Leadership Decision Story: The $2 Lesson That Changed Everything
In the early 2000s, after turning around a struggling warehouse, I was given the chance to open and run a brand-new, one-million-square-foot distribution center for a major apparel company.
It was the opportunity of a lifetime — my own building, my own team, and my own blank canvas, built from the ground up!
We launched in June. By late summer, the focus had shifted from “get it open” to “get it ready for Peak.”
In retail e-commerce, Peak isn’t a season — it’s judgment day. No matter how good you are from January to November, if you fail in December, you’re done.
The regional HR manager stopped by one morning and said,
“You do whatever you have to do to get that second shift up for Peak.”
I took him literally.
The Challenge
To survive December, we needed a second shift. That meant splitting our leadership team, hiring 1,200 temporary workers, and moving a quarter of our full-time employees to nights, during the holidays.
We had a plan.
Then the sales team dropped a bomb: a huge pre-Peak sale that forced us to launch nights two weeks early.
When we polled our core team, half backed out. Families. Holidays. Babysitting. Real life.
Without that experienced backbone on nights, we’d crumble.
So, I made a call. Incentive pay.
The Decision
I started small — $ 1 per hour extra for anyone willing to work nights.
Almost no takers.
So, I doubled it. $2/hour.
Instant volunteers. Problem solved.
HR signed off, and we made the announcement. By that afternoon, the second shift challenge was solved!
An hour later, my phone rang.
It was my boss.
Our sister facility, just down the road, had heard the news.
They wanted the same pay.
I tried to explain that it was temporary, local, and critical to our timeline. But the optics were bad. Suddenly, I wasn’t a creative problem-solver — I was a “Maverick.”
And in corporate America, “Maverick” doesn’t mean “Top Gun.”
It means you flew without clearance.
The Fallout
I’d made the right decision operationally — the cost was minimal, the performance was outstanding, and the team delivered a flawless Peak.
But politically, I’d stepped over the invisible line between autonomy and authority.
I could have defended myself. I could have thrown HR under the bus —
“He told me to do whatever it takes!”
But I didn’t.
Because the truth is, he didn’t make the call. I did.
The Lesson – Leadership Decision Story
I learned that leadership isn’t just about doing what’s right for the business; it’s also about doing what’s right for the people.
It’s about bringing others with you when you do it.
No matter how confident you are or how urgent the situation, never make a major decision without consulting others.
Partnership doesn’t slow you down — it protects you.
I still believe the raise was worth every penny.
But the real return wasn’t in dollars — it was in understanding that leadership isn’t measured by who’s right, but by who’s still with you when it’s over.
