That's $18.52 an hour in today's dollars. The average pay for a janitor today is closer to $12 an hour. In fact, just a few years after 1976, janitors' wages (at least in LA) started falling sharply below the cost of living: https://socialjusticehistory.org/lalabor/workingla/archives/...
The fact that our economic system worked for him does not mean that it works for the vast majority of people in similar jobs. It's quite likely that some of his colleagues are now making less money (in real terms) than they were in the 70s.
The US has a lot more immigrants from Latin America living here than it did back then. Plus, unemployment is lower (even with the pandemic).
I would rather have 1 million people making $12/hr and 0 unemployed and in poverty than 650k people making $18/hr with 350k just shit out of luck. I can’t say the former is what we have, but with unions or tight labor market regulation, the later tends to be closer to what you get.
I actually came to post this. After noticing some weird terminology in the Twitter thread (I've never heard the term "Cucamonga Valley" used to refer to the neighborhood by Ontario International Airport) I found that hustle.co article which has very similar wording. I think the Twitter thread is just a paraphrasing with some jazzed up details
Thanks for posting the original article. I remember it being posted earlier on HN. The second I saw the tweet about "Make sure they know a Montanez" mopped it, I knew it was the hot chip story, as that was a line I remember from the article.
Great story, but it can’t happen today. No janitor works for the company whose floors he’s mopping anymore, so janitors wouldn’t get that company-wide email.
Are you implying that companies outsource all of the janitorial duties now? I'm in Arkansas, so crack all the jokes you want, but the big places that produce a lot of food (McKee comes to mind - Little Debbie) staff their own positions.
I find this contractor mindset amusing from personal perspective.
I've consulted to a company for ~6 years which has gone through some pretty huge growth. Until recently I felt was one of the guys helping the business and just happened to have a finger across several companies in non competing industries.
Now the growth is on and 'corporate employees' are joining mid size success corp. As a consultant so many treat me as second tier as though signing that full time contract changes something. Is strange how that status changes peoples behaviour.
Also amazing how much meetings took over and people there for the sake of it are involved in everything. Changed incredibly in 18 months when the money was rolling in and headcount opened. A bunch for the better but also incredible how much bureaucracy came in so quickly.
It’s amazing that corporate America thinks it can’t hire a at all levels from the custodian to the CEO, but almost every school system and government can figure it out.
This is a really nice story, but you know who the other hero is? The CEO who gave him the time and the opportunity. He could've easily told him to fuck off, as many would do. Who was he, what's his name?
More often than not, we get nowhere without people in better positions helping us, it would be great if more people would keep an open mind like that. That CEO deserves recognition.
And if you manage to climb higher on the ladder, don't forget to help others like someone helped you before. Pay it forward.
> The CEO got on the line. Loving the initiative, he told Richard to prepare a presentation, and he set a meeting in 2 weeks time.
So he didn't really just walk in like the title implies. Still it's a remarkable journey. It invokes a certain nostalgia about a past where anyone could move up through the social/corporate ladder and if that is still the case. Personally, I wonder if that time really ever existed or if these are 1/million changes of luck.
It’s cliche, but I find it to be true: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”
Mr. Montanez had done the preparation - he’d immersed himself in the company and its products, and was actively looking for ways to contribute to it. I am very confident that this was not the only idea he had to do so; I strongly suspect Frito-Lay discovered that as well, which is why he ended up in upper management.
Now, does it happen for everyone, every time? Of course not. It’s not even numerically possible for everyone to take this path. I’ve always taken pride in immersing myself with the company I work for as well, and while that has worked out very well in some cases in others it has had no apparent effect. That’s OK. I see it as part of my character, not merely as a play for more responsibility (and compensation).
I don’t think it’s just “luck”, though. I think someone who builds this type of character will benefit from it. It may not make them a VP at Frito-Lay, but it will benefit them.
Unfortunately my experience has been when a CEO is asking you to “act like an owner” it is code for “spend less” and “work more.” The subject of this article had an advantage because he took things quite literally and hadn’t heard the BS before.
3G Capital also uses the “act like an owner” code - the problem is that their employees cut a bunch stuff and they cut a bunch of their employees.
I think what is special is that they offered him VP. Today he would probably got a voucher or got fired shortly and someone else taking credit. Today taking a look at particular community and researching what they are missing and taking into account their spending power is pretty standard in research. Also janitor would likely be either self employed or from agency and focused on his own life today.
This story really stuck with me when I came across it here[0] last year because of the way it's written.
As a few have pointed out, the Twitter messages are just "paraphrasing" the article if you put it nicely. Putting a few references after doing the original sources injustice by telling just half of the story doesn't make it okay either.
Is this some kind of new tactic to grow your audience? I was raised to be honest, I worked in industries the consequences of being dishonest is supposedly absolutely unacceptable, but in most cases people who are dishonest usually get further ahead than most with little to no punishments. Seeing this get so much attention is very demoralising.
> So Montañez assembled a small team of family members and friends, went to the test markets, and bought every bag of Hot Cheetos he could find.
Well, that would certainly make them sell better, but doesn't exactly make it an accurate test? I think I've heard of other companies doing this, although usually it's to inflate revenue and growth numbers pitching to investors or space in stores. I want to say some company did this recently but I can't remember exactly who.
But don't get me wrong, I love me some flaming hot cheetos and it's a great feeling story. Although I also remember the Wire:
He juiced the sales to make sure the product didn't get killed prematurely. Anyone who came from his background and got that opportunity would have thought to do the same
I applaud both the janitor for his initiative and the executive for listening and giving credit where credit is due. I feel like in big companies today, including tech companies that are overly praised for their culture, there is little room for such a story to unfold. More likely than not, someone with initiative has donated their idea and strategy to the company for free, while someone else gets put in charge of executing it, and capturing the career benefits. It’s cynical I know and I’m sure there are counterexamples, but the vast majority of attempts at such initiative don’t go anywhere.
My father worked for GM as a tool and die maker. They had a program once where employees could submit ideas for efficieny improvements and would get a reward of 10% of the savings (or something along those lines). There was some process whereby parts were coming off the line and 100% needed additional work for final install (I believe it was hoods of Impalas or something). My dad had proposed this change to the stamping that would have made this extra work unecessary and had calculated a savings of nearly $30 million given the number of Impalas built, the hours needed for the part and the average wage of the employee. Management blew him off and low and behold, a few months down the road he was asked to build the tooling for the change. He is not $3 million richer.
Lovely story and kudos to both Montanez (the janitor) and the company for their success but I can't help notice a bit of survivorship bias in these kind of stories. How many thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of such ideas come to people at all levels in all companies and how many turn out to be duds is never covered. Although the story made me feel good, I can't really draw any lessons from it I'm afraid.
I understand that from an economical perspective, this is brilliant, but the natural part of myself also think that this kinda of junk food is ruining this planet. Its more or less directly the cause of most pollution troubles (over-consumerism, transports, .., at the expense of organic local "good" food)
Can anyone tell me about non-founder CEOs who has done a great job of creating innovative products for a company without using MAs?
I'm trying to think about if there's any correlation between the two. There are some posts in HN that was about founder ceos but I cant remember the context. I'll have to go look for those
[+] [-] jasonhansel|5 years ago|reply
The fact that our economic system worked for him does not mean that it works for the vast majority of people in similar jobs. It's quite likely that some of his colleagues are now making less money (in real terms) than they were in the 70s.
[+] [-] maxk42|5 years ago|reply
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ https://smartasset.com/investing/inflation-calculator https://www.calculator.net/inflation-calculator.html?cstarti...
[+] [-] baron816|5 years ago|reply
I would rather have 1 million people making $12/hr and 0 unemployed and in poverty than 650k people making $18/hr with 350k just shit out of luck. I can’t say the former is what we have, but with unions or tight labor market regulation, the later tends to be closer to what you get.
[+] [-] bluedino|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] KindOne|5 years ago|reply
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20227175 (2019)
https://thehustle.co/hot-cheetos-inventor/
[+] [-] Rebelgecko|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nend|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rchaud|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Someone|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] NDizzle|5 years ago|reply
https://mckee.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/mckee/jobs
So, in other words, yeah, you could be a janitor and potentially propose a new Little Debbie snack right now. That particular dream is still alive!
[+] [-] Gustomaximus|5 years ago|reply
I've consulted to a company for ~6 years which has gone through some pretty huge growth. Until recently I felt was one of the guys helping the business and just happened to have a finger across several companies in non competing industries.
Now the growth is on and 'corporate employees' are joining mid size success corp. As a consultant so many treat me as second tier as though signing that full time contract changes something. Is strange how that status changes peoples behaviour.
Also amazing how much meetings took over and people there for the sake of it are involved in everything. Changed incredibly in 18 months when the money was rolling in and headcount opened. A bunch for the better but also incredible how much bureaucracy came in so quickly.
[+] [-] scarface74|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bserge|5 years ago|reply
More often than not, we get nowhere without people in better positions helping us, it would be great if more people would keep an open mind like that. That CEO deserves recognition.
And if you manage to climb higher on the ladder, don't forget to help others like someone helped you before. Pay it forward.
[+] [-] KingMachiavelli|5 years ago|reply
So he didn't really just walk in like the title implies. Still it's a remarkable journey. It invokes a certain nostalgia about a past where anyone could move up through the social/corporate ladder and if that is still the case. Personally, I wonder if that time really ever existed or if these are 1/million changes of luck.
[+] [-] Ancapistani|5 years ago|reply
Mr. Montanez had done the preparation - he’d immersed himself in the company and its products, and was actively looking for ways to contribute to it. I am very confident that this was not the only idea he had to do so; I strongly suspect Frito-Lay discovered that as well, which is why he ended up in upper management.
Now, does it happen for everyone, every time? Of course not. It’s not even numerically possible for everyone to take this path. I’ve always taken pride in immersing myself with the company I work for as well, and while that has worked out very well in some cases in others it has had no apparent effect. That’s OK. I see it as part of my character, not merely as a play for more responsibility (and compensation).
I don’t think it’s just “luck”, though. I think someone who builds this type of character will benefit from it. It may not make them a VP at Frito-Lay, but it will benefit them.
[+] [-] latenightcoding|5 years ago|reply
“I have a PhD of being poor, hungry and determined"
[+] [-] alistairSH|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lotsofpulp|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dehrmann|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Vaslo|5 years ago|reply
3G Capital also uses the “act like an owner” code - the problem is that their employees cut a bunch stuff and they cut a bunch of their employees.
[+] [-] lotsofpulp|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] idoh|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lixtra|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] corobo|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fortran77|5 years ago|reply
https://www.newsweek.com/flamin-hot-cheeto-movie-true-story-...
See IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8105234/
[+] [-] nether|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] intricatedetail|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wenbin|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hmwhy|5 years ago|reply
As a few have pointed out, the Twitter messages are just "paraphrasing" the article if you put it nicely. Putting a few references after doing the original sources injustice by telling just half of the story doesn't make it okay either.
Is this some kind of new tactic to grow your audience? I was raised to be honest, I worked in industries the consequences of being dishonest is supposedly absolutely unacceptable, but in most cases people who are dishonest usually get further ahead than most with little to no punishments. Seeing this get so much attention is very demoralising.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20227175
[+] [-] thatguy0900|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cbanek|5 years ago|reply
Well, that would certainly make them sell better, but doesn't exactly make it an accurate test? I think I've heard of other companies doing this, although usually it's to inflate revenue and growth numbers pitching to investors or space in stores. I want to say some company did this recently but I can't remember exactly who.
But don't get me wrong, I love me some flaming hot cheetos and it's a great feeling story. Although I also remember the Wire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyg_v7Vxo4A
[+] [-] civilized|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwawaysea|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amelius|5 years ago|reply
CEO: Thanks for the idea! Goodbye, and don't forget your mop!
(CEO shares go up by $20M)
Janitor: Damn, I should have brought a lawyer. If only I had the money for one.
[+] [-] giarc|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] readams|5 years ago|reply
He did eventually win his lawsuit though. 20 YEARS later.
[+] [-] throwaway2245|5 years ago|reply
Whose interest is it in that this is the story that gets repeatedly told as inspiration?
[+] [-] vmurthy|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] k_sze|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gnicholas|5 years ago|reply
Sounds like Hampton Creek's mayo shenanigans: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-hampton-creek-just-m...
[+] [-] 11235813213455|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anshumankmr|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kevindeasis|5 years ago|reply
I'm trying to think about if there's any correlation between the two. There are some posts in HN that was about founder ceos but I cant remember the context. I'll have to go look for those
[+] [-] asutekku|5 years ago|reply