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Listening Guru Adds Value to Corporate Bottom Lines
Patricia Mackey

Alexander B. Jamison of MORE, Mediation and Ombudsman Resolution Etc., heads a Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm that specializes in "listening for solutions." His passion is clearing the air, increasing options and finding answers. "An ombudsman is a neutral, informal and independent arm of a company," Jamison explains.

"Corporations form a pyramid. Within a pyramid employees are always being evaluated. They are competing against one another. What you get is fear of reprisal. Negative news doesn't always get communicated. Coworkers think they will be negatively impacted. So they don't always tell when they are feeling mistreated, or when they see neglect or wrongdoing. An ombuds process is confidential and focused on getting information."

Jamison, 46, started his corporate career at Xerox, and then moved to American Express where he maintained ombuds neutrality by foregoing lunch or any other activity with coworkers that could telegraph the perception of favoritism. The bearded executive brings to each challenge a middle-class Morristown, New Jersey upbringing, in which his parents, Charles and Felicia Jamison, pointed their boys, Charles III and Alexander, toward the straight and narrow path. His dad, a retired chemical engineer and his mother, who retired from the Rockaway school district as assistant superintendent, raised the brothers in a stable and loving home.

His B.A. in economics from Harvard College, and a Harvard M.B.A. are the foundation of a career that includes eight years at American Express, and three years as an independent ombudsman. He created the Jamisonian Theory to show chief executives the top 10 reasons to establish an ombuds process. After determining which reason most challenges the company, the search for solutions can begin. An ombudsman gets results, such as reduced lawsuits, however, a long-term, strategic approach to the process leads to intangible improvements and increased profits. Jamison says, "Good leaders have good numbers and happy people."

An effective ombudsman reports to the highest level. "The head of the ombudsman office at American Express had two reporting lines, a direct line to the CEO, and a dotted line to the audit committee chairperson of the board. The reason for that is if someone had something to say about the chairman, the ombudsman had a person to go to other than the chairman to address the issue. We never had an issue, but we met with the audit committee once a year and with the chairman four to six times a year."

Jamison says, "I show people how to land on their feet. I can show B, C and D are workable options, whereas the individual may have only seen one way out, and that way was seen as a negative." The unbiased listening and productive action of an ombudsman leads to better employee performance and higher quality goods or services.

While others may trumpet their client list, Jamison remains almost mum on who he serves. "Ombudsman is one of the most trusted positions you can have. It's hard to outsource trust. When a company appoints an ombudsman, it says it cares about the people who work for it." In 1994, senior management at American Express plucked five of the "best and brightest," one each from human resources, card operations, auditor, marketing and finance to launch its ombudsman office. Diane Pattee, who today is Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman, came out of finance. "It was very exciting to be part of the start-up," she says. "There were no preconceived ideas because nobody [at American Express] had ever done this before, so we didn't have to conform to anyone else's way in developing the office."

Jamison came from marketing. Pattee, who has known him since 1990 admires his people skills. "He is empathetic and has the ability to listen; actively listen. Alex listens in a way that makes people want to talk to him," Pattee says.

Jamison and his wife, Dana, who is an orthopedic surgeon, have three children-Marcus, 15, Douglass, 11 and Alicia, 6. They achieve an enviable balance between parenting, two careers running at full throttle, family events and community obligations. In the midst of it all, three years ago, the couple became one beyond the bonds of matrimony. Dana required a kidney transplant and Jamison gave her one of his. He used his management talents to oversee the care of his wife. The life threatening situation ended when a team of doctors were able to bring Dana through pneumonia and a coma, and encourage her body to accept her husband's kidney.

Summing up, the affable executive says, "Success is what my mother calls being 'a net-giver.' I always want to make sure I'm giving more than I'm receiving. I love the ombuds position because it adds value. It may not always be measurable in the corporate world, but in my heart I measure it everyday. When somebody comes to me near tears and I expand their options, that generates hope that the person can survive the problem and move on."

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