Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5007810/
When the magazine became too much for Roger and me to accomplish together and we wrestled with the task of hiring staff, my parents cautioned us not to hire friends. Of course, in tribute to old friends, the first few issues of Child Care Information Exchange would never have made it to the post office without our collating, stamp-licking, idea-generating friends whose emotional support and volunteer efforts turned dreams into printed pages. But my parents had a point, working with friends confuses those boundaries between business and personal life. And like most children, we sometimes listened and more often ignored their concerned advice. Sometimes, their advice proved true as friends became employees became people in our past. There were occasions that still cause pain, times when the boundaries were confused and in the resulting muddle our real messages could not be communicated. Sometimes, friends have become business associates and the friendship thrives. And most often of all, acquaintances have become co-workers whose friendship forever enriches our lives.I was reading Love & Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership by James A. Autry (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1991) today as I ...