Lessons from the Field #25 — Somebody Is Always on the Clock

Someone is always on the clock.

In our business, there is no “before the doors open.”

The doors never close.

24 hours a day.

7 days a week.

365 days a year.

While most of the world is sleeping, someone is working.

While families are celebrating holidays, someone is working.

While storms roll through, roads get crowded, plans change, and the unexpected happens—

someone is still there.

Today is Labor Day, and it has me thinking about the people behind the operations we often take for granted.

The overnight associate making sure a traveler has a safe, well-lit place to stop at 2:00 in the morning.

The driver moving product while the rest of us sleep.

The person receiving a delivery.

The associate keeping the store stock and guest ready. 

The manager covering a call-out.

The technician getting equipment back online.

The teams behind the scenes coordinating, dispatching, troubleshooting, planning and solving problems before most people even know there was a problem.

That’s the part of a 24-hour operation most people never see.

There is always someone keeping it moving.

I’ve spent enough years in operations to know that businesses aren’t powered by plans, buildings, equipment or technology alone.

They’re powered by people.

And leadership can never lose sight of that.

We talk about labor in numbers all the time.

Labor percentage.

Hours.

Productivity.

Overtime.

Staffing.

Those things matter. They are part of running a healthy business.

But labor isn’t just a line on a P&L.

Labor has a name.

Labor has a family.

Labor has tired feet at the end of a long shift.

Labor is the person who showed up when someone else couldn’t.

Labor is the person working at 3:00 a.m. when nobody is there to applaud them.

Labor is the person spending part of their holiday taking care of our customers instead of sitting at home with their own family.

And I think leaders need to remember that.

Because somewhere along the way, if we aren’t careful, we can become so focused on managing labor that we forget to honor the people doing the labor.

So today, especially, I want to recognize them.

The people on first shift.

Second shift.

Overnight.

The people on the road.

The people behind the scenes.

The people working today.

And the millions of people across industries who keep this country moving around the clock.

Somebody is always on the clock.

Today, let’s make sure they know somebody notices.

Happy Labor Day.

And to everyone working today—

Thank you. I see you. What you do matters.

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