January 28, 2010

The Kat's nine-plus lives

The Kat Who Always Comes Back (Jan. 16) reminded me of the two great lessons I've taken away from my uncle's business career. One was, indeed, the dangers of expanding a successful business - something underemphasized in business courses, but critical in the real world.

The other involved the way former suppliers, colleagues and acquaintances treated him during and after a major business failure, and why. The saying about treating people well on the way up, because they'll be met again on the way down, applies only in part, because Archie Katzman had never put himself past anyone. Paying suppliers faster than he had to, treating employees and associates well, and giving a lot to the community may not have always made the most bottom-line sense in the near term - but it meant everything when the chips were down.

That, too, is a worthy lesson to consider in an ever-uncertain world. Archie Katzman's Niagara Parks Commission appointment under three different political parties, and his nine-plus business and community lives, are not an accident.