Business owners struggle continuously or fail for one primary reason:
They are great operators
but they are lousy business owners.
Business operators get tired and Business owners get rich…. You cannot succeed at a high level in business without business skills and tools.
Any Business, any Workshop do not function by themselves. The Quality of your team is the single most important component of a successful and efficient operating business, yet it is the one place where business leaders and owners tend to make exceptions and tolerate substandard outcomes and to large degree mediocrity.
The players on your team are highly important to your success… responsible for kicking the goals and winning the game. They are you’re the leverage for you to live life on your terms. Lousy players, poor leverage, more brain damage and the less money you can bank. All A players have six common traits.
1. They have a scoreboard that tells them if they are winning or losing and what needs to be done to change their performance. They will not play if they can’t see the scoreboard. Do you have a score board? All of my high performing mentees have scoreboards in the businesses!
2. They have a deep-seated internal, emotional need to succeed. They do not need to be externally motivated or begged to do their job. They are keen and want to succeed because it is who they are . . . winners. Motivation is for apprentices, bystanders and casual participant. A players and professional rarely need motivating. Instead of trying to design a pep talk to motivate your people, why not create a challenge for them? A player’s love being tested and challenged. They love to win. I’ve even seen B players move from B to A when challenged.
3. They love to be measured and held accountable for their results. Like the straight A student in high school, an A player can hardly wait for report card day. C players dread report card day because they are reminded of how average or deficient, they are. To an A player, a report card with a B or a C is devastating and a call for renewed commitment and corrective actions.
4. They have the technical head and axe to do the job. This is not their first gig or car race. They have been here before, many times over and they are technically brilliant at what they do. And they are humble enough to ask for help.
5. The four most important questions to ask an employee are:
- What else needs to be done
- What else can I do
- What do I need to do
- What can I learn so I get better and add value to the business
6. “A” players see opportunities. “C” players see only problems.
Every situation in your business is asking a very simple question: “Do you want me to be a problem or an opportunity? Your choice.” You know the job has outgrown the person when all you hear are problems. The cost of a bad employee is more than their wage or salary.
My 5 rules for hiring and retaining “A” players are:
- Interview rigorously.
- Compensate generously.
- Onboard effectively.
- Ensure that there is high level of support during implementation
- Measure consistently.
- Coach continuously.
Here is an all-important and clear distinction: You cannot babysit your way to high performance and accountability. Who you have on your team will dictate whether you have a high performance or high maintenance business and oodles of brain damage.
Take Care
Mark Selbst
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