Over the years, I have worn a lot of hats at Two Marines Moving.

I am the Founder.

I am the Owner.

I am the original mover.

I am the original moving consultant.

I am the original dispatcher.

I've answered the phones.

I've booked the reservations.

I've sold the moves.

I've scheduled the crews.

I've cleaned trucks.

I've swept floors.

I've handled complaints.

I've carried furniture.

I've spent years building this company.

What I am not is the Chief Friendship Officer.

Friendship Is Not A Job Title

Every now and then, I encounter someone who seems to think that employment automatically creates friendship.

I've never understood that expectation.

Friendships are not assigned.

Friendships are not mandatory.

Friendships are not employee benefits.

Most importantly, friendships are not forced.

Real friendships happen naturally.

Trying to force a friendship is usually the fastest way to prevent one.

Employment And Friendship Are Different Things

When someone joins Two Marines Moving, we enter into a professional relationship.

The company agrees to provide compensation.

The employee agrees to provide work.

That's the agreement.

We're here to move clients.

We're here to make reservations.

We're here to serve clients.

We're here to accomplish the mission.

That's the purpose of the relationship.

Friendship is an entirely different subject.

Being Friendly Is Not Being Friends

I believe in treating people well.

I believe in professionalism.

I believe in fairness.

I believe in respect.

None of those things require friendship.

You can appreciate somebody without being their friend.

You can respect somebody without being their friend.

You can work effectively alongside somebody without being their friend.

Professional adults understand the difference.

The Marine Corps Taught Me The Difference

During my six years in the Marine Corps, I served under leaders I respected tremendously.

I respected my platoon sergeant who led our platoon in Iraq.

I respected my platoon commander who led our platoon in Iraq.

I respected the company commander who volunteered to deploy with us during the Surge despite already having multiple combat deployments behind him.

Those men earned my respect.

I trusted them.

I followed them.

I appreciated them.

They were not my friends.

And they weren't supposed to be.

They were my leaders.

There is a difference.

During that same enlistment, I eventually became a Fire Team Leader and later a Squad Leader.

I cared deeply about my Marines.

I wanted them to succeed.

I wanted them to come home safely.

I wanted them to grow.

I wanted them to become better Marines.

I cared about them.

But I wasn't there to be their friend.

I wasn't there to be their buddy.

I wasn't there to win a popularity contest.

I was there to lead them.

Leadership and friendship are not the same thing.

Leadership Is Not A Popularity Contest

The Marine Corps taught me something else.

When I stepped forward to lead Marines, I never once thought:

"God, I hope everybody likes me."

Never.

That thought simply never entered my mind.

Not because I disliked my Marines.

Not because I didn't care about them.

I cared deeply about them.

But I had a job to do.

My responsibility was to train Marines.

My responsibility was to enforce standards.

My responsibility was to accomplish the mission.

My responsibility was to bring Marines home.

Whether somebody liked me or disliked me was irrelevant.

The mission came first.

The same principle applies today at Two Marines Moving.

When I make decisions as the owner of the company, I am not asking myself:

"Will employees like this?"

"Will everyone approve of this?"

"Will this make me popular?"

Never.

That is not part of my decision-making process.

Not occasionally.

Not sometimes.

Not rarely.

Never.

What Is Right Matters More Than What Is Popular

One of my favorite high school teachers had a quote hanging on the wall that has stayed with me for decades:

"What is popular is not always right. What is right is not always popular."

I've found that to be true throughout life.

Sometimes what is right and what is popular happen to be the same thing.

Great.

That makes life easy.

But when they are different, I choose what I believe is right.

Every time.

That's how I approached leadership as a Marine.

That's how I approach leadership at Two Marines Moving.

I do not make decisions based on popularity.

I make decisions based on what I believe is right for:

• The client
• The company
• The team
• The mission

If people happen to like the decision, that's fine.

If they don't, that's fine too.

My responsibility is not to win a popularity contest.

My responsibility is leadership.

Leadership requires making decisions based on what is right, not what is popular.

I've Employed Thousands Of People

Over the past twenty years, I've employed a lot of people.

Thousands.

Movers.

Drivers.

Dispatchers.

Consultants.

Team leaders.

Managers.

Veterans.

Police officers.

Firefighters.

EMTs.

Federal agents.

Students.

Tradesmen.

Hardworking civilians.

I've employed thousands of people.

I have not had thousands of friends.

Those are very different numbers.

I Am Not Paying People To Be My Friend

As a small business owner, I am under no illusions about what employment is.

Employment is an agreement.

The company pays compensation.

The employee performs work.

That's the arrangement.

That's the contract.

I pay people to move furniture.

I pay people to drive trucks.

I pay people to dispatch crews.

I pay people to make reservations.

I pay people to serve clients.

I do not pay people to be my friend.

That's simply not a thing.

I'm not putting someone on the clock for:

• $20 an hour
• $25 an hour
• $35 an hour
• $40 an hour

to be my friend.

I'm paying them to perform a job.

Just like they are showing up to earn a paycheck.

There is nothing wrong with that.

In fact, that's exactly how employment is supposed to work.

Employment is a professional relationship.

Friendship is a personal relationship.

Those are two entirely different categories.

Confusing them usually creates more problems than it solves.

My Standards For Friendship Are Astronomically Higher

Here's something that surprises some people.

My standards for friendship are astronomically higher than my standards for employment.

That's all I'll say about that.

Friendship and employment are different categories.

Very different categories.

Over the past twenty years, I've actively recruited thousands of employees.

I am actively recruiting employees.

I am not actively recruiting friends.

Those are completely different activities.

To be perfectly honest, finding people who want to be my friend has never been a problem.

Some are genuine.

Some aren't.

That's life.

But a shortage of people seeking friendship has never been a challenge I've faced.

Finding the right employee is a business challenge.

Finding someone willing to call themselves my friend is not.

Which is another reason I don't confuse the two relationships.

They are entirely different things.

The Mission Comes First

At Two Marines Moving, our mission is straightforward.

Serve clients.

Protect property.

Work safely.

Support the team.

Generate revenue.

Accomplish the mission.

The company functions best when everyone understands their role.

The Founder does not need to become everyone's best friend.

Employees do not need to become the Founder's best friend.

We simply need to work together professionally and effectively.

The mission comes first.

Final Thoughts

I believe in treating people with respect.

I believe in being fair.

I believe in helping people succeed.

I believe in professionalism.

What I don't believe is that employment automatically creates friendship.

Those are different relationships.

After twenty years in business and years of military leadership before that, I've learned something simple:

You can care about people without being their friend.

You can lead people without being their friend.

You can respect people without being their friend.

And you can build a strong company when people understand the difference.

I am the Founder.

I am the Owner.

I am the original mover.

I am the original moving consultant.

I am the original dispatcher.

I am not the Chief Friendship Officer.

Semper Fidelis,
Nicholas Edmond Baucom
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Two Marines Moving

Marine Combat Veteran Founded & Owned Since 2008. Industry Leading Pay. Moving Done Right. Join the Mission.