Hornet Alumni, Supporters and Community Members,
I would love to tell you I am surprised by the treatment of Brandon Laird and his staff in recent days, but unfortunately, I am not.
To be clear, the university has a right to hire and fire anyone they want - that is not the issue here. The issue at hand is a thing called professionalism which must always be core value number one in any organization. What exactly is professionalism? It is the proper day to day treatment of those in any organization, at any level, in any line of work, through both good and bad times. It is treating your employees with kindness, honesty, integrity, and respect even though you may have to make tough decisions and inform them of various unpleasantries. No one enjoys this task. However, it is the minimum that is expected from any organization and anyone is owed as much.
This past Friday, April 1 2022, Brandon Laird and his staff were asked by a Human Resources Analyst through email to turn in their keys, phones, and computers. For four employees who have a combined thirty six years at Sacramento State to be treated in this fashion is both unprofessional and unconscionable. It seems obvious that a face to face meeting with the Athletic Director and/or President, a thank you, and the question of "how can I assist you in employment endeavors moving forward?" would be in order.
It is interesting because the current Athletic Director and President love to use such phrases as :
1. "We always need to do the right thing"
2. "We will always be transparent"
3. "We are all about Hornet Family"
In my experience people who truly live those phrases do not feel a need to repeat such rhetoric over and over and over. Why should they? They know that their actions will speak for themselves, not their words. It is like the phrase I heard long ago, "your actions are so loud, I cannot hear what you are saying."
Many years ago I decided to associate and surround myself exclusively with authentic people. How do I define authentic? It can clearly be defined by asking one question: "Are your words and your actions in line?" If your words and actions line up, then you are truly authentic. If your words and your actions are not consistent, then you are not authentic, and as a result, I have no interest in associating with you as you have revealed exactly who and what you are.
Make no mistake, this is not about the hiring of David Patrick. My interactions over the years with David have been professional, and he was gracious in defeat when his UC Riverside team lost at the Nest during the 2019-2020 season. This is about the very bare minimum that we would all hope for in the workplace: PROFESSIONALISM. The handling of Brandon Laird and his staff does not remotely begin to rise to the minimum level of human decency.
Sincerely,
Brian Katz
CSUS Class of 1980
I would love to tell you I am surprised by the treatment of Brandon Laird and his staff in recent days, but unfortunately, I am not.
To be clear, the university has a right to hire and fire anyone they want - that is not the issue here. The issue at hand is a thing called professionalism which must always be core value number one in any organization. What exactly is professionalism? It is the proper day to day treatment of those in any organization, at any level, in any line of work, through both good and bad times. It is treating your employees with kindness, honesty, integrity, and respect even though you may have to make tough decisions and inform them of various unpleasantries. No one enjoys this task. However, it is the minimum that is expected from any organization and anyone is owed as much.
This past Friday, April 1 2022, Brandon Laird and his staff were asked by a Human Resources Analyst through email to turn in their keys, phones, and computers. For four employees who have a combined thirty six years at Sacramento State to be treated in this fashion is both unprofessional and unconscionable. It seems obvious that a face to face meeting with the Athletic Director and/or President, a thank you, and the question of "how can I assist you in employment endeavors moving forward?" would be in order.
It is interesting because the current Athletic Director and President love to use such phrases as :
1. "We always need to do the right thing"
2. "We will always be transparent"
3. "We are all about Hornet Family"
In my experience people who truly live those phrases do not feel a need to repeat such rhetoric over and over and over. Why should they? They know that their actions will speak for themselves, not their words. It is like the phrase I heard long ago, "your actions are so loud, I cannot hear what you are saying."
Many years ago I decided to associate and surround myself exclusively with authentic people. How do I define authentic? It can clearly be defined by asking one question: "Are your words and your actions in line?" If your words and actions line up, then you are truly authentic. If your words and your actions are not consistent, then you are not authentic, and as a result, I have no interest in associating with you as you have revealed exactly who and what you are.
Make no mistake, this is not about the hiring of David Patrick. My interactions over the years with David have been professional, and he was gracious in defeat when his UC Riverside team lost at the Nest during the 2019-2020 season. This is about the very bare minimum that we would all hope for in the workplace: PROFESSIONALISM. The handling of Brandon Laird and his staff does not remotely begin to rise to the minimum level of human decency.
Sincerely,
Brian Katz
CSUS Class of 1980
