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'Warm and fuzzitis' not key to success
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Published: August 31, 2008
A few weeks ago we discussed raising your bar and competing with yourself rather than the competition. That feedback from that column was incredible, and it appears that many of you are using these columns to inspire and educate your teams. Today, I'd like to warn you about a disease that can cause you to lower your bar and weaken your team. But first, a newsflash: "You can't make everyone happy." I call this disease "warm and fuzzyitis." If you catch it, your business will suffer.
With that said, let me give you one business lesson: "Your job is not to make everyone happy." As a matter of fact, it's impossible to make everyone happy. On top of that it's unimportant. Your job is actually more about making people better than it is about making them happy. So how do we suggest you make them better?
Run business more like a team
We tolerate family members who don't carry their weight or measure up to our standards. Family model mindsets just won't work in the business world. If you want a high-performance business than you need to run it like a team. Members of teams must prove themselves over and over again, there is pressure to perform, members are held accountable, and non-performers don't' make the cut.
Set standards
Set these minimum standards, put them in writing and constantly communicate them. Then hold people accountable for reaching them. As a leader, you cannot compromise and accept standards lower than you set.
Hold managers responsible
Tie the manager's bonus to people improvement and you just might see some. No improvement, no bonus. Big improvement, big bonus. Pretty simple, huh?
dump bad managers
If you tolerate bad managers at your company, you will never hit your potential as a company. Set clear expectations for them, train and coach them, and then hold them accountable for the results. If they don't hit them, fire them.
Empower able people
While the word empowerment is widely over-used in the business world, it's still very important. If you empower people with ability, you'll see results. But don't try to micromanage them or second-guess their decisions.
In my opinion, business has gotten to soft. We are scared to offend the very people that would benefit from a brush with reality. The best thing you can do for people living in denial is shake them up and stop them from becoming utter failures. Your people are supposed to worry about keeping you (the boss) happy. Remeber, you're paying them. Now I'm not saying be disrespectful and ugly to people. The best thing you can do for them is give honest feedback, stretch them, hold them accountable, and assist them with improving their skills.
In the end, if getting people better, doesn't make them happier, I'd fire them.
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