Hiring Poor Performers and Keeping Them Longer Than What Is Reasonably Expected

If you are running a business and employ people, your success rate will be, in most cases, determined by the quality of people you bring on board. If employees, current and future, buy into your vision, support you unreservedly, complement your skills and make your shortcomings and weaknesses irrelevant, you are on the right path. It goes without saying that you can’t do it alone and you need somebody to help you on this journey.

Businesses, the great ones, are built on strengths, not on eliminating weaknesses. You should follow this rule to the letter when staffing and development are considered. Always bring passionate people with a drive or maybe X factor that performs above the ordinary lines and grows with the business.

Never question based on skills only.

Anybody can learn skills –  but passion and drive come from values, beliefs and culture.

They are hard to learn fast as people acquire them during their lifetime (some 🙁 will never possess them).

Noteworthy is to say that you must not try to preserve cash in this critical area and at the same time provide for future growth opportunities. It can be fatal to your long term plans if one is neglected. Good people must be inspired and motivated and be paid well, above the average at a minimum; otherwise, they will go somewhere where these conditions are better. You must pay for skills and talent. You need to engage in a “TALENT WAR” to acquire the right people with the right skills and attitude.

You build people first, then they build businesses and materialise dreams. You co-create, synergise and most importantly, you don’t shape and tell. You lead mentor and coach; you assist and remove roadblocks. You paint the picture of an ideal future vividly and keep everyone on the same page…

By all means, design the well-structured hiring process. This is so important that importance almost screams from it. You have to pay attention not to end up with poor performers that can hold your whole team as a hostage, paralysed and inefficient. Its purpose is to prevent every opportunity for new entrants into your business and put it at risk by either poor performance and/or their poor attitude.

Lack of Self Esteem

Ironically, although silent and one of the most capable business killers, this one is relatively cured easily. You are unique, you have value, you do great things, and you do matter. So, start with who you are, what you can bring to the table, where you provide value, and how you enhance someone’s position. It is significant! Wouldn’t you agree?

Your prescription is to be more courageous than you believe you are. You have nothing to lose. You have everything to fight for…Look at yourself in a mirror and say honestly what you can see. Do you see a real deal in the making? Do you see something precious? What is your honest opinion about what you intend to do? Are you prepared to bet on yourself and your vision? If not, why not? If yes, why yes?

Undervaluing Time

Many people are courageous when it comes to valuing time. I am yet to see someone that does it accurately. Is your time something that could be undervalued? Think about it carefully; you do trade-offs daily. You pick and choose things you think you would like and want to do or…? You see, choices and decisions are everywhere. Be sure to make wise ones.

By undervaluing time, I mean sacrificing what you want, for what you think you must…Make sure you live your vision. Our time is limited and non-renewable; once lost, it is lost forever.

Making Things More Complex Than They Really Are

Albert Einstein explained it as;

Things should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.

We say you should strive for simplicity in processes, projects, events and everything you do. Minimise workloads, maximise outputs. Minimise steps that lead to results and maximise benefits…When there is a lot on your plate to handle, of course, you most certainly feel it as a mission impossible. So stop, review, align and simplify. Less is always more in the end.

Running a Business on the Event vs Process Basis

This one is really subset in “lack of vision and focus”, but substantial enough to be mentioned in a paragraph or two. It happens everywhere when small to medium businesses are leading the pack.

Business should always be viewed as a set of processes that bring your vision closer to materialisation. Well defined processes can and should always be improved, adjusted, quantified and revisited in timely manners.

If the business is seen as a set of events, then focus is only on the next big thing, next urgency, pressing need, etc. You see, the focus must be on strategy, not on tactics, as the overall game plan is what you adhere to, not the small tactic that will change in a month or so.

Underestimating Project or Task Complexity

This is a silent killer in service businesses because how well the functionality is performed will determine how successful your outcome is. This is one of those earlier mentioned. If done poorly, no matter what you do before and after, you will need to face the music. Complexity should be viewed from staffing and resource angles and performed by the most experienced people. So the burning question to ask is:

Do we have the relevant and available resources to handle these sorts of projects effectively?

If a project is accepted and it turns out bad, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you don’t expect the unexpected if you decide to proceed and eventually bite the bullet, despite all warning signs, make sure you have learned something from it. Accept it and move on…