Q: How can I get my staff as excited about my business as I am?
Sep 09 2011
Answered by: Ed Percival Ask a question
The owner of a business will naturally be more excited than are the staff; the owner has more at stake.
There are two dimensions to any business – the commercial and the cultural. A compelling vision of the future pulls people towards it.
If a business only has a commercial vision and makes no move towards creating a cultural vision, then the people in the business will only be judged by their commercial performance – the sales and cost numbers. Not many people want to leap out of bed just for the numbers.
On the other hand, a business with only a cultural vision is the kind of place where everyone goes to be friends and be nice to each other. While that may seem attractive to some, on a business basis it will not sustain.
Balance is therefore the key. I would expect an owner to lead the conversation about the commercial vision – this is how big a game we plan to create, these are the types of clients we want and these are the products we think they will buy and recommend.
Clever business owners engage all the people in the company in the conversation about what sort of place we want this to be to work in.
Other than making money, why are we in business? What three values would we like to be held accountable for?
What do we mean when we use those words? How will we know we are sticking to what we say we value? How shall we measure our behaviour?
Culture is what sets your business apart. If you can make it so that someone could come in and copy your products in a few days, but it would take them years to recreate your culture, then you have a business worth more when it comes to sell.
Frightened owners living in fear would try to lay the law down and dictate the values they want. An owner who engages all the people in the business in the co-creation of a culture will have people as excited about the business as the owner, simply because the people have more at stake too. Strong business cultures make it easier to recruit and retain people. Expectations are clear from the start.
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