Sue, a client, emailed me something like this:
“We have been talking for some time now. What Bob and I need is your frank assessment of how we can get closer to being successful running our business. At this point the business is more or less running us and we are sick and tired of that being the case. The next time we speak, tell us exactly what you think we need to do to get out of our own way. Don’t hold back.”
Bill and Sue (names changed to protect their privacy) run a design-build remodeling company. Bill brings field experience. Sue’s background is in several different industries.
They have struggled to find employees who stay with the company. They had been working with a designer who did not have their work at the top of to-do list. Bill fills many positions on the organization chart. He and Sue are both tired of dealing with the same issues.
What can they do?
Close the Company?
First, I would ask: Would it be best if you didn’t run a company? Not everyone is meant to do that. It’s okay. Running a company requires skills that take work to develop and fine tune. If doing that is an unattractive prospect, it would be better to work for someone else.
I’d follow up by telling Bill this: You are trying to do too many jobs now. You’re a salesperson, designer (to some degree), estimator, and production manager/lead carpenter, depending on the circumstances.
It’s impossible to do all those well. Bill, you likely find yourself behind all the time. This is leading to burnout. Imagine what going to work would feel like if you were doing what you want to do. That could be more fulfilling and less burdensome.
Become What Your Company Needs
If Bill and Sue decide to keep the firm going, I then would say: This is the big opportunity. Both of you are people-oriented and slow-paced, per your respective personality assessments. Bill, when you are on the job you focus a lot on results, still with an inclination to a slow pace. You both likely tend to overthink things and avoid difficult conversations.
Bill, in order for the company to change and become more profitable, you need to focus on building relationships that will generate leads, touching past clients who can refer the company and getting some sales training.
I think you might be more comfortable doing things yourself, getting things done, than doing what I am suggesting. Without making the changes, the company will always be behind the 8-ball.
Sue, you take a more measured approach to the business than Bill. My wife, Nina, filled that role in our working relationship. Start saying what you think and don’t get rolled over by Bill’s force of personality.
Bill and Sue, work together as two professionals who happen to work at the same company. Don’t accept “that is just the way I am” as an excuse from the other. Inspire each other by growing and changing personally.
Build Out the Team
Doing only what you want to do in the company requires finding others to do what you don’t want to do.
Something is in the way of you having good employees who stay around. Developing the skills needed to be successful at this takes work and learning from your mistakes.
What question(s) should you ask the next time to avoid making the same hiring mistake? Keep track of these. Read about hiring best practices. Find a local HR person who can help you get better. We did that.
When you do bring someone on, whomever is their manager needs to deliberately and systematically onboard them. Have a process to do so. Follow the steps. Include in that a non-confrontational way to provide them with positive and constructive feedback.
Learn to Lead Others
I never wanted to be a boss. In fact, the first time someone called me a boss I told him never to do that again! That attitude got in the way of our company becoming better.
Improving your leadership skills, Bill and Sue, will make it easier to get the best from those you employ. It will also make them more likely to stay with the company. Reading can help a lot with this. Attending one- or two-day local seminars can be helpful, too. Finding a local mentor who has made this journey will help.
Set Clear Expectations
When one is overworked and crispy, laying out clear expectations goes out the window. Consequently, there are a lot of things that then need to be reworked. That just creates more work, which makes you crazy.
The solution involves slowing down and communicating effectively. Consider writing down whatever you and a co-worker are agreeing to and having them write it down. Before the interaction ends, ask your co-worker to tell you what they think has been agreed to, referencing their notes while doing so.
Follow Up
Often, a person gets too busy to check the work that was laid out to a co-worker. That lack of follow-up leads the co-worker adrift. Agree upon progress-driven check-ins or time-driven ones or a combination.
Coach Continually
One way to improve things is to catch employees doing the right thing. When you are following up, make sure to note something the co-worker did well. Don’t just provide “constructive criticism,” as that is demotivating. Don’t serve a praise sandwich, inside of two pieces of criticism. Speak from your heart. Again, this took me a long time to get better at.
Coaching employees continuously is part of their compensation. The owner’s attention and feedback is always desired and rarely asked for. Focus on what the employee is doing well. Invest in their emotional bank account so you can provide bits of constructive criticism judiciously and only when needed, without the employee feeling beat up.
Sue, you asked me for my honest opinions about how you and Bill can get unstuck. I made a lot of suggestions.
Sue and Bill, listening to one another and getting on the same page is important. Increasing your management and people skills will help a lot. Bill, focusing on selling and the company finding a good design resource and a good carpenter are essential. Sue, doing what she really wants to be doing is important.
What happens from here on out is up both of you, Bill and Sue. The only way to get out of limbo is to make a leap into the unknown and uncomfortable. Go for it.