Chapter Nineteen: Ivanhoe

In the summer of 1986, I met Claude Maynard for lunch. He told me he had been hired by Ivanhoe, as Director of Construction. Ivanhoe was the Real Estate Division of Steinberg -- they managed and administered the shopping centers.

He indicated that his workload had increased and asked me to join him at Ivanhoe as Project Manager. As I was close to retirement, I declined, stating that it would not be worth it for me to change jobs with new responsibilities for one year. Claude disagreed with my reasoning saying "one year consists of 365 days, and lately you have not been happy in your position, so why not take this opportunity, it's still the same company so your pension would not be affected."

My boss had been grooming a friend of his to take over my job when I retired. I had not received an increase for several years, which caused me resentment. The increase in pay which was due to me, was given to his friend in order to build up his annual performance review.

I discussed Claude's proposal with Bela, and we agreed that I should accept his offer, on the condition that if it did not suit me, I would take early retirement.

The transfer was done in August 1986. Towards the end of October of the same year, there was a fire at the head offices of Steinberg and Ivanhoe.

The company occupied the top four floors of a sixteen story building, located at the corner of St. Catherine and Atwater. The damage was extensive, not only to the equipment and documents but also structurally to the steel beams supporting the roof. For safety reasons, the building was evacuated, and was off limits to the public.

Bernie McDonnell, Vice President of Real Estate, was assigned the responsibility of salvaging all the documents, a good majority were half burned and water logged. Bernie obtained special permission from the President to have me assigned temporarily to work under his supervision as the Project Manager.

A temporary office was set up at the parking level in the building near the staircase. As there was no electrical power, there was no heat, no light, and neither were the elevators operational. To supervise the operation, I had to climb the stairs to the 16th floor several times a day. The staircase was cluttered with all kinds of debris.

In addition to the above problems, I had to face the November cold weather with the wind blowing through the broken glass windows and the snow accumulation on the roof. I had to ascertain if there was a change in the position of the steel beams supporting the roof. One Friday, the beams started to bend, I had to evacuate all personnel from the building.

We managed to save what was salvageable -- legal documents, leases, personnel files, payroll, purchase orders, accounting information, etc., so that the company, which was relocated temporarily could continue operating with as little disruption as possible. I received a letter from the President(see below) acknowledging the difficult task I had accomplished.

 

Dear Jacob:

The fire at Alexis Nihon Plaza may have destroyed our offices, but it did not destroy our traditions nor our strength. Throughout our history of almost seventy years, we have faced crises and have overcome them: we have been challenged by the impossible and won. We have been carried through by our traditions and our strengths, both of which lie in people like yourself.

What you and a handful of your colleagues accomplished in the hours immediately following the fire can only be described as Herculean. Those who know of your achievements are in awe, all of us are indebted to you.

On behalf of the entire Steinberg organization, I congratulate you and thank you.

Irving Ludmer

President

 

Having received the above letter, I was deeply touched and was prompted to send Irving a reply.

 

Dear Irving:

I have read your letter dated November 19, 1986 with great awe and admiration.

Throughout history it has been proven that only in times of crises strength and/or weaknesses clearly manifest itself. Steinberg as an organization have through the years nurtured and developed people with loyalty and a feeling of belonging to this company. This has been proven with the fire at Alexis Nihon Plaza.

I must however add that this loyalty has not always been acknowledged in the recent past.

With you coming back to the Steinberg Organization, the atmosphere, the culture and expectation have been rejuvenated and people like myself are being encouraged, re-motivated and very pleased to be a member of this organization.

Your acknowledgment is greatly appreciated.

Jacob Gutman

Before I was transferred from the workshops to Ivanhoe, my boss took me out to lunch. He asked my opinion of the person he was assigning to take over my position. I told him that although his friend was an Engineer, he had no experience in a wood manufacturing shop and I would predict that within one year he would put the shop into bankruptcy.

My boss, naturally, disagreed with my prediction and went ahead with his plan. Before the year was over the shops were losing money and the company decided to close them.

I joined Ivanhoe with the intention of working until the age of 65 (one year) in actual fact, I worked until my 70th birthday.

As a Project Manager in construction and renovating shopping centers, I was the owner's representative. My responsibility was to submit the estimate, obtain financial approval, work closely with the architect and consulting engineers, analyze the tenders, choose the general contractor and deliver the project on schedule as per drawings and, within the approved budget by top management.

I enjoyed immensely the six years working for Ivanhoe under Claude's supervision. He became Vice President of Construction. I retired at the age of 70, I was offered to remain on staff as a Consultant, but Bela disagreed saying, "until now I have been number two, work was number one, now I want to be number one." I could not argue with this kind of reasoning. There is a time for everything in life and there comes a time when one has to retire.

There are different types of retirement: a) when the company decides to retire the individual, b) when an illness forces the individual to retire and c) when the individual decides that it is time to retire.

By choosing retirement voluntarily, it was much easier for me to face the consequences. In our western society, retirement has a bad connotation. In actual fact, we stop a certain activity and start something else - it is a transition period. We give up something where we gained experience and substitute it with something, that it may be more challenging, it's not called being "productive."

The last two years before my retirement, I only worked three days a week, which gave Bela and I time for a gradual adjustment and to spend more time together. It also gave me the opportunity to undertake some volunteer work, like delivering "Meals on Wheels" to older people, which I continue to do to this day.

Adjustments, when one retires, are necessary for both the husband and wife. I did not realize that while I was working I was a guest in the house - I became a resident when I retired. One morning at breakfast I changed the station on the kitchen radio, Bela asked me what I was doing, "how would I like it if she re-arranged the paper work on my desk?" I got the message loud and clear - the kitchen is not my"domain."

Below are excerpts from the retirement speech I delivered October 30th, 1992 –

Dear Friends

This is a very emotional moment in my life when I have to part company with you after many years of working together. But there comes a time when one has to retire in order to enjoy a life of leisure and reap the fruits of one's labour.

Every part of life has its own advantages and disadvantages, each has its qualities and conditions to be met and adjusted to. is important to remember that one cannot depend upon his reputation and memories of the past to sustain him in the present. Life must have direction and purpose in order that life should be worth living. A person needs challenge to find pleasure in new areas on which to find expression. This is why planning ahead of time is so important.

In order to do the planned activities when one retires, it is advisable if possible, to start doing it while one is still active at work in order to find out if this activity truly satisfies his or her needs, and should it be satisfactory, then one continues when retirement comes. the coming winter we plan to visit New Zealand and Australia. I also came to the conclusion that to achieve satisfaction in life, it is not enough to look after personal needs only, we owe something to the society. So I deliver "meals on wheels" to elderly people who are less fortunate than we are.

Having been associated with Steinberg and Ivanhoe, for over 41 years, I have established friendly relations with many people inside and outside of the company. This relationship I will definitely miss. However, I am leaving this company with a good feeling, wonderful memories, where I have learned a lot and tried to share the knowledge and experiences with others.  Thanks to you all.

---