In a Father's Footsteps

In WWII, my grandfather, Col. D.D. Williamson, served in the 1st Special Service Force (aka The Devil's Brigade, FSSF) seeing action in Italy. It was a joint US and Canadian force - the forerunners to today's Green Berets and Navy SEALs.  Putting together a team like this has so many parallels to the business world, especially athe Merger & Acquisition perspective.  One of the most important battles my grandfather ever fought involved no blood shed.  He was the top ranking Canadian officer at the formation of the FSSF and, as such, administrative matters landed on his desk.  The battle?  Pay equity and recognition.  The Canadian soldiers who would be living, fighting, and dying alongside their American brothers were not compensated equitably.  Col. Williamson took this all the way to the top in an effort to resolve the disparity -  including meetings in Washington and Ottawa, with the Prime Minister.  The result?  It was a good fight, and ground was gained, but importantly - the the men knew their leader cared for them and fought for what was right.  

In the HR world, this issue would fester into significant fallout including employee engagement, turnover, and presenteeism.  Not life or death, of course - except perhaps in a corporate sense.  The Walking Dead in the halls, if you will.  When you bring two cultures together, it is paramount that this be addressed.  I am very pleased to say that we have done this work in our acquistion by Cowan Insurance Group.  I am equally glad that we were at benchmark in over 95% of our roles, and addressed any that fell below. It will allow our employees to look their colleagues in the eye and know that they are being treated fairly and equally.   The way it should be.  They way my grandfather wanted it for his men.

My father is another man who has taught me so much and has certainly carried on his father's legacy with his own work at The Williamson Group and in the community.  His leadership has set the stage for where we are as an organization, and he has been an inspirational and motivational force for all of our employees.

On Saturday December 5th, my father, Paul Williamson, will be recognized by the 56th Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, as their Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel.  I know his father would be proud.  His three sons sure are.  Congratulations, Dad.