Hi, my name is Carl Janis I was raised in Chicago’s Near South Side. I was number two of six kids raised in one of my grandmother’s flats in a two story. One thing I learned early in life was that if I was to have or amount to anything, that I needed to think things through, decide, and act. My Mom was working hard to make sure we had the essentials. I learned work ethics from her. I went to a public vocational high school for a couple of years and decided that it was not what I wanted to do. As soon as I could get a work permit, I went to the Private High School closest which was De La Salle Institute. I got a part time job after school to pay for my tuition and books and finished my last two years and graduated from D, as we called it. In my senior year the owner of the business asked me to manage the store in his absence. Hence, my first experience as a manager. Basically, the chief cook and bottle washer with a couple of employees to boot.I was drafted into the Army and spent one my two years in Vietnam. When I got back, I saw Chicago was recruiting police officers. I took the test and went to the academy and graduated and spent two and a half years on the West Side of Chicago as a patrolman. I was able to take some college courses during that time. However, I really wanted a civilian life and decided to move to Phoenix and got into a manager training program for a company called Far West Services which owned a chain of full-service restaurants. However, I wanted more education and the hours and rotating days off after two years would not allow time to complete college. Good jobs were scarce in Phoenix at that time, so I decided to move back to Chicago and look for a job with regular hours. Call it Karma or whatever, I met Jack at a job interview, and I was hired as a salesperson. I was able to complete my hours and obtain a college degree. I was promoted to sales manager, then branch manager, and finally division manager and moved back to the West again. Through company realignments, acquisitions, and finally being acquired by a much larger company I was fortunate to eventually retire as a national distribution manager. Some of my education was traditional college material. Much of it was working with senior level management and working with the people in my organization. Through all my ears customers provided me with insights that I could not get from books. Without the title of change manager, I was charged with handling many changes, from training new manages to opening Regional Distribution Centers when we had none. After an early retirement I spent the next two years consulting with Shell Oil. I currently live in the Sarasota area with my wife and grandson, who we have been raising. He is headed to college full time in 2025 as a music major. We are excited to see him further develop his musical skills. Read more about this authorRead less about this author