Jeffrey Petkevicius Former Football Player Takes Teamwork Concept Into The Business World

Early in life, Jeffrey Petkevicius was taught to hike the ball to someone else.

Now he believes that he - and every other working person - quarterbacks his own destiny.

The former San Jose State football center and national sales manager for Key Tronic Corp. has published a new book designed to empower employees to take responsibility for their own careers - and possibly the companies they work for.

The 240-pound businessman hopes “The Unchained Worker” lands him on the roster of TV and radio talk shows nationwide as he hustles to promote his first publication.

Petkevicius got a break two weeks ago when the Southern Publishers Group in Pelham, Ala., signed the book to a distribution contract. SPG ordered 1,000 books to sell in bookstores nationwide.

Thus far, the author has sold 3,000 copies of the 142-page softcover, which is endorsed by Seattle Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson, who trained Petkevicius at San Jose State. The book retails for $14.95.

In Spokane, Petkevicius and his book have caught the attention of Tidyman’s Inc. The supermarket chain has ordered 600 copies of “Unchained” for employees and hired Petkevicius to take managers through a training camp on employee ownership.

Tidyman’s stock has been owned by employees for years, but company managers were slow to give employees a say in how they operate the stores.

“The book is my philosophy, what I believe in and where I think business is going,” says Petkevicius, adding that he got some ideas from his experience coaching 6th-grade football at St. Thomas More School on the North Side. “I wrote it for the average worker concerned about their future.”

At a time when private companies such as Boeing and government agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Mines are closing offices and laying off workers, “Unchained” provides encouragement and direction.

But business owners may be frightened by the book’s suggestion that employees should share some control of the company. Although bookstores are filled with volumes on empowering employees to greater levels of production and competitiveness, the role of “Unchained” in this movement won’t be known for years.

“Whether he (Petkevicius) is ahead of his time is hard to know,” said Kevin Malone, owner of Altius Inc. in the Valley and chairman of Cybernetix Inc., Petkevicius’ company. “The ability to empower employees with decisionmaking at the lowest level is where American business will ultimately go. We’re trying to get there, but we don’t know how.”

Petkevicius believes “Unchained” is the manual for the future. He spent $10,000 to get it printed and distributed.

Petkevicius, a 33-year-old Lithuanian descendant who decorates his office with pictures drawn by his grade-school daughters, says the book is a combination of ideas dating back to the mid-1980s when he worked for Key Tronic. Concepts from management experts such as Tom Peters, Peter Block and Stephen Covey also emerge in the book, which is illustrated with cartoon characters.

After leaving Key Tronic, Petkevicius bounced from Telect Inc. to Advanced Input Devices and other firms before founding Cybernetix last year. From his one-person office near Five Mile Shopping Center, Petkevicius conducts business by telephone, computer, fax and the Internet.

“Things are happening so fast these days that you can get swallowed up,” he says. “I need to be the best there is at what I do on the planet.”

Petkevicius preaches that employees can increase their job security by becoming experts at their tasks. In addition, they can team up with other experts to identify failed processes that can be eliminated or altered to save time and money and keep the company competitive.

“He definitely understands teamwork,” Tidyman’s president Jack Heuston says about Petkevicius.

Petkevicius urges company owners to open their books to employees and welcome their input. Together, management and employees can create a business plan that rewards employees and the company owner when success comes.

“It’s the front-line people who have the information that you need to solve a problem,” Petkevicius says. “That’s where we start to listen.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo