Profit, Growth and Happy Employees

My company was conducting a brand assessment for a client and we uncovered very deep, serious morale issues that their employees were up in arms about. It seems the employees felt unappreciated, under-compensated and looked down upon, and many were totally disengaged.

At first, that seemed crazy because this company was profitable, they were growing and they were well-known (positively). But just because you're profitable, it doesn't mean your employees are engaged.

The Roman Empire did pretty well for centuries by conquering people and putting them to work under their control. I'm guessing Rome's conquered peoples probably would have filled out surveys that were scathing toward "management."

So, how can a company be so profitable, yet have a situation like this?

Most likely, they must have one tremendous product, service or process--some brilliant concept that has allowed them to succeed despite facing this push-back from employees. And, very possibly, this company doesn't communicate well internally. They assume employees understand why they are doing what they are doing. Obviously there is quite a void in that area.

From our view, that company had a lot of good things going for them and would do even better if they tackled this problem with the same genius they did when they started the company with their brilliant ideas years ago.

Barry LaBov
www.labov.com
LaBov & Beyond

The fear of being imposed upon

Diana has great ideas and a ton of energy. She speaks with conviction, she makes a great impression. But, she's never been happy with her job. She feels she should be making more money and have more people people working under her. I'd guess her husband feels sorry for her and looks at her company in a less than flattering way.

Here's the truth about Diane. She is smart and has a ton of energy. But she has one overwhelming fear in her life that taints her performance, relationships and results: fear of being imposed upon.

She is reluctant to commit to a project, to put in extra time to make it great or to really help fellow co-workers--because she fears being sucked into more work and fears she'll not be rewarded appropriately.

I've known many great people with this fear and none had a smooth road. They were either that enigma at the office--the disgruntled person who seemed to have it all together but never lived up to her potential, or the person that was constantly pushed and prodded to do what they had to do. In neither case, does the person have great relations with co-workers or lead a fulfilling work life.

To those of us with the fear of being imposed upon--why not move forward with trust? Trust that you will be rewarded fairly (even if not on your timetable). Trust that helping others is rewarding for you, and in most cases will not be stuck doing that additional work forever. Trust that throwing away this fear will also make you more employable and more enjoyable.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Be an "engager"--You don't need to work long hours, but...

After studying successful businesspeople, one finding is that working long hours is no indicator of success.

We can be more successful and work less hours, but we have to inspire, inspect and demand good (or better) work from our associates. If we don't receive that support, then we will be left with either working longer hours to do that work or we'll catch that "disease" and shortchange the work, the client and and eventually our careers.

Really, don't at least 80% of all people end up in these two buckets? They either:

1) Focus on their own time (or effort) and give as little as possible or
2) Focus on pleasing people and don't rock the boat--meaning they work longer and are less effective in the long run

The minority--the real successes--take a different, less comfortable path. They:

1) Commit to doing great, inspired work
2) Are engagers--they engage their clients, co-workers and suppliers in doing great work
3) Face the tough situations--they make sure their ideas are on-track, they demand great performance of themselves and others--even the client has to live up to their promises

These successes, or engagers, have stress for sure, but they also receive the spoils of doing great things--the pride, exhilaration, the camaraderie, and the freedoms (time, money, flexibility) that go along with being a success.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

More than Meaningful

The largest corporations have the toughest issues because they have more people, processes and channels to deal with. The pressure is to process and policy themselves to success, because they can't just sit down and talk to a couple of employees and solve a problem like a small company could do.

I read that a corporation wanted to make things "meaningful" to its reps, employees and suppliers. I think that's a good start. Whatever we do should have meaning. But that's still not enough.

Something can make sense and have meaning, but that doesn't mean we'll do anything about it. A person may understand the importance of say, a playoff game in the NFL. If the team doesn't win, they're done for the season. But that doesn't mean that person will attend the game or even watch on TV.

The same with an initiative at a corporation. Employees may understand it. Maybe they think it has meaning for the enterprise. But does that employee care enough to do anything about it? Is he or she buying in?

We need more than meaningful communications. We need to engage our suppliers, employees and reps, they need to want to play a key role. That's the challenge - and we can't let go of it.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and beyond
www.labov

Corporate and dealer relationships in a recession?

We all know there is a recession going on, but the aftermath of it will be felt in the relationships that dealers have with the manufacturers they represent.

Most manufacturers have reduced their sales force, which means that fewer of their people are spending less time developing relationships and business with the dealers. If the manufacturers don't overcome this, then dealers will look elsewhere to make money - they'll turn to the companies that spend time with them or the products that are easiest to sell.

The answer is to 1) increase the sales force (not likely); 2) focus on the top dealers and drop the rest; or, 3) develop alternative tools to engage the dealer such as online training or specialist programs designed to reward the dealer focusing only on your product and not the competition.

Once the economic recession starts to subside, there will be a relationship recession that will have to be overcome - unless you're one of the few that avoids it.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com