UN-CIVIL WAR IN YOUR COMPANY?

Your day starts off well enough, then suddenly there’s a major argument -- worse, a knock down, drag-out fight between two of your staff in production or the front office.

But this never happens at your company!  Really? Well, it has happened in mine -- and I hear about it happening in other companies, whenever an owner or manager gets perfectly honest.  In fact, in my twenty-plus years of running a commercial printing company, I have found myself right in the middle of such confrontations a time or two, sad to say.

Why does this happen?  Maybe it's a personality conflict, or someone taking their bad day out on others. Sometimes it's something really important like someone's pet dog gets called a stupid, blankety-blank mutt!?  It's amazing how these "silly" arguments can happen among us adults!  As a company owner or manager, it falls to us to separate the warriors, sit them down for a meeting of the minds, and tell them how unacceptable their actions are, especially when they act out in front of the rest of the company.  If it gets really bad -- short of firing someone -- we can fill out a disciplinary document, have each of them sign it, and hopefully get back to work.

But has the REAL issue been resolved so it doesn’t flare up again?

Let's look deeper at most arguments or fights that happen in companies. I have instructed our supervisors that, if they see two people arguing, the first thing they are to do is bring calm to the situation. The next thing I expect the supervisor to do is ask their self why these workers were really arguing, and then find the root cause.

I believe most arguments among fellow workers are due to one of only TWO things: 1) Either an individual has some personal non-work-related difficulty that he or she has brought to work, or 2) There is a HOLE in the system that's creating frustration for the workers, in which case I further believe, as the owner or manager -- it's MY or YOUR fault.  Yes, it's your fault, if you are the person in charge of implementing and overseeing the systems that operate your department or company, and those systems are faulty. 

What is a system?  It is a tool -- a map or compass, if you will -- by which employees are able to navigate, in order to do their best possible job. If there's a hole in the system -- or, as we say, "The system is BROKE" -- then it's OUR job as owners/managers to FIX IT.

I have seen this happen time and time again in companies when people don’t have the necessary and correct information or tools to do their job, and without constant supervision to tell them how, what, when, and where. Generally, without proper systems, workers are expected to commit to memory every detail of their job assignments, as well as all OUR verbal communications to them.  So what happens? CHAOS!

One party THINKS something is supposed to be done a certain way and the other party THINKS it is supposed to be done another way. The key word here is THINKS!  The finger-pointing and name-calling begins. Words are said, blame happens, tempers rise, every other frustration in each of these workers lives builds to a crescendo, and World War 3 breaks out! How easy is it in these economic times to spark all-out war!?

SOLUTION:  Why not put in a system so ALL parties know EXACTLY what is suppose to be done, and what is expected of them in order to do the job RIGHT?  Only YOU and I -- the owners and managers -- can stop the shoot-from-the-hip or Russian Roulette-type culture that leads to such outbreaks, and put in a system that gets everyone on the same page.  No more need of arguments, fights, reprimands, ulcers -- lost time and money!

TYPES OF SYSTEMS THAT BRING EVERYONE TOGETHER—from chaos to teamwork:  Job Descriptions, Daily Routine Checklists, Quality Control Checklists, Data Entry Control Checklists, Procedures, Policies and various other forms and documents. All these systems become your company’s Operations Manual or your Standard Work -- you might even call it the Great Peacemaker.

Did I mention—GREAT SYSTEMS WORK!? 

HAD ENOUGH UN-CIVIL WARS?

Had enough of chaos and messes in your company?

There actually is a remedy for all that!  Don't believe the old adage that "chaos in business is normal."  A little chaos gets to be A LOT of chaos, and chaos eats into your profits.

Get started on the path to order and more productivity.  Purchase Philip Beyer's new book, System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business, online at www.Amazon.com.  It will change the way you do business, and it might even change your life!