You work hard for your business.
You have a great vision for your business future.You are passionate about what you provide your customers.
Still, your staff just doesn't get it! You will need dedicated employees - employees that behave as if this is their business, too. In both Stomp the Elephant in the Office and Ownership Thinking , the theme runs strong that attitude is everything and attitudes can be changed both for the positive and negative.
Furthermore, you want your customers to be raving fans and dedicated to your success, too.
I regularly say, you have to have a plan. . . but sometimes, you will find that a simple checklist can keep you and your staff on track. A checklist is based on a plan and is easiest to read each day before life starts getting crazy.
Tips to keep in mind while building your checklist:
1. Tell your Passion. With the passing of Steve Jobs, I am reminded daily that his story was not just Apple, his teams put tools in our hands that were elegant, useful and full of surprises. 2. Know and Share your Metrics. These go back to the plan and graphically say what we are going to do. Think graphs. Increase profit in 2012 is not a goal because $1 more of profit would make that true. Instead, management may want to see a monthly graph tracking actual profit. Or maybe each job is checked for gross profit.
3. Hire right - yes, this is hard, and taking an extra two weeks may seem like an eternity, but the resulting employee that fits and stays is a cost savings in so many ways.
4. Provide leadership - set the example, be humble, treat others they way you want to be treated.
5. Invest in what is needed. Have the right tools for the job.
6. Protect and Project your Standards. Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and Procedures, Employee Handbooks; these are words that you breathe life into each time your create new, enforce old and leave no room for variation.
7. Instill Discipline. Discipline leads to standard outcomes and efficient production. Discipline is a way of behaving in business internalized by your staff.
8. Meetings are action driven and action creating.
9. Ask often - will this waste time? money? energy?
10. Will what you do this day bring you energy?
"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." --Steve Jobs
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Changing Lanes LLC
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Paying Your Employees What they are Worth Part 2
When you are replacing an employee, most businesses understand the role an employee played and will have a job description but they often don't understand the skill and knowledge that evolved over time for that employee. That is true for any job - jobs grow and change regardless of the description. Ask yourself:
*Am I actually paying my employees what they are worth?
*Are my employees worth what I'm paying them?Questions to consider:
*Am I prepared if this employee leaves?
*What will it cost to find someone with the same skills?*Will it cost more to hire someone new and train them versus matching the offer so my employee will stay?
*Does the employee actually want to stay?
*If I match the offer will the employee do more? Will they be worth what I am paying them?
*Is this person right for the position and my company?
When a employee comes and says "I have an offer," it is usually too late to keep them and sometimes, the employee has out-grown the job and you will not be able to keep them happy or employed at your firm. Regular job reviews and work reviews will help you know where your vulnerabilities are.
Jeff Mendelsohn
liquid@liquidmechanix.com 
