Hi! Welcome back. I’ve been busy meeting with Chambers of Commerce and potential business clients through Business Network International club meetings around the Louisville, Kentucky area in an effort to launch my new consulting practice Yurway Coaching Consultants. Last time I mentioned that I would be working the polls in Indiana’s spring primary on May 8th I did and here are a few observations.
It was a long day starting with waking up at 4 a.m. to be at the voting place by 5 a.m. to setup for the primary. I was blessed with a veteran group of poll workers: Ann, Mary, Flo and Dale. Our station was one of four different precincts in Floyds Knobs, Indiana and I often throughout the day helped voters find their correct voter precinct by consulting an area map. While the mood of most voters was very positive the Republican ballots were used more often than the Democratic ballots by about a two to one margin. Voter turnout was light only 17% of the registered voters in the precinct I was working turned out. It’s a shame that after ten years of wars overseas wars that are still going on with American servicemen and women being wounded or killed that more Americans don’t feel the need to exercise their most basic right in this country and that’s to vote. I hope if you were one of those many people who didn’t show up at your voting place this spring that you make the effort to cast your ballot in the November elections. With the state of our nation and the world today I can’t imagine what would be more important than to take at most a half an hour and vote for whom and what you feel is important this November.
Now back to the subject of this blog business and those issues that affect small business owners and employees. Today’s blog topic is from Chapter 8 of Nuts! The book I’ve been reviewing on how Southwest Airlines has been successful in the ultra-competitive airline industry. The title of the chapter is “Act like an Owner”. But before I mention the success tips mentioned in chapter 8 of Nuts! I’d like to quote some data from another blog that I read and happen to look at just before writing this post.
In a recent survey conducted by Fierce, Inc., only 1/3 of the 800 respondents felt that their company was willing to change practices based on employee input and feedback. Other study highlights included:
44% of employees felt that workplace practices are ineffective and often hinder employee productivity or morale.
47% reported that current practices impede desired results.
50% said the lack of companywide transparency and the lack of employee involvement are the primary areas of concern.
70% said they are willing to speak up, they doubted it would make a difference.
Like the voter turnout on this year’s Spring Indiana Primary the above statistics are quite sorrowful. As many of you know this business climate is an especially difficult one, why is it then that so many workers feel so disconnected or disfranchised from the companies that employ them? Certainly, business owners could use or at least consider ideas from the people that know their business processes as well or sometimes better that they do, the employees that earn a living through working at the firm.
In Nuts! Chapter 8 they state that “ownership is a powerful catalyst for organizational change”. I’ll go even further and say that I believe you can’t obtain organizational change without ownership from both the management and staff of any organization. The authors go on the state that “Ownership isn’t just about having a piece of paper that says I own stock. Ownership is the result of believing that you can make a difference, then acting on that belief in everything you do.” Based on the results of the survey above it would appear that many employees aren’t buying into the ideas espoused by their management or management itself isn’t allowing employees to actively participant in the functions of the business. Can we really afford this business mindset in this economy? With budgets tight and the future uncertain is it wise to go it alone and not at least seek the counsel of others within an organization?
I think not, but I must confess I have always been in the camp of participatory management which the belief that anybody including the lowest worker has knowledge that could be of benefit to me a decision maker. Yes! Management is almost always responsible for the direction and results of a decision or policy but their ideas and opinions aren’t the only ones out there that have merit and should be considered.
Here are the tidbits of success from Chapter 8 of Nuts:
· Think like an owner—about your job and life. Owners focus on results regardless of who’s watching.
· Don’t act like a victim. Believe you can make a difference in everything you do.
· Put your trust in others. It tells them they are trustworthy and they will act accordingly.
· Show your people what you think they’re worth.
· Negotiate with an abundance mentality.
· Make your organizational and personal mission, vision, and values clear—then hold the reins loosely.
· Practice the Golden rule. Do what you expect and want others to do.
That’s it for today. Next time I’ll finish my review of Nuts! by looking at of all things advertising. Until then thanks for reading, please post a comment if you so desire and all my best! Jer
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