2 out 10 was the ratio of female to male in the world of Commerce back in 1986. Exactly as shown above - a continuation from the 1950’s that had a ‘bar of excellence’ difficult to attain and master.
Some of the companies I worked for had the same generation that became business coaches, true apprenticeship mentors that didn’t cut me any slack when I screwed up. They were also extremely patient with flawless documents that needed a ‘Bertha’ stapler to keep the AWB together with the commercial invoice & packing slips, per supplier/vendor.
The lines were clear, and not to be confused with friendship or cordial business pleasantries. See relationship between characters: Peggy and Don, he’s the boss and the DM whether she can be trusted or included among the C-Suite fellas.
In season 1 or 2, of Mad Men, Joan checks a number of manipulative newly hired females that make the same error over and over in an office. This is a great show if new to business, as the core fundamentals remain the same: Goods and Services.
I entered International Commerce with the goal of becoming a Customs Border Patrol Officer. But my first employer laughed during the interview and remarked, “You’ll need a minimum of ten years international trade experience first, to be considered for hire with Customs.”
“What kind of experience meets that requirement? No one mentioned that in school?”
“This job would qualify you after ten years if you still want to be a CBP Officer or an Air Traffic Controller would also be an option. Did they teach you anything about Airfreight or global geography?”
“Yes. I know 300 airport codes including North America memorized by heart. I’m also familiar with global geography and cultures, but not too good with cities north of LAX in the valley.”
“Do you know what an Air Way Bill is? Can you type accurately alphanumeric? We have a Telex Machine that an operator needs to type pre-alerts to overseas airports, providing manifest and flight details. Think you can handle that?”
“Yes. Do you think the CBP Officer job is a dumb idea?” I asked my first boss at my first real job that set in motion a 40 year career.
Getting Your Feet Wet
Sentry Meadows Airfreight, a UK based forwarder that existed over 100 years had a Los Angeles location off of Balanca Ave and Century. At the corner light of Aviation and Century Blvd was a nude strip bar world famous during the 1970’s for traveling business men arriving at LAX. Down the street a few miles was the Wild Goose, another titty bar for industry locals, and their out of town guests.
Nothing new in the world of international trade, commerce or business. You need a port before you can trade with a prostitute or other foreign commodities, or services more discretionary than the obvious.
I had the ambition of Peggy, but dressed like Joan, listened to Sade and Aretha, and later closed Don Draper style deals with excessive drinking (without the cheating) and gaining the respect of businessmen.
However, there are a bunch of dumb Pete Campbell characters I’ve met during the past 2 years on the Service side of the industry. The same insecure whiner, fraud, pretenders; lacking skills while clawing for status through family name as clout. Hostile with zero control of emotions throwing a fit in the office - is vulgar and a clear sign of unaddressed deep issues from an unbalanced mind. Wrong industry, try acting. We have sh*t to move, with zero time for a therapy session to appease a narcissist. See a shrink or find another job. This is supply chain & logistics, it doesn’t have a day off, does not stop moving. If the order is too tall for you? “There’s the door, don't let it hit you on your way out.” This was a common saying back than.
In forty years I’ve endured working with monkeys, jerks, donkeys, master manipulators, power trippers, professional liars, sociopaths, psychopaths, functional drug addicts, obsessive narcissists, alcoholics, whores for hire, gold diggers, megalomaniacs, sex addicts, swingers, and hot-heads all in Supply Chain & Logistics. All a part of honing skill sets that build endurance and mental fortitude, by mastering the art of self control and timing through chaos, recycled daily for years. I had a lot of fun as the more complicated the obstacles of logistics & regulations got; the more interesting the challenges became. I never stopped being a tomboy, which made it comfortable for me to work with men, with little or few issues.
Advice I learned from the Boys Club
Get to the point without too many words
Don’t date where you work unless you’re gonna marry him
Guys are pigs remember they’ll say anything to get laid
Crying at work? Is a no go! Fix your face in the restroom or go home
Move like a woman but think like a man
Keep your word and be consistent
Practice until difficult tasks are mastered
Let your work speak for itself - but brag when you accomplish a great milestone
Master the work most frustrating: 13+ page color carbon copy AWB without errors Ugg!!!!!
Don’t complain when stuck find a creative solution -
Say no to wanna be Mr. sexual healing - call us we’ll take care of him/them.
You need thick skin to endure bullsh*t without losing your temper or job.
Don’t get confused - a secretary is NOT the same as the boss. Two different responsibilities = different pay for different work.
It’s who you know and what you bring to the table, make sure it’s quality
Back up your facts with legitimate source data
Don’t get involved with office drama
Ignore gossip, default of dumb people - Rule #2 from Dad.
Not everyone that smiles at you is your friend
Admit quickly when you screw up to find a remedy instead of making it worse
Stand your ground with ethics, but know it may cost your job
You represent us: Samoa. Do it right, or try until you get it right
If you fall down, make a mistake, get back up - learn the lesson and press forward
If you woke up today? Handle your business and mind your own
Business historically is the arena of men
Respect is the highest emotional need for men, that is reciprocated when women respect themselves first; and share that outwardly without an agenda.
Great leaders are able to look beyond flaws and errors and see the humanity, frailty of others and cover their shame. This is also called Grace, or looking out for colleagues or acquaintances when they get sloppy in business. Rare occurrence? Ok here’s a free pass. Regular sloppy occurrence? You’re on your own…
Sink or swim is the world of global trade between the sharks and the wolves. Experience is gained after multiple trial and error attempts at perfecting a skill, process, or task.
I knew the owner of Air-Sea Forwarders personally, Mr. Erwin Rautenberg, a genius from the motherland. He was already old when I worked for him, and he spoke with a very heavy German accent that made his English difficult to understand for some.
My responsibilities included Friday night consolidated exports made the scheduled flights without fail. I would return the following morning to check COB (confirmation on board) for more than 20 global flights in addition to direct IATA AOG’s (aircraft on ground). No computers, all manually over the phone calling about a dozen airlines for flight status. Saturday’s had a skeleton crew and Mr. Rautenberg was usually in office. One day he handed me a case of a new drink that he believed was going to make millions. He asked me to try it and let him know what I thought about it. The following weekend while faxing pre-alerts to wrong telephone numbers written in the directory; the owner came alongside me to ask in his rough low Deutsch accented English, “Well did you try the drink? What did you think of it? Do you like it?”
“Yes. Are they a new client of ours?”
“No. It’s a new product that not too many are interested in yet but…what do you think about it? You’re young in your twenties so would your generation purchase this from the market?”
“Sure. I would because it tastes good and it’s not hot. That is something new! If they sell stock, are you going to invest?”
He laughed. Then blushed and smiled without saying anything further, retreating to speak to the VP as he did every Saturday for the 11 years I worked for him.
The unknown product was Starbucks cold coffee, 3 years before they opened brick and mortar locations in California. I learned big lessons from small conversations with leaders that didn’t usually speak to other people. They typically had brilliant thoughts coupled with curiosity and patience to test drive a hunch to see if the results were as they imagined.
Air-Sea Forwarders, Danzas, Panalpina, EmoTrans, and BaxGlobal, had some of the brightest talent and charismatic management teams during the 1980s through 2000. If you were fortunate enough to work at these companies for a while, it was common to walk away as a pro in half the normal time spent employed elsewhere. These were mini universities of learning, highly organized by applying old world trade methodology of apprenticeship used for centuries in Europe. An updated version of European business with an American twist was the result for some of us. Mr. Rautenberg, was a bachelor, old and accomplished, respected by peers and ‘The Men in Black’ as well, who came to the office on a few occasions with guns and threats. In the end, the US government retracted their negative statement by awarding Air-Sea Forwarders as I do believe, the first recipient of the President’s E Award for Exports.
Lessons from Erwin? If there is something you believe in fiercely, stand your ground consistently without waiver.
Generations later I would work with a young German twenty something year old, who would echo the same type of mantra of endurance, “Calm Seas never produce a Skilled Sailor.” Eric Dittmann, Transworld Shipping. How true that is for any industry or person that navigates difficult waters for decades, without giving up.
Terry Leifi-Silverstein
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