The Infamous Business Manger Typo

“A storms a comin’ pa!”

There are two types of people in the world. Those who’ve worked in service, and those who haven’t. Those who’ve been chewed out for delivering an overdone steak they never cooked, and those who’ve only ever ordered. 

As an account manager, the more glamorous cousin of sales, I’ve bore the brunt of what a team fails to deliver. Project overdue? Slam the account guy. Business cards not cut straight? Get that account guy on the line!

“Why care?” You might ask. It’s because my livelihood was supported by the commissions. Just like that waitress who’s watching her tips walk out the door on the legs of an extra chewy steak. And once they walk out, good luck getting them back.

We would sit in a small office as an account team, drinking bottom shelf scotch out of coffee mugs sulking to each other. Things had gotten bad on the project side. More than just late projects, we were seeing typos in brochures, websites with broken links, and an actual roadside billboard with a glaring error. Drinking peaty turpentine out of white porcelain felt all too fitting.

The Turning Point

One day while grinding the phones in the sales pit, the principal popped in to straighten attitudes. “Just a hiccup.” It was a routine dodge of accountability that we could only nod at and stare through. Then, like the perfect gift from marketing gods, he opened a new box of business cards to reveal a typo in his title. It was at that moment, the infamous BUSINESS MANGER was born. Finally, the cook was delivering his own overdone steak.

What followed was one of the most substantial lines in the sand I’ve ever seen drawn. We had a big company meeting about this and put a flag in the ground on quality. Either people were going to pull their weight and take responsibility for their work, or they weren't going to work there. 

Question to You

I’m always interested to hear turning points in company culture. What was the breaking point that got your company to change for the better?