a corporate perk).

In fact, there was an entire hierarchy of rewards and perks as you would climb up the corporate ladder. If you were able to “go yellow” (wear a yellow tie), the next step up was a potted plant. Not only could you have one, but also it would be taken cared for by the company at no expense to you! The next step up after that was a door for your office. The step above that was a window in your office, and the step above that was a corner office.

If, somehow you managed to advance beyond that level, you entered “mahogany row”. This was a cluster of offices in its’ own section. It was so named by the wood paneling in all the offices and hallways. It has its own secretary, and secretary pool. Its own car pool, and breakroom / snack bar, and other amenities that were only whispered about…

Yeah, different companies offered different perks or a corporate reward.

In California, at Comarco WSD, we were permitted to use the microwave in the lobby to heat up our lunch. It doesn’t seem like much of a corporate reward, but there you have it.

In Louisiana, Poulan-Weedeater allowed us to purchase shirts that had the company logo on it (at full price). Which was a nice corporate reward, it just didn’t seem like a reward if you had to pay for it.

In Indiana, Magnavox gave us a pencil (or a pen) that had the Magnavox logo and a motivational saying on it. But, of course, you needed to prove that you had saved the company one million dollars first, to qualify for it. This was a conditional corporate reward. Apparently it was a big thing in the day. Some jackass wrote a paper (purported to be an in-depth study) that showed that employees were motivated by small gifts provided often as opposed to large monetary rewards.

Meanwhile, in Boston at Pollak, the managers would get a real cake during their birthdays, and not the plastic one that we rank and file engineers ended up with. In that reality, the corporate reward was stratified. However, that is not the way at every company. Only at some companies. For instance, Holmes Products gave their managers a nice spiffy leather bomber jacket, and the rank and file got a pretty cool baseball style cap.

It depends on where you live and the culture at your company.

I am curious about the benefits and perks at other companies. What you they give their management, and their rank and file workers. I have read some things on the internet, but I find it really hard to imagine. For instance, I have read about some software companies allowing the workers to play ping-pong at work, while other ones let them park their bicycles from the ceiling. Still others give their workers free passes to movies and games. The corporate reward program varies from company to company and from place to place.

What does your company do? I would really love to hear about it.

Take Aways

• Life can be considered to be a series of “rooms” that we enter and occupy.
• How we live within those “rooms” determine what the next “room” will be like.
• The rewards given by life vary from person to person.
• If you work hard and strive, you too will be given your end of the day potato.

FAQ

Q: What is so special about a potato?
A: There is nothing special about a potato. It is a basic food that is full of starch and nutrition. I do happen to like French-fried potatoes, potato chips (the traditional type), and mashed potatoes. A good baked potato is often quite nice with sour cream, salt, pepper, and some nice melted cheddar cheese.

Q: What makes a great Corporate Reward?
A: I think that the best corporate reward is a monetary amount. After all that is why we work for antoher person within a corporate setting.

Q: Why were you gifted a potato at the end of a day?
A: I do not know. I think that the maid either honors me out of respect, or maybe has a crush (love interest) on me and that is her way of signaling interest. Aside from that, she was just your normal house cleaner. I just cannot imagine anything would be particularly favorable or special about a potato.

Q: Do you ever get any other gifts?
A: Oh yes. I have gotten lechee, peanuts, and sliced white bread as well.

Q: What do you do with your potato?
A: I carry it home and throw it out when I reach my house. Typically, there is a trashcan before you enter the lobby, so I just toss it there. The problem with this is that I need to carry it all the way home first. If I threw it away in the office building, one of the cleaning ladies would notice, and there would be quite a scandal. You know, they all talk amongst themselves.

Q: Why is your life so different?
A: Everyone’s life is different; I just choose to expose the various aspects of my life to illustrate a point. In this instance the point is that through hard work, and effort anyone can rise up, make a life for themselves, and get the rewards that they so justly earned.

Q: What does this have to do with MAJestic?
A: Iife is like a series of rooms. Each time you enter one, the previous room becomes a memory. You take on a new life. Thus each “room” in your life is a stand-alone learning exercise. You eat new foods, you have new friends, you have new problems, and you have new pleasures. You have different experiences.

The same can be said for reincarnation.

Each life that you have creates a series of new experiences for you to experience. These new experiences affect your thoughts and thoughts are what create our reality. Thoughts are what organizes and builds upon our soul. You are what you think. You become your reality.

• Links about China

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

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Notes

1. First drafted 8MAR18.
2. Readied for the internet 24APR18.
3. SEO review and Internet readiness. 4MAY18.

Links about China

China and America Comparisons

The Chinese Business KTV Experience

This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.

Learning About China

Contemporaneous Chinese Music

This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.

Articles & Links

• You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
• You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
• You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
• You can find out more about the author HERE.
• If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
• If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.