Sometimes in life you gotta start over. I did that in 2011 when I moved to Corbin, Kentucky and took a job with Troll and Toad. Sold my house. Sold my store. Moved 500 miles.
Started over.
Many said I was crazy. They said that other guys could not work with the company. That this other admittedly awesome guy only lasted for a short time. But, I ain’t another guy. I’m this guy. And, I am decisive (some mistake that for rash, but I know how to commit). I went all in.
And, I lasted 5 years. It was glorious, and I have a few memories of frustrations and a little bit of hurt feelings, but no regrets. Being part of Troll and Toad was--awesome. They’re an awesome company to work for, they care about their staff and offer great benefits.
I worked for Troll and Toad for five years and here is what I learned:
Corporate culture is important. I am not in any way similar to the corporate culture of TrollAndToad, and so I didn’t really fit in. Not their fault, not really anything I could do about that, because I really like being me and will not change. Will. Not. Change. That’s a me issue, not a them issue. I believe that when a team is assembled they need to be working toward a common goal - everyone rowing in the same direction. It is a very simple thing to me. It is how I was raised; it is how I was taught in the Army; and it is how I have run my businesses. It is not how Troll works, and what Troll does is--alien to me, with so many parts and departments doing their own thing. Too much “jazz” and not enough “marching band” for me, I guess.
When I got to Troll And Toad - they had a team so impressive it was like walking onto the bridge of the USS Enterprise (spaceship, not aircraft carrier): Jon Huston, Mike Broughton, Alicia Huston, Aaron Miracle, Andrew Stokinger, Tim Brennan, James Jacques, Chris Woltereck, an IT team that could, literally, have staffed a starship, and the crew, the workers in the warehouse - amazing, dedicated, talented people. It was... daunting.
For a long time I was the smartest person in my organization. Now, I was a very smart guy in a company made up largely of very, very smart people. Intimidating? Oh, yeah. Heck, Troll and Toad had people running minor departments who were clearly brilliant human beings. I think the corporate culture of Troll is best described as, “Hire smart people, tell them what you want, let them figure out how to succeed.”
Along the way I got to be partners in Troll And Toad. Made friends, lost friends, like the death of Lana Huston--which was devastating. What a warm and amazing woman she was. Miss her. Probably more because my wife and I had dinner with Jon and Lana the night of her death, and she was particularly jovial and happy that night. Hours later, she was just... gone. She was family to me. Yet, there were many amazingly happy times.
As of January 1st, 2017 I will have no ties to the company any longer (which has allowed me to stay on the health insurance for a few months). I want to thank every single person at Troll and Toad. Especially Shawn Gambel, who said to me one time "You can outlast this" in reference to a particular bad run of luck I had. Best Advice I Ever Got.
I will miss being on the team at Troll and Toad. Mostly, I will miss feeling like I was a member of the Bridge Crew, or Small Council if you prefer. That was pretty awesome.
I will continue to see them, as I "RC" (reverse cart) products to their buy list every week (a good way for a small store like mine to turn a lot of cards into cash, every week). And, many of their staff are my friends. Scott Cook, Mike Broughton, Margaret West just to name a few.
To Troll and Toad, and all of you faithful readers, have a very merry Christmas, or holiday of your heritage or family tradition.
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
