The Ithaca Journal goes on at length about local boy done good. It's a good read:
Ithaca is familiar territory to Dave Jacobson, personally and professionally.Given the class action discrimination case against women is based on six women who claimed they were never given the same upward opportunities as Jacobson, perhaps we should see what it takes to move up in Wal-Mart:Jacobson, 38, was born in a house that once stood not very far from the new Wal-Mart store he now manages, and he lived on Esty Street for many years....
He graduated from Ithaca High School in 1984, later spending four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The trip took almost a decade, but it saw Jacobson climb the corporate ladder fairly quickly.What are his responsibilities?"I asked the man who hired me what I had to do to get ahead in this company," Jacobson recalled. That was when he was a part-time stocker in the hardware department in Vestal.
The advice worked. He put his nose to the grindstone, and within 18 weeks was in a management position.
"And I asked the next supervisor, 'What do I need to do now?'" Jacobson added.
Soon, he was promoted into the firm's assistant manager program, graduating to a post as assistant store manager in Sayre, Pa. He returned to Vestal after being promoted to co-manager, and was then promoted to store manager in Hudson, south of Albany....
The company, Jacobson said, gives him the freedom to do what he thinks is right as a manager. He passes that philosophy down to those with whom he works."I make 95 percent of the decisions that go on in the store," he said. "And if someone comes to me and asks, 'What should I do here,' I often say, 'What do you think you should do?'"
Posted by Kevin on January, 24 2005 at 10:51 AM
