How To Talk To The Boss

B’’H

Jerry Salzberg and Jack Fine both worked for an up-and-coming high-tech firm in Tel Aviv. One day, they happened to find themselves sitting opposite from one another outside of the CEO’s office. With a knowing look, they immediately grasped why the other one was there.

“Bet I know why you are here,” said Jerry.

“You’re absolutely right,” said Jack without missing a beat. “May the better man win!” Of course, they were talking about asking for raises in their salaries. The two men were longtime friends and were used to discussing things like salaries with each other. They had both worked for the company the same amount of time, and both had been exemplary, hardworking employees. They felt rather confident that now would be the perfect time to advance in the company.

After a few minutes of waiting, the personal assistant to the CEO came over to Jerry and invited him into the office. Jerry gave Jack a wink, and Jack wished him the best of luck.

Jerry was happy to find his boss in a good mood and decided to start with a bit of chit-chat to warm him up before ‘the ask.’ Jerry inquired about the boss’s wife and kids and about how his golf practice was coming along. After a couple of important calls that his boss apologetically took, Jerry was ready to move in on ‘the ask.’

So, Jerry began explaining how the competition from Silicon Valley had been actively pursuing him to consider joining them.

“I mean, the numbers they are talking about are just off the charts! And, with me having to take the train to work because the car that I want is not possible with the income I am earning.”

Seeing that his boss was a bit agitated, Jerry began to feel nervous but knew it was now or never to ask his boss for a raise.

“Now that I have all this experience under my belt, I would like to renew our employee contract, but, my compensation will need to be doubled.”

The CEO smiled and with a warm voice said, “I hear your position quite clearly and you do raise some interesting and valid points. Can you please wait outside a few minutes while I think about it? In the meantime, I believe Jack Fine is in the waiting area can you please send him in?” 

Jack walked in and 10 minutes later, came out with a beaming smile.

Jerry said to Jack, “Hey, what happened? Did you get the raise? Was it the amount that you wanted, or did you have to negotiate with the old man?” Beaming, Jack said, “Way, way better!” and headed to the bank of elevators. 

Now, Jerry was kicking himself; “With all of my accomplishments that I made here, I should have demanded a bonus as well!”

Jerry got invited back into the boss’s office and in rushed Jack with a new set of car keys. 

The CEO said to Jerry, “I have carefully given a lot of thought about your request, and I think now is not quite the time for you to get an increase in your salary. Please come to dinner with Jack and me and I will explain why. He will be driving us in his new company car.”

Over steak and fries, the CEO asked Jack to please repeat for Jerry his earlier salary/bonus presentation. Jack agreed and reading from his prepared notes began the following, “First of all, I would like to thank you for hiring me and allowing me to be a part of your company. I know the company was taking a big risk on me and I hope that my accomplishments have made you feel a bit more secure with your decision. I am astonished at the great work we do here and how we all work together in fulfilling the company’s mission.

I noticed how hard you work and how much you have sacrificed in making the company a success. I would like to be able to redouble my efforts in contributing more to the company.

To help guarantee that we meet our customer’s expectations, I made a few calculations that if the company would invest a certain amount of money in me, I would be able to more than triple my productivity.”

The CEO, who had been tracking Jack's hard work ethic for quite a while, had been truly impressed on how his positive attitude had made a tremendous impact, not only on his work but also positively affecting many of his coworkers.

The CEO explained to Jerry that he should try to learn from Jack’s healthy attitude and that he would be happy to reevaluate the decision at a later date.

The upcoming holiday of Shevuos is the Yahrzeit of The Baal Shem Tov Hakodosh. His student explained, “In His name, that when we pray to HaShem, with the recognition that as Jews, we are a channel of his divine energy, and we can ask for whatever we want. The reason is that all your requests all center on the mission of being G-d’s Ambassador in the world. Therefore, our needs are really those of the Divine’s needs. So, if you need a bigger house, a healthier life, or more money in your bank account, no request is too big. Making this paradigm shift can alter the way you live your life to a much higher and more meaningful lifestyle than you could ever imagine.

Have a wonderful Shabbos

Yitzchok Friedman

Edited By Joanna Doster