The decision to start referring to everyone as “Boss” did not come easily for Leonard Tipton, a polemic analyst at Jackson/Tewksbury in Detroit. He had been mulling it over for six months, including making a list of 128 pros and cons and reviewing it for hours every day.
It was the onset of the pandemic, he says, that ultimately made him decide to move forward, believing it would make him stand out from the competition during these uncertain times.
“Once you decide there’s no turning back,” he says, “so you have to be sure it’s the way you want to go.” He’s finalizing a launch date – either June 8 or 15, depending on when he can work out a few more details.
“For instance, do you send an email in advance so people know what to expect?” he asks. “Or do you just start doing it and let the whole thing take shape organically?” He says he also needs to figure out what to call his actual boss, who doesn’t like to be called “Boss.”
One thing he knows for certain, however, is that it’s essential the term be employed sparingly – just once, at the most twice, per transaction, which these days are taking place mostly by phone.
“It’s ‘How you doing, Boss?’ at the start of your conversation, and maybe when you’re finished it’s, ‘See you later, Boss!’ and maybe not.” He believes that too many people overuse the word – four, five or even more times in one encounter – and he doesn’t want to be one of them. “It smacks of phoniness,” he says. “And it gives everyone else a bad name.”
Whether it’s June 8 or 15, though, Tipton says he’s ready.
“The way I look at it a whole new chapter of my life is about to unfold,” he says, and then smiles. “I have every reason to believe it’s going to be the best chapter yet.”
