Monthly Archives: September 2011

Top Five Values Most Employers Seek in Their Employees

14 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by in Values

≈ 6 Comments

As I’ve been conducting many interviews lately for open positions on my team, the question that comes up on a fairly consistent basis (as it should) is around expectations.  What do I expect from people that work with me and what do I value as a leader?

The list is not a short one but it is usually top of mind so I never have to think long before answering. Here are a few things that matter to me (which I think would find consistent across most businesses):

  • Passion is definitely near the top of the list – I want to be surrounded by people that love coming to work every day, are excited about what they do and don’t watch the clock longing for the day to be over.
  • Ability to challenge the status quo.  When I ask why we do something a certain way and the response is “Because we’ve always done it that way”, that doesn’t sit well with me. Every year, every month and every day we need to re-evaluate the way things are done, cut our losses when an idea doesn’t work and try a new way of doing things when it makes sense. I want to have a team full of people who are willing to do that (and I do!).
  • Consistency. This is in my top three, if not my #1. I prefer working with someone that is good or great on a consistent basis than occasionally outstanding or occasionally good.  When you give someone a project to take on, there is so much “comfort” as a manager knowing exactly how it will be handled each and every time. I just love consistency.
  • No use of the phrase “It’s not my job”. I have a tough time keeping quiet when I hear someone say “It’s not my job”.  In today’s work environment almost anything and everything could become part of your job.  Being agile, flexible and willing to learn is very critical for success so rather than someone looking at a task or project outside of their “day job” as an inconvenience, I’d prefer they look at it as an opportunity to learn. Some of the best things that have ever happened to me in my career are as a direct result of me doing things that “weren’t my job”.
  • Trust. I worked for a leader a few years ago who lived and breathed the phrase “Say what you’re going to do and then do what you say” and those are some great words to live by. I think career success depends, for a large part, in your colleagues knowing when you say you’re going to do something, you do it. Period. Trust of course extends way beyond this, but trust in general is definitely an imperative in a good working relationship.

My list is actually longer than this, but before this turns into a chapter in a book rather than a blog post, I’ll wrap it up. In short, I don’t expect anything from my team that I
don’t expect from myself.  I realize it’s constantly a work in progress (and I’m a work in progress!) but that’s what life is all about… right?

The Benefit of Hiring the Expert

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in Business Services

≈ Leave a comment

So picture this scenario. Your friend has a toothache and is thinking of going to the dentist but because you’re reliable, trustworthy and a great business person, they figure they will get you to take a look at it first. The fact that you have never been to dental school isn’t much of a concern to them, so why worry about it yourself!  After assessing the situation, you aren’t exactly sure what’s going on but it looks like there is some kind of infection.  After much internal debate (aka – talking to yourself) and realizing you don’t have any dental tools, you figure the only route you can really go is to the pull out the tooth (since pliers will likely do the trick). Now that being said, you aren’t exactly sure what tooth it is, so you decide to start with the most likely one and if that doesn’t work, in a few days you’ll try another.

Okay – so this may be a slight exaggeration of reality, but if you really think about it, how many times in a week do you try to do something that isn’t your core competency or within your best skillset? In most cases, it isn’t likely as extreme as acting like a dentist, but the consequences could actually be more severe, especially on your business.  Next time you’re trying to determine whether or not you should just do the job yourself (whatever that may be) here are some key considerations:

  • What is the opportunity cost? Perhaps you’re a plumber, accountant or engineer. If you move away from the core focus of your business to do something you’re not trained at or experienced in, what activity are you not doing that you are an expert at?  Is there extra value you could provide to one of your existing clients?  Is there a networking event you should be attending to attract new clients but you keep convincing yourself you don’t have time?  Every time you do something, you make a decision to not do something else, so before you tackle that
    plumbing job or marketing project, consider what is getting pushed to the     backburner.
  • Do you love the activity? I had a colleague about ten years ago that decided if it wasn’t part of his core business or he didn’t love it, he was going to pay someone else to do it.  Whether that was cutting the grass at his house or creating a new marketing plan for his business, he was convinced it was a good move.  The result was (as you guessed) increased expense. The other result was increased revenue and profitability.  He focused on his business and other things he loved to do (which by the way included washing and waxing his car), and paid people to do the rest. At the end of the day he took home more money, felt less overwhelmed and got excited about going to work again.  Do you love wearing all the hats in your business or would it make sense to bring in a few experts so you can focus on what you love and are best at?
  • What are the risks to wearing too many hats? We seem to be in a bit of a do it yourself age. For example, businesses are being empowered to do their own taxes and create their own websites, yet if you stop to think about why people were trained (extensively) on tax compliance or search engine optimization, in many cases doing it yourself often has more risk than reward. When you’re wondering why your online sales aren’t performing as well as you thought or why the government left a message about some questions they have on your tax return, the answer may be clear. You’re not the expert!

When all is said and done, it simply doesn’t make sense that you can be an expert in all areas. I work in a large company and despite the fact that we have over 10,000 extremely talented employees, we still bring outside experts in when it makes sense.  It isn’t admitting a weakness or defeat when you bring in expert – it’s showing you’re smart enough to know when you can’t be all things to all people. When a small business tells me they can’t afford it, my next question is “Can you afford not to?”.  In many cases you will save time, frustration and un-necessary stress by hiring the expert and focusing your efforts on your area of expertise.  Plus, the job will be done right the first time which is extremely valuable.  Next time you’re looking at all the hats you wear in your business (and life) consider which ones make sense and which ones you’re wearing ineffectively.  It’s an exercise that could reap considerable
rewards.