On March 12th 2016 the assembly of members
lasted less than an hour. Considering how dramatic the meeting of the
Management Board was last time, I expected the same atmosphere, but nothing
like that happened.
On the first day of fishing season, April 1st,
I didn't catch any fish, and furthermore all the fishermen were complaining
about the bad catch. I felt embarrassed, as I expected a better season since we
had put rainbow trout from our new fish farm into the rivers. The following
days fishermen were still not satisfied. Comments on our online forum were
numerous and everyone thought the fault was in our new fish farm. I found those
comments silly, but many of our members were in really bad mood. The chairman
of the Supervisory Board was threatening to request an extraordinary assembly
where the bad catch should be discussed.
I often went to the new fish farm and one day I talked
to one of the workers there. When we discussed the bad catch I told him I found
it strange not to have caught any fish myself, as I had done it in previous
years. Then he said: “Mr President, do you know that the master of The Fishing
Club put only half the amount of fish, comparing the years before, into the
rivers!”
I became very angry, as I had been asking the master
all the time if we had enough rainbow trout to put into the rivers before the
fishing season. He claimed that there were enough fish. So what was going on? I
knew that the manager of Faronika (also the master of The Fishing Club) was
constantly having financial problems. After all we hadn’t even paid the rainbow
trout bought from Mrs Mirella in Italy last autumn. If only he had told me
there were not enough fish, I would find a way to tackle the matter.
I checked how many rainbow trout we needed, as those
we had were too small for putting into the rivers. I estimated we should buy
two tons. I decided to convene a meeting of the Management Board. The meeting
was quite dramatic, though we finally voted two important conclusions:
1.
We immediately buy 2 tons of rainbow
trout for putting into the rivers.
2.
The manager of Faronika d. o. o.
can’t be the master of fishing family at the same time.
Some members of the Management Board had warned me
before that it wasn’t proper that one person had those two functions. The
master of The Fishing Club is the one who buys the fish whereas the manager of
Faronika is the one who sells them which really does not go together. I was
well aware of that, though I asked the members to wait until a new president of
The Fishing Club was elected. I had enough problems and I wanted some peace
till the end of my mandate. But when that conflict turned up at the beginning
of the fishing season, I knew we should act immediately.
We urgently needed money for buying fish. The banks
were out of the question, so my colleague from student’s time in Ljubljana
borrowed me some money. We immediately paid the debts to Mrs Mirella and bought
another two tons of rainbow trout, which we put into the rivers. In the
following months the rainbow trout from Faronika grew up enough.
………………………………
At the end of May 2016 we had to re-elect the general
manager of Faronika d.o.o. The company Faronika d.o.o. was established in 2011
and then the Management Board of The
Fishing Club Tolmin
appointed Dušan Jesenšek as a general manager for five years. Until the
fish farm was built, everything went smoothly, and the workers from the The
Fishing Club were only transferred into the new company. Soon after July 1st
2015 when the fish farm was built, problems began turning up. It was clear to
me that we should start selling fish as soon as possible if we wanted to start
paying off the credits and interest for our investment. I had that feeling that
Dušan doesn’t understand what tasks are most important for a general manager of
the company. I know that one can be intelligent, but it is not easy to become a
good general manager at the age of over fifty. There are numerous things to be
considered: motivating the employees, organizing working process, increasing
the selling, paying attention to liquidity, and so on.
I thought Dušan would stay the general manager of
Faronika, and a new master of The Fishing Club would be appointed. We had six
meetings, and many members were critical about the present general manager.
Some of them proposed a call, but I
warned them about the liquidity problems. If Faronika got a new general manager,
the salaries would be too high. When Dušan had been appointed the general
manager we promised, in an
individual contract, that he would remain working in Faronika, when someone
else would be a general manager.
There were ten people at the meeting, and most of them
with no knowledge of what is important when appointing a general manager of a
company. Fortunately, Oskar Rosič suggested appointing the Board of Directors
(BD) for Faronika d. o. o. and a few people who know how to run the business of
companies should be in it. We all agreed with his suggestion. The Management Board would be appointed after the
appointed general manager of Faronika d.o.o.
Meanwhile Dušan and I drove to Friuli to buy rainbow
trout and we had a lot of time to talk. He asked me if we would appoint him as
general manager again. I told him I didn’t know how the Management Board would
decide. I also told him how he should have worked as a general manager of
Faronika and I thought he understood me.
Before appointing the general manager we demanded a
written programme for Faronika for the following five years. I don’t know how
Andrej Costantini was suggested to prepare the programme. So at the first
meeting I found it strange when he told us he wasn’t going to be e candidate,
since nobody suggested him. It’s true though, he helped a lot in Faronika with
the sale and fish processing. I told Dušan a few times that he should pay him
for the time working there, but he didn’t. So he only got what he earned for a
working time in The Fishing Club.
Dušan called me before the last meeting where we were
to appoint a general manager. He wanted to meet with Andrej and me in the pub
Baron. It surprised me when Dušan began talking. He suggested Andrej as a new
general manager of Faronika saying that he would like to remain the master of
The Fishing Club. They were both ready to reduce the salary which seemed to be
the problem. Furthermore Dušan was ready to help Andrej any time.
I was a bit shocked. I thought we would re-elect
Dušan, and Andrej would help selling and processing on condition he got paid
for his work. I had already found a new candidate for the master of The Fishing
Club. That was Boštjan Jakopič, who used to be the master of Nova Gorica Fishing
Club. I had already invited him to the meeting of the Management Board so that
he could introduce himself, and all the members agreed with my suggestion.
I did not like that turnaround. Of course Andrej was a
good worker and helped me a lot. But I couldn’t see him in the role of a
general manager. If the new general manager is not determined enough and if the
previous one stays in the company, troubles are predictable. But they both
insisted on their suggestion. Finally I agreed to present the situation to the Management
Board but there were too many members against Dušan as the master of The
Fishing Club, and all that influenced the atmosphere in Faronika. That was the
reason I wanted to prevent further misunderstandings.
Despite my efforts I failed and Dušan threatened to
resign if he didn’t stay the master of The Fishing Club. Till then I thought he
found the company important, but then I realized he wanted to manage fishing in
our rivers. He is no doubt a great expert in managing fish, but on the other
hand he is too big an individualist to motivate fishermen. I also felt he
didn’t want a competitor. I often suggested we should find somebody to replace
him, but he always found an excuse that it was not necessary.
Eventually I let it be his way. Thinking back, I
realize that was a big mistake. Probably he wouldn’t resign, but I was afraid
things would go wrong if he did. After all, we only just began our business in
the new fish farm.
At the final meeting concerning re-election I
presented his suggestion to the members of the Management Board. The meeting
was short, since all the members but one agreed to appoint Dušan.
When I wanted to congratulate Dušan, he became angry
saying, that he would send a note to all the members of the Management Board
that he would resign. I asked him not to complicate matters further. I really
didn’t feel good like having numerous meetings concerning the problem of a
general manager of Faronika d.o.o. I had troubles to convince him to wait till
a new competent Board of Directors would be appointed.
………………………………..
On 27th May 2016, at our last meeting when
we appointed Dušan Jesenšek the general manager of Faronika d. o. o., we agreed
that every member should consider the candidates for the Board of Directors of
our company. We agreed that the president of the BD should always be the
president of The Fishing Club at the same time.
This is important due to coordinating the management of the fish farm
and fishing family. Besides we should appoint a member from Bovec,
Kobarid, and Tolmin, as our Fishing Club manages all the rivers in the region. It
is important, however, that members are well acquainted with the business of
the company.
The meeting for appointing The Board of Directors was on
16th June. Till then I found three extra members. Milan Berlot, a
member of the Management Board, also suggested his candidates, but I didn’t
take them into consideration. I was sure my suggestion was good, though I was
aware that some members of the Management Board had a different opinion. I was
already near the end of my mandate, so if the Management Board appointed other
members for BD, I would resign.
At the beginning of our meeting I presented my
suggestion, and soon the problems turned up. Three members of the Management Board
and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board complained that I was like a dictator.
They said that more candidates should be suggested and then elected
democratically. I was fed up listening to their intrigue and when I got to the
word I said: “As you know, I am one of the candidates for a member of the BD,
so it is not appropriate for me to participate in the debate. Each of you can
suggest extra candidates, but then you should finally agree who would be the
members of the BD. I want my deputy Andrej Costantini to continue the meeting.
When you finish your work I want someone to call me.”
I left the meeting and went to the pub Baron. I
ordered a whiskey, lit a cigar and enjoyed the sunny day. I spent about an hour
and a half talking to my acquaintances. Then Andrej called me and I returned to
the meeting. The Management Board appointed the candidates I had suggested for
the Board of Directors. Three people were against my suggestion; Milan Berlot
and two members from Kobarid.
More than a month passed before we had the first
meeting of the Board of Directors. It was on 21st July when Dušan
resigned as the general manager of Faronika d. o. o., and Andrej Costantini was
appointed.
On 1st August 2016, Andrej became the new
general manager, and in a few days he went on holiday. I didn’t like that,
though I didn’t mention it to anyone.
………………………………………
In the middle of July there was a meeting of the
Management Board containing ten topics on the agenda. The last meetings,
especially those after my stroke, had become more and more exciting. I let all
the members know that I wouldn’t candidate as the president of Tolmin Fishing
Club for another mandate and since then the atmosphere was tense. The 5th
topic became a trigger for misunderstanding.
An international team for the Fish-Trail project should
have been appointed. Dušan Jesenšek acquired the project which would be
financed 75% by UE, and 25% by the five partners from Great Britain, Ireland,
Denmark, Portugal and Slovenia. The secretary, who should speak English
fluently and know how to manage such projects, would do the most work. I
thought Dušan would be perfect for the job, but he told me he didn’t have
enough time, so he suggested his son Gašper. I was aware that the members of
the Management Board wouldn’t be easy to convince, since nepotism and money
matters are a very sensitive topic in our environment. I knew Gašper would be
appropriate for the job, and didn’t see any other options.
So when we discussed that topic, it became really
nasty. The chairman of the Supervisory Board blamed Dušan of abusing his
position in the Fishing Club for providing a job for his son. At that point I
got really angry myself, and I said that was a terrible insult. I knew Gašper
was the only one capable to manage that project, nevertheless I told the chairman
to do it if he felt capable of doing it himself. The debate followed. Many
members criticized Dušan, but no one suggested who should take over the task.
Finally I managed to convince the members to trust Gašper to manage the
project.
Since the meeting was so tumultuous, I had been considering
it for some of the following days, and I felt really bad. I couldn’t believe
Dušan didn’t see the things like I did. “When I am not the president of the
Fishing Club anymore, there will be no one to back him up”, I thought. I had
been telling him that the Fishing Club was a community of hundreds of equal
members and if you are their leader, you should have good rapport with most of
them. Otherwise they can turn against you. Therefore I always asked him to join
me at the meetings with fishermen. If he did, he could present his valuable
work in the Fishing Club. Somehow he never took my advice into consideration. I
had always backed him up, because he is an expert in his field, but he should
also learn how to cooperate with people of the same interests.
When the members of our Fishing Club were coming to my
office I used to ask them if they knew anyone who spoke English well and was
able to manage international projects. So one of them mentioned Blaž Močnik as
a possible candidate. He is a correspondent for the daily newspaper Delo,
besides he is a good fisherman and also a guide for foreign fishermen. I soon
estimated he could be a good Fish-Trail project manager. As a candidate for a
new president of the Fishing Club was always on my mind, I thought he could be
the right one, too.
First I talked to Dušan. When I suggested that we
could appoint Blaž for the project manager instead of Gašper, he agreed. So
both of them, Dušan and Gašper, would avoid getting too many opponents. If Blaž
managed the Fish-Trail project well, we could suggest him as a candidate for
the president of the Fishing Club. We thoroughly talked that topic over, and he
agreed. After that I explained everything to Gašper and he also seemed to
understand my points.
Later I invited Blaž to a job interview. When I
explained everything, he agreed to manage the Fish-Trail project. I sent the
same suggestion to all the members of the Management Board via e-mail, and they
all agreed. I think they were rather satisfied with it. Then I went to Dušan
and let him know about the changes. I was shocked to realize that he was angry
even though it all seemed to have been settled before. At that point there was
no way to change anything and when I was leaving, I felt that he was very angry
at me.
………………………………….
The Festival of the Marble Trout was the first Fish-Trail
activity. Foreign partners were invited to attend the event, which was planned
for last four days at the end of September.
The consultation on the new Fisheries and Breeding Plan for all the
members of Tolmin Fishing Club was one of the major activities. In July I have already
acquired lecturers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Institute, and
the University of Ljubljana where they had prepared the plans for some years.
Andrej Costantini was responsible for the whole festival though.
A week before the festival I came to the office and
realized that it was just then that Andrej was trying to book seats for all the
participants in a restaurant. I got really angry. Andrej and his colleagues
tried to calm me down reassuring me that they would manage to do everything in
time. Nevertheless that is not the way to tackle such important things.
Everything should have been done a month in advance! The lunch was planned for
the second day of the festival and luckily it was raining all the time, so only
30 members came. If not so, there would be not enough room at camp Siber,
because they had had some seats booked earlier by some other people. We
experienced even a bigger fiasco when only four members of our Fishing Club,
together with Dušan, our secretary and me, came to the consultation!
Nevertheless, the festival turned out successfully, especially
the last two days, when our foreign partners joined us. The weather was
beautiful, our guests could go fishing and they enjoyed our company.
……………………………….
Soon problems turned up among the employees in
Faronika. I was afraid that would happen since Andrej is not determined enough
and he doesn’t act when necessary. I wanted to help him, so I invited him to my
home to discuss his business moves. I didn’t want his employees to know that,
because in that case his reputation would be compromised. I tried to explain
what the important general manager’s decisions are and how they should be
realized quickly. I have numerous books on managing at home, and I borrowed him
one I find the best, which is “In Search of Excellence” by Tom
Peters and Robert Waterman. I bought that book in the early 80-ies and it
helped me a lot at my work as a general manager. I underlined the most
important facts in the book and borrowed it to Andrej. I hoped that would help
him.
After a few months I realized it was no use trying to
change him, it would be best to change the director of Faronika sooner or
later. I got to know that the general
manager of Faronika was afraid of Dušan, the master of the Fishing Club, so he
didn’t even start doing the business plan. When I learned he didn’t even
prepare the work contract for Dušan, I got really angry. I called him and
explained that penalties may be imposed on the company and himself, if he
doesn’t comply with legal obligations. He agreed and apologized that it was
Dušan who didn’t agree with him. I warned him that he was obliged to make the
work contract, or else Dušan should leave.
I knew a new general manager should be appointed. It
wasn’t easy though, as the salary was not high, and the company underwent
constant financial problems. Towards the end of the year I suggested the
Management Board to take a 20.000 € loan for Faronika. I was considering Urška
Bizjak as a new general manager , since she had been the accountant in Tolmin
Fishing Club for 15 years and in Faronika since the beginning. I called her and
told her that I see her as a future GM of Faronika. I noticed she liked the
idea, but she asked for some time to consider my offer. After a week she
refused it. She said that she didn’t know anything about the fish and that
worried her. I admitted that it may present a difficulty, but there were other
more important issues and every clever GM could soon learn what was necessary
for the technological process of the company. Furthermore the master of fishing
managment was a real expert and she could count on him. Well, she didn’t accept
the offer.
…………………………………
At the end of October we attended the Assembly of the
Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska, the president of which was Andrej
Costantini. I often warned him that the Assembly should have been realized till
May. Jože Kravanja, the president of the Supervisory Board of the Assembly of
the Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska insisted on that even more. I had
an inkling that something would go wrong, and so it did. The leaderships of
Fishing Clubs of Primorska, Tolmin and Koper Fishing Clubs excluded, had had
meetings beforehand. At the General Assembly they carried out a rebellion. But
the fact is that it was illegal. The candidates for the new leadership should have
been presented to all the members 15 days in advance. The new leadership was
illegal but it was partly Andrej’s fault, as he hadn’t realized the assembly in
time. We didn’t even think of causing problems.
The following working day I became furious. The
members of the new leadership came to Tolmin and they wanted Andrej to submit
all the documents of the Assembly of the Federation of Fishing Clubs of
Primorska in order to take them to Postojna to the headquarters of new leadership.
Andrej was frightened and I didn’t like it at all. I prevented Andrej to do
what they wanted, because the documents were obliged to be submitted only after
the new leadership had been registered at the administrative unit. Our
Management Board decided that the new leadership was not legally elected. So a
new Assembly had to be called and that happened just before the New Year. At
the Assembly of our Fishing Club in March 2017, we left the Assembly of the
Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska.
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