Did I Tell You About the Time...

"One thing I have acquired in my training and experience in claims work is how to relate to people. So many leaders in the business and political sphere don't know how to get along with their subordinates and show little interest in the problems of those they attempt to manage.

I have talked to men who have taken academic courses in decision making, maintaining harmony in the ranks etc. Men who have learned the theory of these courses but have never learned how to put it into practice. Just before I retired from the railway, a member of my staff in Winnipeg said to me, "Mr. Kyle when you go, they will throw away the mould as they don't make them like you any more." I did not take this remark too seriously but I know the one who made it spoke it quite seriously because I would always listen to his problems and give him helpful advice. He was always appreciative of this and thanked me often. 

One day on the golf course one of the players in our foursome said to me, "Lorne you have been a steadying influence to me. I have seen you make some terrible shots and you have never lost your temper." On another occasion a doctor friend of mine in Vancouver said, "I don't understand how you keep from blowing up when I know some of the things that have happened to you while working for that man Wickland (my boss). Dr. Yeager called him an emotional bully. As a medical man he said it was good to blow off steam sometime. I guess I must have taken it out on the family.

As a claims agent I had the reputation of being a successful negotiator and I know I have saved the company many hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlement with claimants. Very few of my cases ever went to court if there was a shred of liability on the part of the company. One clue to my success was that I always offered a silent prayer before I began negotiations, asking the Lord to help me arrive at a mutually satisfactory adjustment that would be fair to both parties."