Daily Brief

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Daily I see headlines (click bait) and posts declaring why high achievers aren’t like the rest of us. I don’t argue that high achiever, of whom I like I think I’m sometimes among, behave differently in some important, but perhaps subtle ways. But there are so many myths being foisted on us daily I felt compelled today to help you avoid feeling pressure to be somebody or something you’re not. 

We’re all prone to read headlines, but sometimes the content isn’t any better than the headline. We’re swamped with mythical facts.

Just this week I’ve seen things like these:

• 8 Ways Successful Entrepreneurs Are Different
• How The Strongest Leaders Do Twice As Much In Half The Time
• 4 Productivity Hacks Of Successful Entrepreneurs

You get the drift. You see the same headlines and articles I do. 

If we’re to believe the truths of all these we’d quickly find many of them are contradictory. Proving they can’t all be accurate. 

If you check out my about page and scroll to the bottom you’ll see my philosophy pretty simply stated…

But I’m not naive. I’ve known business owners who don’t care one thing about that first line, “Be honest.” While I’d love to make a declaration that dishonesty doesn’t pay, but it does. Crime alone proves it does. The illicit drug business is proof. The last comprehensive study done on the scope of the drug trade may have been done in 2003, when it was estimated that the drug trade is $320 billion annually. That was fifteen years ago! There have been some interesting data collected on the global drug trade, but suffice to say – it’s ginormous! And it’s anything but honest.

Here in north central Texas, we have roofing companies that descend like locusts when a hail storm moves through. Texas doesn’t require any certifications for roofing companies so any hack with a pickup truck can pose as one. Some are grossly incompetent. Others aren’t honest. So much for my second line, “Always be competent.”

As for giving more and making it right, well, you’ve encountered numerous customer experiences yourself to know how untrue that often is. My business philosophy is how I choose to do business. It’s my view of the world, or how it should be. But it’s not the only way of doing business. I happen to think it’s the right way. 

I know CEO’s who are staunch to do list people. They make lists and more lists. They’re high achievers who wouldn’t imagine doing business without a written list of what they need to accomplish. And I know other CEO’s, equally successful, who don’t write down anything. Tethering them to a to-do list would never work. 

Some CEO’s are outgoing, high energy and loud. Others are shy, downright bashful, introverted and so soft-spoken you have to lean forward to catch what they say. Both ilks can and often do achieve insane success. 

There just isn’t one way to climb the pinnacle of success or high achievement. Find somebody who does it one way, and I’ll find somebody doing it completely the opposite. 

So what’s the point?

The point is my encounter with some business owners who feel the pressure to comply and fit the mold. What with all the preaching about how it’s done I fear some business owners don’t embrace the value of forging their own path. It comes home to you when a business owner who tells you she’s not a morning person, and never has been, but she’s read so many things about early morning risers and success. She’s trying to get up at 5:30am and it’s not working out for her at all. I ask, “Why?” (as you know my favorite question)

She doesn’t know. She thinks it’s something she should adopt and incorporate into her life. She fears if she doesn’t do it now, she’ll never be able to. “And what will you be missing?” I ask. She doesn’t know, but she’s fearful she’ll be missing something. I’ve seen this a lot over the past decade – people fooled by productivity hacks that are anything but productive for the way they need to live their life. 

One size doesn’t fit all.

If you want to try something – some FACT – then fine. But stop putting pressure on yourself to adjust to some mythical truth, thinking it’ll provide some simpler path toward higher performance. 

Just this week a friend Tweeted an article from Forbe’s (a very credible source), 7 Things Wildly Successful People Do Before 7:30 a.m. I clicked it when he Tweeted it and got to the first thing and thought, “Well, so much for my success!” Number 1 was “they drink lemon water.” Lemon water? Lemonade maybe. How about Dr. Pepper I thought? The good news is I pretty much do the others quite regularly. Guess I need to jump on that lemon water. It’s likely the missing ingredient to my being WILDLY successful. Who knew?

I’ve been in the business world since I was about 16. And I’m now old. I know CEO’s of multi-billion dollar publicly traded corporations. I know Ph.D. university professors. I know high school drop out business owners. Young. Old. Men. Women. Highly educated. Barely educated. Shy. Outgoing. Easily engaged. Hard to engage. I’ve yet to meet a superhuman. And I’m a voracious reader, too…meaning I’ve encountered lots of smart, bright and wise people. But superhuman? Nope. 

Some people have had careers that were sorta linear. Others whose careers have taken dozens of left turns followed by many right turns. And we’ve all encountered our share of speed bumps, potholes, and roadblocks along the way. Not a superhuman among us!

Here’s the good news. Your success doesn’t hinge on you being superhuman. More often than not, they more likely hinge on you being HUMAN. But that’s admittedly my bias. I think people matter. Further proof that there’s more than one way to do things…I know some very tyrannical, people-don’t-matter business owners who do quite well. 

Do YOU. Be YOU. Yes, give it the effort to be the best version of YOU. Yes, try some new things. But stop putting pressure on yourself to adopt every strategy, tactic or hack you read about. The media will continue to spew forth platitudes of what it takes to succeed. You and I both already know the biggest part of it is determination and pushing through. As business owners and leaders, we’ve got enough obstacles to overcome without the distractions of thinking we’ve got to measure up to some list of traits imposed on us as “truths” or “facts.” 

Craft your own truths. Do what works for you. Follow your convictions, your heart, and your effectiveness.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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Werner Herzog plays a terrific villain in the movie, Jack Reacher.  His character survived a Siberian prison camp because he was willing to do what others weren’t. Here’s 2: 34-minute clip just in case you’re not familiar with the scene. 

Business survival is largely based on determination. It’s why you hear me regularly encourage you with an optimistic statement, “You’ll figure it out.” And you will — if you’re dedicated to the effort. 

Not everybody is. 

No, this isn’t about your willingness to chew off your fingers, but it is about doing what you can to successfully face your fears. That may be one reason why many of us are pretty good at helping others with their challenges. We can clearly see how somebody else may be stuck, and even have great suggestions on ways to become unstuck. But we look at ourselves and we’re stymied. Fear isn’t part of our awareness about what others can do to conquer their problems. It’s a major player in our own problems though. 

It’s why our willingness to help each other is critical to helping us figure out what we’re willing to do to survive, and thrive. It helps to have a fearless perspective. 

Think harder about that scene from Jack Reacher. The guy seemingly can avoid being shot and killed if he’s willing to do something unthinkable. The villain doesn’t understand it. Your fingers for your life seems like an easy choice. When you’re not the one with the gun to your head. 

Desperation works. 

Some years ago I recalled an event with my daughter, who was about 3 years old at the time. I entitled it, How To Market Like You’ve Lost Your Daughter In The Mall. The point of that is not much different than today’s point. When one fear is greater than another we tend to take action. That’s what makes the Jack Reacher scene so disturbing and powerful. But we can all likely relate because the man is facing two terrible, fear-filled outcomes. Chewing his own fingers off. Being shot in the head. I’m sure he was wishing for a third, less gruesome choice. But he wasn’t offered one. Sometimes we’re not offered a more appealing choice either. 

When I lost my daughter in the mall, the fear of losing her overrode everything else. That moment of desperation created panic. Panic drove me to not care one little bit what anybody thought, what they may be saying about me, or anything else. I simply lost every bit of fear I may have otherwise had because the greater fear drove me. Fear of not finding my little girl. 

Do a mental exercise. The Jack Reacher villain is confronting you about the thing you most need to do, but you’re afraid. I don’t know what it is, but you do. Think of that one thing right now. The thing you most need to accomplish, but for some reason, you’re delaying, halting and hesitating. You’re afraid. And maybe you have no idea why you’re afraid. You don’t even know what you’re afraid of. You just don’t want to do it. You dread it. 

Got it?

Now, you’ve got this awful man with a scary accent challenging you to do it. He’s asking you, “What are you willing to do to survive?” By his side stands a man holding a pistol, poised to fire the moment the boss says. It’s the moment of truth for you. What are you going to do?

This is where I’ll turn the mirror on myself. As I watched this little clip – after watching the movie on TV – I thought about myself and my current big business goal of forming 2 groups of 7 SMB entrepreneurs. Within seconds I scribbled this down on a paper, “14 days to 7 people.” Enrolling 7 SMB entrepreneurs within 14 days seems to me like chewing your fingers off. Unreasonable. Beyond comprehension. Not enrolling 7, but doing it within such a compressed time frame. And I’ll let you in on a secret – well, if you listen to me much you know it’s not a secret at all because the one comment I get most from people is a question, “Are you selling anything?” 😉 I don’t mind selling at all, but when it comes to selling myself…I hate it. The business side of me understands and embraces the art. I’ve done it all my life. Successfully. But a decade ago when I hung my shingle out as a solopreneur where I was the product and service, it suddenly became pretty daunting. Personal. So when I wrote down “14 days to 7 people” it just seemed like I may as well challenge myself to build a rocket to Mars. 

But the more I thought about it the more it dawned on me…I bet I’d find a way. Like looking for a 3-year-old little girl, whatever fears hold me back would vanish. I added pressure on the situation though, in keeping with the movie scene. I imagined this bad man threatening my family. Not me.

What if he challenged me to enroll 7 SMB entrepreneurs in 14 days or he’d kill my family? 

True confession. In less than 14 days I’d launch 7 SMB entrepreneurs into the first group of THE PEER ADVANTAGE. I’d do whatever it took. Nothing reasonable or unreasonable would prevent it. I admit it. I also admit I don’t fully understand it. The fear that is. 

But I know it’s real. The fear this man had in trying to chew off his fingers was real. No matter that it was illogical compared to being killed. Fear challenges the number one ingredient we need for achievement and success – willingness. 

It’s less about conquering fear as it is moving forward in spite of it. In other words, the lesson today is to just do it anyway! 

So here goes. Are you a small business owner? Do you see any value in being part of a group of 7 who can join together with safety, security and compassion (no judgment) to help each other dive deeper into these things that hold us back? Do you crave a safe space where you can openly share things like I just shared with you about myself? A place where the only goal is to help you figure things out faster, so you can take your business and your life to new heights of success? Then I want you to call my cell phone at (214) 682-2467. When I answer, just say, “THE PEER ADVANTAGE” and I’ve got a special surprise for you. 

Now, go pay the price. The good news is you’ll survive no matter what. Because what you’re afraid of isn’t a matter of life and death. Call me and I’ll help you. Remember, just say, “THE PEER ADVANTAGE.” 

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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I thought about first diving into how to deliver criticism, but getting criticism is much more universal. Not all of us are prone to give it. All of us are experienced in getting it though. 

Here are 3 critical considerations:

1. Who gives it. Do we respect this person? Do we trust them? Do they have honorable motives? Are they trying to be helpful or hurtful?
2. How they give it. Is it caustic? Does it have any compassion in it? Is the timing appropriate? Is it more about them, and less about helping us?
3. What they give. Do they accurately understand us? Are they being fair? Is it congruent with our strengths? Are they extending appropriate grace?

People who take action are going to be criticized. I grew up hearing folks offer this bit of wisdom. Only the people who do nothing avoid criticism. But that’s not really true because they get criticized for doing nothing. Life has taught me they likely receive less than those of us trying to accomplish something. Mostly because the folks doing nothing have time and opportunity to be part of the critical crowd. Mark it down…there are always going to be more people armed with rocks than those of us dodging the rocks. Quite simply, we’re outnumbered. That’s why I’ve owned a particular joke domain for years, SurroundedByNinnies.com. 😀 

Criticism stings. We prefer to think the best of ourselves and what we’re doing. Now we may second-guess ourselves. Self-criticism can be the harshest of all, but because it’s self-inflicted we’re okay with it. I can talk about my family, but you’d better not dare say anything negative. It’s like that. 

I’m not a big fan of the term, “criticism” but I don’t prefer the political correctness of being overly polite. Wisdom requires good filters, but things are clearly out of hand when we can’t just say what we mean and mean what we say for fear somebody is going to…a’hem, criticize us! Feedback is a more polite word and I intentionally avoided using it. 

Criticism is simply a review, an observation, an analysis, an evaluation of something. Yes, we mostly think of criticism as being negative, but even perceived negative criticism can have a profoundly positive impact. 

I was 16 years old working in a hi-fi stereo store. The company sold stereo gear on one side the store and photography gear on the other. Separate sales staffs. I was on the stereo side. The store was opening a brand new location at the new mall opening up. For the grand open it was all hands on deck and those of us working at the mothership store were dispatched to go help. Crowds were big and it was a fun time. I greeted an older man who entered the store. He asked about some specific camera gear. I told him I didn’t work in that department but invited him to follow me and we’d find out the answer to his question. Across the store, I spotted Don, the General Manager of the company, my boss. I said to Don, “This guy is looking for X, do we carry that?” Don said, “I’ll be happy to help you,” and away they went. 

I continued to help other people. At some point when I was free and Don was free he motioned me to come toward him. He asked me to follow him to the stock room. I sensed something may be wrong. Don was always very calm and respectful. As a boss, I knew his intentions were always to help me. He said, “Randy, do you remember bringing me the customer looking for X?” I said I did remember. “Do you remember what you said?” Now my brain was racing. I was going over the entire thing as quickly as I could. I knew I had made some mistake, but for the life of me, I had no idea what I had done. Don said, “Our shoppers are ‘gentlemen’ not ‘guys.'” And BAM! There it was. I had approached Don and said, “This guy is looking for X.” I should have said, “This gentleman is looking for X.” 

Don said, “Just remember that.” And that was over 40 years ago. I just told you, proving I never forgot it. 

If I put Don’s criticism to the test, it passes with flying colors. I respected him and he respected me. I trusted him. He was trying to help me improve. He wasn’t trying to hurt me. He wasn’t caustic or harsh. He waited until both of us were free. He took me into a private space. He had accurately assessed the event. He was fair and didn’t misrepresent what I said, or did. He was gracious. 

Yes, I felt foolish. I knew better. I always said ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ to shoppers. I always thanked shoppers. Don knew I was polite and respectful. But at that moment I didn’t think about my word choice. That word choice was important to Don and the reputation he wanted our stores to earn. It immediately resonated and made sense to me. 

Hundreds of retail employees have heard me recite that story and train them in a similar fashion. Perhaps it seems like too small of a detail, but it’s a powerful difference – a guy versus a gentleman. 

What if Don was a jerk, somebody I didn’t respect? It probably would have gone much differently. And I would have run the risk of losing out on a great lesson that would have helped me. 

Let’s start with our 3 critical components and permit me to make a suggestion on how you can improve accepting criticism. Start with that 3rd thing – WHAT. Instead of focusing on who and how to focus on the what because that’s where the value is if there is any. And I’m not saying all criticism has value. But we can put it to the test.

Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Cowboys. His son, Stephen is a VP and was being interviewed last week about the team. During the interview, he remarked that they were hopeful quarterback Dak Prescott would have his best year yet. Last year, Stephen said, Dez Bryant (a wide receiver who is no longer on the team) and Jason Witten (a tight end who retired to join Monday Night Football for ESPN) were in Dak’s ear, as most stars are who want the quarterback to throw them the ball. It wasn’t a disparaging remark in the least, but the ninnies on Twitter started throwing gasoline in the fire as though Stephen Jones was dissing Dez Bryant, who has yet to land with any team. Dez went scorched earth and began a litany of Tweets toward the Cowboys and his old teammates. It was pretty clear Dez didn’t even hear what Stephen said. If he had focused on the WHAT, he may have avoided making a fool of himself. Maybe not, but he could have at least given himself the chance to behave with more wisdom. 

“You suck,” is a common blunt “criticism” we hear. WHAT is really being said? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. So it doesn’t pass the WHAT test. That means it’s best to dismiss it. Ignore it and move on. 

Sometimes the WHAT is more precise though and it can be tough to know what to do with it. A person approaches us and begins to make suggestions on how we could have better handles a meeting or presentation. They may say, “That third slide was a bit confusing. Fewer words on a single slide may have been more impactful or splitting that slide up into about 3 so it wasn’t quite so busy.” Don’t jump to component number 1, WHO. This is where we often miss the value of criticism that could help us. We instantly get overly emotional and think, “Who are you to tell me anything?” Instead, discipline yourself to stay focused on WHAT is being suggested. 

Listen. Without being defensive. Just listen. Ask questions to get clarification if necessary. Solicit more details if you want. But remain attuned to WHAT. 

“How do you think I might have made that 3rd slide more impactful?” Don’t be snotty. Be genuine. WHAT they tell you may be valid. It may not be. But you won’t know until or unless you understand their criticism. Get whatever details they’re willing to offer.

Thank them. That’s not consenting that you agree. Nor is it defensive so they know you disagree. It’s gracious and polite, which is what you want from them. Even if they don’t give it, your job is to be the leader. Show the way. 

Give yourself time. You can weigh whether or not their feedback helps you or not. It’s just their observation, but it may be valid. It may not be. No reason to disregard it though until you’ve considered what you want to do with it. Give yourself the opportunity to use it for your own benefit. 

For you, the only gauge should be whether or not you agree that their feedback can be used for your own improvement. Don’t get clouded with extraneous details. It doesn’t matter if they love you or hate you. If they have an ax to grind with you, or not. It doesn’t matter if they gave you the feedback with a less than gracious tone. Look past all that to concentrate on making the WHAT of it is worthy of some consideration. If it’s not, fine. But if it is, then you’ve just chosen to find improvement you may not have otherwise experienced. 

Lastly, don’t get angry. And if you do, don’t show it. It won’t help you. This is about you growing great. Anger doesn’t fuel greatness…well, at least that kind doesn’t. 

Instead, embrace level-headed conversation and dialogue. Listen to help yourself! The objective is for you to remain focused on how you can best benefit from this criticism, or to determine if you can. Pitch everything else aside and forget it because it doesn’t serve you. 

Remember, how you choose to feel or think is entirely up to you. Don’t acquiesce that to the person offering you criticism. Own your own thoughts and feelings by taking control of them.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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“Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here. Then, I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until the next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement, and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.”  -Alfred P. Sloan

Our culture hates disagreement. We jump on it like a chicken on a June bug. We’re dug in and completely intolerant of opposing viewpoints. While simultaneously advocating complete acceptance and tolerance. It’s puzzling to me. But I’m a dot connector always trying to make sense of things. Even things that make no sense! 😉 

It’s not just politics. It’s just about anything and everything. That’s only important because it creeps into our companies. We acclimate ourselves to culture and society. Unless we intentionally decide we’re going to do what’s best for us, even if a culture doesn’t agree. 

We learn to play nice with others. To be agreeable as much as possible. To avoid conflict. 

All bad things. 

Conformity is nice. Comfortable. Convenient. Peaceful. 

Blind conformity is even better. Just fall in line. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t ask any questions. Say, “Yes, ma’am” and “Yes, sir.” 

Somewhere along the way, it seems people began to confuse compliance with respect. It’s evidenced by the woeful lack of respectful disagreement. RESPECTFUL disagreement.

That doesn’t mean we begin our rebuttal with, “I respectfully disagree.” It means we practice respect first. And if or when we disagree, then we do it respectfully. 

Interpersonal skills are important. Often times they’re missing because some people struggle with awareness and emotional intelligence. I get it. We’ve all got different personalities, preferences, and styles. But I don’t get is a lack of respect up and down any chain of command within an organization. I would hope your momma and daddy taught you better. 

With that, let’s talk about how we can foster disagreement and maintain (or foster even higher) respect. 

For starters, as the owner or leader, you’ve got to commit to it. If you don’t see the value in it, then it won’t happen. There is so much discussion about working toward consensus, getting buy-in and having folks pull together. Those are important things, but I fear we’ve let them overshadow some of the benefits of the process to create those things.

I don’t know your physical fitness, but let’s assume you could benefit from getting into better shape. You hire a personal trainer and report to the gym for your first workout. Your body isn’t going to happily accept the challenge. All parts of your body, including your brain, are going to be screaming for you to quit. You have to push through all that knowing that on the other side of your continuous workouts will be improved fitness. Along the way, you’ll experience pain, dread, fear, embarrassment and a host of other feelings. The resistance is beneficial. It improves your resolve and determination. 

Similar things happen inside an organization if the leader fosters them. All eyes and ears are on you. It’s important that you resolve in your mind how valuable disagreement and debate can be. Before you have some knee-jerk negative reaction to all this, let’s clarify that this can look any way you want it to look. The key thing is to avoid exploring innovative, creative solutions. And to question things respectfully so your company can better seize opportunities and better solve challenges. 

Respect is the foundation and an open mind is the framing of the house of effective disagreement. If you, or any member of your team, believes “I’m the smartest person here” and operate from that perspective, then positive disagreement won’t happen. Closed minds are the enemy of growing great. How you choose to hire, train and fire have a big impact on the open-mindedness of your culture. Handle it carefully and intentionally. 

Remember, I’m not suggesting that you operate with strife. Strife isn’t productive. It’s contentious, often anger-filled. Disagreement and debate are respectful, passionate and enthusiastic. They produce innovation and creativity. And they don’t sabotage agreed upon strategies. They’re not self-centered or selfish. They surrender to the good of the organization, seeking to bring the highest value possible to the desired outcome.

Time and place are important. Always. When people are working together this is always true. All of us have to work harder to become more aware of each other and to behave in ways that show respect, not just as people, but as teammates capable of contributing to the desired outcome. We’re all capable of making a positive impact. We’re also capable of making a negative impact. It’s urgent for everybody to avoid creating a problem, or making things worse. 

You foster disagreement like Alfred Sloan was able to do in those early days of General Motors. You can be bold and ask for it. You can play the devil’s advocate. There’s any number of strategies you could utiltize to foster it, but as with so many things you hear me say  – “you’ll figure it out.” I want to encourage you to do that, figure it out. 

I’ll leave you with a few things I’ve learned over the years to see if they might spark some creative juices for you.

Challenge the people who make the suggestion (and work to sell it) to disagree with it, too. It can be quite effective to have people flip positions themselves. It can force people to approach it from the opposite and opposing viewpoint. 

Create an environment where suggestions get challenged by the entire group. Do this by fostering questions that help the entire group better understand the situation and the suggestion. Don’t make it an intense interrogation. Rather, make it an exercise whose aim is to help the group better understand. This will help each member of the team learn to think more clearly and to expresss themselves more clearly, too.

Put “why?” at the forefront of the discussion. People are driven to know and understand why. As the leader, it’s important that your people understand why things are decided and why certain actions are taken. Make “why?” an elephant in the room. Use that to challenge suggestions and show your people to follow suit among themselves. 

Listen. Watch. Keep your mouth shut more. Be more reluctant to show your cards. Let the group take charge of the discussion. It’s probable that you’ll find your team engaging in respectful debate if you’ll just let the room breathe, and not interfere. As much as you can, hold your peace. And if people get worked up and passionate, tread carefully in inserting yourself. Enthusiasm doesn’t gender strife. Don’t tolerate personal attacks or disrespectful behavior, but don’t be too quick to jump on an animated conversation. That’s precisely what you want to foster. You want people to care deeply about what they’re discussing and deciding.

Lastly, compliment vigorous dialogue and disagreement. Compliment the entire group, not merely those who others may view as contrarians. This isn’t about people always disagreeing with anything and everything. It’s about disagreement with a reason – a reason that must be expressed and understood by the group. It’s about fostering people’s passions, enthusiastic beliefs, and convictions. Make sure everybody keeps the goal in view – to generate the best ideas, best solutions and best decisions possible. Nothing else matters!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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Yesterday we talked about hiring so it’s fitting that we’ll end the week today talking about firing. Terminating employment is a tough subject for many leaders and business owners. I certainly don’t propose to make it enjoyable or pleasant. These are lives being impacted. The employee. Their family. Their co-workers. And then there’s our reputation. What will the organization think of us? What damage might we create? Many thoughts and worries swirl around in our heads.

Right off the bat let’s set aside some basic non-negotiables. That is, there are some things that will prompt a termination and it’s just how it has to be. Period. No room for negotiation or discussion once the facts have been established. That’s an important detail — we have to establish facts and know the truth of a situation. Theft, criminal behavior, sexual harassment, drug or alcohol use on the job (sort of fits in criminal behavior, but you’ll have to determine your policy), violence in the workplace…maybe you’ve got some additional ones. I know business owners who will negotiate these depending on the severity of the infraction. Let’s say a couple of warehouse employees get into a fist fight, but nobody is hurt. Some leaders will keep one or both employees and put them on probation. Others will fire the employee who threw the first punch. So to declare these “non-negotiables” as black and white isn’t quite how it rolls. You have to decide how you’re going to operate your company. But for today’s show, I’m not talking about any of these kinds of behaviors. I’m going to narrow it to performance. Just how well are they doing their job? That’s it.

Clear expectations, clear and prompt feedback followed by support, support, support!

Every employee terminated for poor performance should see it coming. 

It’s inexcusable for a leader to fire an employee who never saw it coming. That means there hasn’t been nearly enough clear, candid communication. 

At the first sign that things are going well, the employee must be informed. Speed and timeliness are important. We can’t correct our children if we wait a week after seeing them misbehave, then we try to correct them. No, we have to do it in the moment. In real time. You must do the same thing. Sooner is always better.

Let’s suppose you’ve got an employee with attendance issues. Yes, that’s a performance issue. Not being at work when they’re scheduled is poor performance. As soon as you sense there *may* be a problem, take action. Have a conversation with them. There’s no reason to avoid having a conversation. 

Sit down with them and express your concern. Be respectful. Don’t draw a conclusion. Seek to find out what’s going on. Listen. Ask questions. 

You may find out something is going on that you knew nothing about. It may be something you can help the employee solve. Or it may be something they alone have to handle. 

Figure that out with them. Reiterate the importance of them doing their job well. Reinforce your expectation that they succeed. And your commitment to helping them. But put the proper amount of the burden on their decision and action to make it so. 

I’m a fan of documentation. Not for being formal, but for making things as clear as possible. I hate ambiguity and confusion. So I’m prone to write up and document what’s happening and having the employee sign it. If the documentation is based on the mutual understanding of the dialogue, then there’s no reason for the employee to feel uneasy signing it. It should include a clear outline of the actions you both agree to take. The conversation should end with you both committing to move forward and resolving the issue. If the employee won’t commit to that, you may as well ask them to resign or push forward to end the relationship (yes, consult your state laws and your HR or legal professional).

Hopefully, both of you can agree to give it the effort it deserves. You or somebody you entrusted hired this person, seeing something valuable in them. Let’s put in the work to achieve success. 

Now, the employee knows the problem. You understand the problem. We’re all together on what has to happen for success to be achieved. We all know what success will look like, and what failure will look like. And we know when we’ll sit down together again to formally discuss this. 

There’ll be feedback all along the way as necessary, but within 30 days or so another sit-down conversation happens to access any progress. If the employee’s performance improves, mission accomplished. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to impress the gravity of the situation. Talk about what has worked, and what hasn’t. Together figure out why things aren’t succeeding. Discuss what must happen in order for this employee to continue being on the team. Be clear. Again, make it clear about what you (the leadership) will do. You’re making a commitment to serve this employee and help them. Make it clear what they must do. Get them to commit to it. 

Document the meeting. This will be your first or if you roll the way I do, your second documentation. Employees only feel like you’re building a case against them if they’re failing. And if they’re failing, they’re right. You are. But the goal should be to avoid failure. You can’t live people’s lives for them though. Your employees have to make up their own mind and choose their own behavior. Your role is to provide support, service, training, feedback, and accountability. 

I’ve never practiced issuing the third documentation. My preference has been to be very clear in the second meeting that the next time we meet it will be to congratulate them on turning things around, or it’ll be to part ways. But I assure them conversations will be forthcoming along the way so we’re both clear on which direction things are headed. I want no confusion or blind-siding. It’s unfair when we’re terminating employees for performance failures. 

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you make a good hire, and other times you quickly realize you got it wrong. The key to firing people worthy of being fired is to do it fast. There’s too much at stake to put it off. You’ll kill the morale of high performers. You’ll foster bitterness in the employee who has it coming. There’s just nothing good that can come from putting off terminating a poor performer. 

I’m a dog lover. In fact, I’m part of a board of advisors for the Westie Foundation of America, a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of the health of White West Highland Terriers. Sadly, I’ve had to put a few dogs down. Years ago when I first had to do it, I didn’t do it quickly enough. I learned from it. I vowed that it was selfish to wait so long. So I never did it again. Better to do it too soon. I feel the same way about firing poor performers. Delay serves no useful purpose. And mostly it’s done because we’re cowards, hoping to avoid the confrontation. Don’t view it like that. It’s an opportunity for you both to end a relationship that clearly isn’t working for either you. Time for them to find a better home. Time for you to operate a better home. It’s an opportunity for you both to grow, learn and improve. 

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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Education and credentials might matter. But for most of us, they’re mostly overrated. 

My son-in-law is a master chemist with a global company. His level of knowledge in science and math is vital to his work. It’s not a “we’ll show you what you need to know” kind of a career. I’ve got friends who are attorneys, doctors or other professionals where licensing is required. Education and credentials are mandatory. Without them, you can’t legally perform the work. 

Most of us own and operate companies that don’t have such requirements. Scroll past Indeed or Linkedin and you’ll see a variety of “requirements” for jobs that demonstrate many of us are just copying each other, chasing the kind of people we think we need. Basically, it’s quite a lot of follow-the-leader kind of behavior. And for good reason. We’ve been steeped into “benchmarking” for as long as I can remember. Copying each other. Chasing some idealized version of what ought to be. 

It’s colossally stupid. It kills creativity, innovation, and curiosity. 

A payment processing company is looking for a VP of Sales with at least 3 years of online payment processing experience. Maybe that’s smart. Maybe not. My question is simple, “Why?”

If I find a dynamite sales leader (and manager), but who lacks that qualification, what am I to do? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do if I’m like 95% plus of the businesses out there. I’m going to pass. And you know why? Not because the person wouldn’t be an ideal fit, but because I’m lazy. I’m looking for boxes to check so I can keep moving forward. Or so I can cut somebody out and be finished with them. 

Trying to speed up the hiring process is killing many businesses. 

I’m a speed freak, but yesterday we talked about culture – particularly a culture of accountability. If you care about your culture then you should protect it vigorously. That means you don’t let just anybody enter your organization. You take whatever time you need to properly vet candidates. But the word “properly” is up for big debate. 

Does properly mean you form a checklist, making it so comprehensive that you know it’ll narrow the field and make things easier for you? Does properly mean you approach it to find the very best person who will add value to your operation, in every way – including your culture? Those are 2 very different goals. You have to determine which one you’re trying to accomplish. Too many are chasing that former with no regard to the latter. 

“College degree, with an emphasis in business.”

“MBA required.”

Why? 

“Five years automotive experience.” (and it’s not for a mechanic; it’s for an executive leadership role)

Why?

One of the most common answers I get when I ask is, “It helps when people understand our industry.” I love it when I get that response. It prompts my next question, “How?” People are often most stymied, by the way, with one-word questions like, “Why?” and “How?” But that’s not my objective – to stymie. I want to understand what they’re thinking, and hoping to accomplish. 

They’ll tell me about the language of the industry. Every industry has these funky terms and abbreviations. Some days I just write down the ones I hear…and the ones I have to ask about because I don’t know them. It’s an industry’s way of ensuring that outsiders don’t get admitted. Like the secret handshake kids might form when they’re 6 before allowing anybody into their clubhouse. It’s equally immature, too. Look around at the terms in your industry. Write down a few. Unless you have zero sense of humor you’ll chuckle before you get 6 of them written down. 

Okay, so the vocabulary is so critical to your business that you must have somebody with industry-specific knowledge, otherwise, they’ll have no idea what’s being said? I can’t tell you how many organizations I’ve walked into where I had no idea what their vocabulary looked like. I’m a bright guy, but I’m not a genius. It won’t take me more than a handful of hours to get it. But you think you need somebody with multiple years inside your space? 

Another common answer I get when I ask about some specific requirement, like an MBA – and I ask, “How is that going to help this person perform at a high level inside your company?” – is steeped in what other people think. The answers can vary, but sometimes it’ll be as generic as “all our leadership team members have MBA’s.” Other times it’ll be, “We believe it lends to greater credibility with the team.” To quote Chris Farley’s SNL motivational speaker character, Matt Foley, “Well, loddy-friggin’ dah!”

Are you seeing the problem yet? 

Cookie cutter. Everybody fits in a mold. Let’s all look the same. Let’s talk the same. Let’s think the same. Let’s continue getting what we’ve always got. 

You’re a smart person. You’ve learned by now that if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Right now the Dallas Cowboys are in southern California for training camp. Jerry Jones has said the same thing for over 20 years. He’s optimistic. The team has great character. They’ve got youth. Blah, blah, blah. In 20 years they’ve won a single playoff game. ONE. Two decades of on-the-field failure if you don’t count a winning season where you win more than you lose as a barometer of success. And here in Dallas, the fan base does not count that as a success. We’ve got 30-year-old young people roaming around here who have no memory of the Dallas Cowboys winning a Super Bowl. Financially, the team has done an outstanding job, but where the fans measure success — complete failure.

The reason? Nothing changes. It’s rinse and repeat. Season after season. Same verbiage. Same empty promises. Maybe your company looks much the same. Every year you aim to be better. You talk a big game. But you’re hiring the same folks your competitors are hiring. You’ve benchmarked the same stuff they have. And you think you’re different. How? When everybody in your industry is doing the same thing, the same way, with the same kind of people…how?

I love the industry knowledge argument because it’s so easy to shoot down. I just mention one founder’s name and his company. It goes something like this with me asking what that industry-specific knowledge does for the company. “It’s important that people have a working knowledge of how our industry works. If people don’t understand the nature of our work and our problems, then how will they be able to contribute to making us better?”

Me: “Let me give you the name of one founder and his company.”

Them: “Okay.”

Me: “Jeff Bezos. Amazon.”

The most hardheaded owners will respond, “We’re different.” 

Yeah, right. You’re different than Barnes & Noble, Toys R Us, Kmart, Sears and Yellow Cab. But you know, they’re right. They are different. Different from whom is the question. Different from Amazon and the other winners in the market who aim to hire the best people who will foster curiosity, thoughtful approaches to opportunities and challenges and who will climb in a boat to work with and alongside other people until the job is done. 

Alred P. Sloan famously said it best, “Take my assets — but leave me my organization and in five years I’ll have it all back.” Sloan was the head of GM for many years. His 1963 book, My Years With General Motors, is still a classic. 

In 1925 he said this, “I never give orders. I sell my ideas to my associates if I can. I accept their judgment if they convince me, as they frequently do, that I am wrong. I prefer to appeal to the intelligence of a man rather than attempt to exercise authority over him.” 

Still think those requirements are requirements for your company’s progress and growth? Or do you think you may be able to deploy some creative thinking and new approaches to find people who fit your culture in a way where they can enhance it and add value?

Adding value is the thing. Disrupt your hiring practices before a competitor forces you to.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

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