Hands-Off Management by Kevin Hogg
Jason Pike was universally loved by his employees, and he had won the Grocery Gala chain’s Manager of the Year award for six years running. His secret? He had been dead for three of those years.
Jason had been a hands-off manager—his job was strictly big picture. Let each department run itself, make its own schedule, hire its own staff, order its own product. When supplies are needed, bill them to the store. With trust given so freely, employees were careful to maintain this relationship.
He was also a model of both efficiency and dedication. He showed up before the first employee and stayed in his office past closing. He didn’t need to meet with new hires; the systems were passed on by his employees. With the ball already rolling, there was no reason to keep pushing.
With everyone empowered to make the everyday decisions, it was little wonder that nobody had noticed Jason’s death. His wife thought it strange that nobody from the store attended the funeral. It hurt to think that he had given more than three decades to these people, and his passing went completely unmentioned.
His pay came as usual at the end of that month—nothing unusual there. The president of the Grocery Gala chain was known to be a compassionate man. When this generosity continued the following month, it was a pleasant surprise. Next month, it was exceedingly generous. After four months, she realized the ironic truth—Jason had made himself so integral to the store that he was no longer needed.
In a way, he’s still running the store, she rationalized. Why shouldn’t he, or at least his widow, continue to reap the rewards of his managerial brilliance? Three years later, money continued to show up in the account each month. Just last year, he had even secured himself a moderate raise.
Day in and day out, Jason’s office lay undisturbed. He had fancied himself a master of unorthodox organization, requesting that the cleaning crew leave his area alone. It remained untouched until late February 2012.
That day, a small explosion in the stockroom set off the smoke alarm. Warehouse supervisor Denny Silver saw that there was no safety concern, but followed protocol by ordering the workers outside. He looked for Jason in the parking lot to let him know the cause.
“I didn’t see him come out,” said Bryce Trent, a lifelong cashier who had been one of Jason’s first hires.
“I’ll go check his office,” replied Denny.
The office was locked, but Denny was one of the very few entrusted with a key. Inserting it in the lock for the first time, he almost felt guilty about disturbing Jason’s peace.
The room was dark. He flipped the light switch and stared in surprise. Dust covered every surface in the room. The desk was a jumble of papers, envelopes, and folders. A newspaper sat on top of the pile. Wiping the front page, he read through the grime: “Slumdog Millionaire Takes Best Picture.” It was dated February 23, 2009.
He scrolled through the contacts on his phone and called Jason’s house. His wife, Suzanne, answered. “Hello, Suzanne. It’s Denny. Is Jason there?”
A long pause. “I always knew this call would come,” she replied, halfway between tears and laughter. “I’m sorry, Denny, but Jason passed away three years ago.”
Denny mumbled an apology and hung up. He glanced back at the newspaper, then up at the Manager of the Year plaques for 2006 through 2008. Nothing since then. So it was true. The greatest manager in the history of the Grocery Gala chain, running the store from beyond the grave.
Denny smiled and shook his head. “You’ve outdone yourself, Jason.” Before the other employees returned, he locked the door, tossed the key inside, and shut the door behind him. Still shaking his head in disbelief, he headed back to the stockroom to finish the next week’s schedule.
Kevin Hogg is a high school teacher in British Columbia's Rocky Mountains. He holds a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Carleton University. His short stories have been published by Ghost Parachute, Theme of Absence, Potato Soup Journal, and The Magnolia Review. Highlights of his writing journey include being named a category winner in the 2005 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest and being accepted to speak on a panel at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association. Outside of writing, Kevin enjoys Welcome Back, Kotter reruns, waterfalls, and almost any type of pie. He has spent much of the past three years writing a narrative history of the summer of 1969, and his website is http://kevinhogg.ca.