If you missed Part 1 of this series, you may want to read it before
proceeding.
After I had set my vision for what I wanted to accomplish with the
turnaround of this company, I needed a team that could help me turn that vision
into reality. I needed everyone—from my office staff, to my production crew, to
my delivery drivers—to be completely on
board. If we were going to dominate the marketplace, we needed 100% buy-in.
I’ll have to exert some restraint to not turn this post into a book.
There were many details that led to my success in molding a winning team. I’d
like to share the high-level points here and leave it to you and your team to determine
how these same principles and practices can be applied in your business.
I began by developing my big-picture vision into a set of daily
outcomes—how many units needed to be produced, maximum end-of-line rejections
due to defects, number of units/day delivered to clients, and so on. Note that I did not
make a plan as to how I was going to accomplish these things, but simply
that these were the tangible results I needed each day to make my vision become
a reality.
Key #2: Role Ownership
Once I had the daily requirements determined, it was time to involve my
team. I called a meeting in which I shared my vision and the daily requirements,
in terms of output and quality, needed to bring this vision to fruition. I was
met with everything from indifference to significant resistance, which was what I expected. After all,
these people had collected their paychecks without these requirements in the
past. Why change?
Then I got them involved in a way that was meaningful to them…
“I’ve told you what I want,” I said to the group, “Now you tell me what
you want in exchange for making these things happen.”
It took a while for their creativity to kick in, but when they saw me
readily listing the suggestions that were being made—many of which they clearly
thought were excessive—the flood gates opened. When we were done making the
list of proposals—which included performance bonuses, early shift termination
when quotas were met, company-paid lunches, and other such perks—most people in
the group were laughing and making comments about how ridiculous the thought of
my accepting these demands was; obviously assuming I would never say yes to even
a portion of their ideas.
I asked them if it would be alright for me to take a day and think
about their suggestions. They agreed, and headed back to their work stations,
still laughing, jeering, and even poking fun at how foolish this waste-of-time
meeting had been.
I had already run numbers and knew what I could pay for the performance
for which I was asking. Some quick head math during the course of our meeting
had already led me to know I could
provide everything for which my team had asked, and still have room to
provide some additional surprise perks along the way. A formal calculating of
the numbers that afternoon told me my preliminary beliefs were correct.
When the team gathered for our follow-up visit the next day, the
laughing, scoffing, and attitude that had prevailed the previous day continued.
Everyone took their seats, undoubtedly certain they would hear some less-than-exciting
news as to my findings. I had debated whether to slide into the acceptance of
their proposal, or drop my acceptance like a bomb. I decided on that latter
approach.
The Answer They Didn’t Expect
“Thank you for all your suggestions yesterday,” I began. “I’ve run the
numbers, and I’m ready to give you
everything you asked for.” Many were still talking among themselves and
focused elsewhere when I made that statement. Then the room became completely silent.
“What?” came a query from my plant foreman. “Say that again,” he went on.
I repeated myself: “I’ve run the numbers, and I’m ready to give you
everything you asked for.” You could have heard a pin drop. I went on…
“This is the way it’s going to work. I’m not going to issue any
reprimands for being late. I’m not going to conduct surprise status checks on
the production floor. And I’m not going to personally handle end-of-shift
inspections anymore. That’s all up to you.
“If you have a co-worker who is not performing, it’s up to you to help
him see the vision and pick up his performance. When a piece of equipment goes
down, your shift is over for the day without pay. Your opportunity to earn
money will resume when the equipment has been repaired. You own this
opportunity. It’s up to you to make of it what you will.”
I’ve never seen a more wide-eyed group of adults in my life. They were
floored!
“Are we in agreement?” I asked. The answer came in an enthusiastic
affirmative. “Let’s make it happen then!”
Instant Change
From that moment forward, quality improved until we beat the best of
the best in the industry. Daily quotas were almost always met an hour or more
before the end of the scheduled shift (which represented somewhere in the
neighborhood of double our previous output). Equipment failures diminished to
nearly zero. Poor performing employees were coached by their peers to improve
performance. On two occasions, a delegation of team members approached me about
firing those who were not catching the vision and improving. I still smile with
satisfaction when I think of those team members coming to me as a group to get
their non-performing peers ousted.
My favorite part of each day was standing by the time clock as my team
clocked out early, having made more per hour for the day for having met their
quota, and being paid at that higher rate for the hours they would not have to
work, as well. “We’re ripping you off, Bryan!” was a common phrase my smiling
team members would chant as they gave me high fives on their way out. Although
I never said it out loud, my response was always, “Keep ripping me off, guys… Keep
ripping me off.”
There is, of course, more to the entire account than what I have
shared; but in short, I got my team to buy in to my vision by allowing them to take ownership of their
roles in a way that was beneficial to them. I didn’t dictate the rewards. I
didn’t mold the culture of the team. They did.
Those who “got it” stayed around and enjoyed the benefits of our joint
efforts. Those who didn’t went on their way and were replaced by people who
wanted what we had to offer.
My team took control of their work. I had more time to build other
parts of the business.
They had a better job than they could get elsewhere. I had a killer
team that made things happen.
They made more money. I made more money.
It doesn’t get much better than that. Role ownership by all team
members is necessary if we’re to build a top-performing organization. After
all, a successful company is a community
of successful people. How can you
help your people become more successful?
