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| Figure It Out |
I once had an employee work for me who was over-educated for the position he was hired to perform. He was not my favorite choice for that particular position. The business model I was hired to manage was one that was failing badly while it was involved in four separate legal disputes, all at the same time. That business model was littered with sour grape smells on its business vine. The over-educated employee that was hired was placed in that position by the owner of the troubled business model. They were friends. The owner was helping out a friend who was changing his career direction. The over-educated employee was a physical therapist who no longer enjoyed doing that kind of work. The business owner offered him a job managing his auto glass warehouse program. It was not a good match.
I remember listening to many sour grape conversations the over-educated employee shared during his 'stay' with this company. I was the General Manger, I listened to his sour grape perspectives on life. He was so sour in his life perspectives he once ate a tin foil wrapped pizza another employee brought to work for lunch and did not think anything was wrong about it. He unwrapped it, microwaved it and took it to the warehouse to have it for lunch. When the employee who brought the pizza to work was able to go to lunch, the pizza was gone. She finally figured out who ate it. She was mad the rest of the day. She was the head bookkeeper of the company. That afternoon she was so disturbed about the stolen lunch she made everyone else have a bad day. Sour grapes were hanging on that business vine. The main office of that business was a call center. The negative energy in that office became very sour. At least four lines every moment were busy with customers in that office during the open hours. The negative energy in that office that day was likely felt by some of those customers. Sour grapes stay on your business vine. Your customers can feel it.
The over-educated warehouse manager did not care about how mad the bookkeeper got when he ate her lunch without permission. Guess who was given the assignment to go resolve that issue? The General Manager, why of course. GM's are adult day care providers, did you not know that? Ask a professional sports franchise GM about adult day care, you will get an intriguing education about under-educated multi-millionaire players. It will amaze you how they think. Sour grapes come in all sizes, all shapes and all cultures. They hang on your business vine. When they get real strong, the customers can smell them. Sports fans are customers. Insurance agents are customers. Auto body shops are customers. When sour grapes spill out of the lives of your employees, your business vine has them attached for your customers to taste. Sometimes their life problems become your business vine experiences.
Your customers may have to put up with the sour grapes your employees carry to your business vine. It happens. What's more, in some cases you do not have a legal right to get involved with the personal sour grapes your employees bring to work, as they carelessly hang them on your business vine. Do you have a clear set of personnel policies? Written? Does every employee have a printed copy? If you do not, why not? Sour grapes from the home of your employees will eventually land on the vine of your business model. Your customers will eventually smell or taste those sour grapes. Why should your business model pay for that effect? Some of your best employees will truly believe that your business model owes them the right to behave like sour grapes when they are not happy at home. Some of your most educated employees will believe they have the right to eat the lunch of another staff member without permission and never consider it inappropriate. I clearly remember the conversation I had with that warehouse manager. It was her fault for not properly marking that tin foil in the lunch room refrigerator. He said he has thrown away a lot of old left over food in that refrigerator in the past. Too many people leave old stinky food behind. He said he is always the one who cleans it up. He was serious and firm about his position for stealing another employees food. He justified the theft. He knew full well it was not his. He never apologized to her, nor thanked her. Sour grapes.
He also wanted to know why I, as General Manager of the company, would spend my valuable time getting involved with such a minor issue of non-importance. He was serious. By the way, do you hire close friends and family to be a part of your business model? If you do, how is that working out for you? Any sour grapes in the pile?
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| Customers Care Enough To Go Around Your Business Model |
In my little town, I recently shared a story about a pub/restaurant that had hired a sharp manager when they were going bankrupt. Not only did they hire a sharp guy, they allowed him to hold the reigns of the business direction and marketing ideas. They did not try to place a tight bit in his mouth and control his ideas. They allowed him to do what he does best. It has become one of the most popular 'spots' to hang out in the whole area. Customers are filled to the rim almost every single night. It has been a great example of how someone can turn a business around with good energy, good ideas, and excellent service. The crowds spell how well the model is performing now. This new manager of this business has also convinced the 'city' to permit it to shut down the public street once in awhile and build a stage for live music bands to occasionally perform outside with a beer garden! What a concept. His crowds got larger. A once tired and failing business model is now alive and over-flowing. Sour grapes have been removed from the business vine.
Some new employees have been hired. A family member of one of the owners has been fired. This is a true model example. The new manager was hired to 'fix' their sour grapes and was given the right to actually 'fix' it. The results have proven to become worthwhile. The new manager believes in producing great grapes. His business vine has been cleared of the sour ones. He does not want his customers to see or smell any sour grapes. In his world, if you want to be a sour grape producer, go somewhere else and ruin their model. I met this manager many years ago. I had hired him to do some mattress marketing for me that produced a good set of results, nearly 20 years ago. When I heard they had hired him to save their business from failing, I got excited to see what he was going to do. I had no doubts about his abilities to make it happen. He, too, does not use the economy for his excuse. He wins anyway.
I share this story again because yesterday I bumped into one of his competitors. Another owner of a bar/restaurant business model that operates several blocks away has decided to hire live music and petitioned the 'city' to allow them to operate a stage outside with a beer garden event in their parking lot. Monkey see, monkey do. I love to watch this kind of stuff. There are so many great business lessons to be learned in all of this stuff. It feeds my mind wonderfully. Every single business owner truly believes a single act can save their business model. They often over look the other sour grapes on their business vine. The new manager hired to save the original brew pub from failure did more than place live music outside. He fired the relative that was part of the sour grapes production, he designed a new menu, hired better servers, changed the outdoor appearance of the facility by adding a unique and attractive vine garden to grow their own veggies for the salads they prepare, added great designs to the new outdoor permanent deck and markets the package in a strong and professional fashion. The competitor only sees the crowds in the street. I love it.
Gang...your business vine has a lot of sour grapes that need to be removed in order for your model to perform well. Choosing only one sour grape to repair will not do the trick. It ain't that easy.
Great operators do so many invisible things so well that nobody usually sees how they do what they do. A lot of their success comes from the invisible stuff they do without fanfare. It is usually the unnoticed stuff that makes the biggest difference. The best way to describe what needs to be done to help your business models win more often is to get rid of the close friend who is given the position to manage your warehouse facility. Get rid of the people who produce the most sour grapes. I recall one specific conversation I had with that over-educated friend managing the warehouse facility...he said, "I could get a whole lot more done in here if it was not for all of the customer interruptions I have to deal with." He truly meant every word in that statement.
The brew pub got rid of the close relative who was producing too many sour grapes on the business vine when they hired the new manager. The outdoor beer garden is only part of the success picture. Sour grapes are easy to recognize. They just need you to learn how to prune them. Get the right people.
Until next time...
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