The World's Best Ditch Digger! An Inspiration for Leadership Training

Author: Richard L. Williams, Ph.D.

I would like to depart from my traditional articles to describe a great leader who was also a great friend. This departure is partly selfish, but I welcome an opportunity to describe a person from whom I learned many management and leadership lessons.

In the early 1990's I met with the owner of the Fishel Company so that he and several of his executives from around the country could evaluate a system I had developed for process improvement. The meeting took place in Phoenix because The Fishel Company has a large presence in Arizona.

The Fishel Company has about 30 branch offices around the U.S. with most of its operations focused on either underground or overhead utility construction. The company motto says it all, ""The World's Best Ditch Diggers."" That is what they do - dig ditches and install pipes and cables. As you might expect, the majority of the workers in The Fishel Company are blue collar, hard working outdoor types, or as John Phillips the current company president once described them, ""These people are absolutely the salt of the earth! There isn't one of them you wouldn't enjoy having as a relative or next-door neighbor.""

The meeting must have gone well, because I received a contract to implement a system of process analysis, teambuilding, leadership training , and process improvement in their many locations around the country. For several years I visited each branch office many times, which enabled me to learn a lot about the company history and some very unique corporate philosophies. It's about the uniqueness of this company and its owner that I would like to describe in this article.

Ken Fishel, who built the company through old fashioned hard work and a commitment to providing the customer high quality at a fair price, founded the Fishel Company 66 years ago. Ken's son-in-law, Jeff Keeler, joined the company in 1976 as part of a field crew. Later he moved to the office as an assistant to the Vice President. The combination of field and office experience enabled Jeff to learn the underground utility construction business from the underground up. Jeff was named president in 1977 and served in that capacity until 1998 when he became Chairman and CEO.

It is about J.F. (Jeff) Keeler, Jr. that I pay tribute. From the moment I first met him and later in dozens of meetings and leadership training workshops that he attended, I became his fan. He preached a concept called ""Fishelosophy,"" which distinguished his company form the competition. I had never seen a company like this before. At first I was amazed that ""Fishelosophy"" actually worked. But I soon realized that it was a different way of treating people. And because the people (employees, customers and vendors) were treated differently, they in turn responded in like manner.

Let me give a few examples of ""Fishelosophy."" There are no ""employees"" in the company; they are called Teammates. If you inadvertently use the ""employee"" word, someone will quickly correct you. It took me some time to break the ""employee"" habit; but when I did, it was obvious to my Teammates that I had embraced their passion for teamwork.

Jeff believed in sharing company profits. Each quarter eligible, Teammates shared a significant portion of the company's profits. This sharing of profits helped each person think like an owner, because in effect, each person is. Profit sharing checks were typically distributed in meetings that would best be described as a pep rally. I'll never forget the first one I attended in Phoenix; it was an exciting and fun event.

At the meetings Jeff would lead his Teammates in a company cheer! That's right, I said company cheers. If you had told me that company cheers were possible in today's sophisticated marketplace, I would have disagreed. But with Jeff's enthusiastic leadership style, it worked exceptionally well. The cheers fostered a camaraderie among his Teammates that is without equal in my 34 years of business experience.

The Fishel Company believes in posters. There are posters espousing every corporate belief, value and initiative. At meetings, the posters are prominently displayed as a reinforcement of what they stand for. It was common to see half-dozen posters on easels for a leadership training workshop.

As I traveled with Jeff and saw him interact with his Teammates, many things impressed me. But one of the most amazing was that he knew not only the names of his Teammates, but he also remembered who they were as human beings. This attribute endeared his people with unparalleled loyalty and honesty.

Jeff Keeler lived teamwork, he had vibrant passion for life, he loved competition, he cherished friendships, and he made life more fun for his family, Teammates, and everyone he met. Unfortunately, Jeff recently passed away, a cancer victim. He may be gone, but I'll never forget the lessons I learned from the ""World's Best Ditch Digger."" Leadership training makes a difference.

To learn about how Dr. Williams or CMOE (Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness) can assist your organization with leadership training initiatives, please contact a CMOE Representative toll free (888)262-2499.

About the author: Dr. Richard L. Williams is a retail consultant where he specializes in quality improvement, feedback, and leadership training .

In his 30 plus years of experience, Dr. Williams has conducted more than 3,800 workshops to more than 100,000 managers and executives around the world.