My son Brandon, a systems specialist with our company, loves training owners and managers on systems that help grow their businesses. He believes, as I do, that without systems a business is only spinning its wheels. But, with the right systems, a business is bound to flourish.
Brandon had just completed a long training session on our software with a new customer. Afterward, he walked into my office with a great big grin on his face.
“Dad,” he said, still grinning, “our new client told me his employees HATE the new systems.” Suddenly, I felt the urge to grin also!
I asked Brandon, “But, what does the OWNER think of our software?”
“Oh, he LOVES it,” Brandon said. “He told me it was the first time he felt he had any control over his business. He was excited to finally have a way to hold his employees accountable for their daily duties.”
I was relieved the OWNER liked the systems. However, I couldn’t help being a little facetious about his employees who seemed to “hate” them.
I Would Even Hate the Systems Specialist
“Well, I WOULD HATE IT, TOO,” I said tongue in cheek. In fact, I wouldn’t like the systems specialist who had the gall to teach them to me! I’d be mad if someone gave me a two-page daily routine checklist of my actual job duties, and then EXPECTED me to do them every day! There are some things I find just too boring, and I shouldn’t have to do them, especially if I don’t feel like it! They ask mind-numbing things like, checking the server back-up and then testing those backups to make sure the data is actually there!?
I was on a roll now, as a spirit of sarcasm came over me. “Why should I do things like filing job tickets and other paperwork? That’s such a nuisance! A person should only have to do those non-urgent tasks if they FEEL they have time. And, come to think of it…
“I WOULD ALSO HATE IT if my boss nagged me to keep my desk and work area clean and organized. That’s not my cup of tea. It may be FINE for certain “neat freaks,” but it’s just NOT for me! I’m a little more free-spirited. AND BESIDES, I can’t believe anyone would put CLEANING on a checklist and expect someone to do THAT every day! The next thing you know the boss will put cleaning my equipment, like the plate processor, on a scheduled preventive maintenance checklist. I guess he’d expect me to get it done on a certain time table even. We should only do THAT dreary duty, if there’s little work in the shop, or if the plate processor starts giving us problems. Right?”
Finished With My Tongue-In-Cheek Rant
Brandon’s grin was now bigger than ever! “That’s funny, Dad!”
But, seriously, it’s unconscionable to me that many employees consider it a burden to do what they’re paid to do. What’s even MORE mind-boggling is, many owners and supervisors think it’s unkind or unfair to hold people accountable at all!
Brandon loves helping business owners gain control of their companies by overcoming the obstacles and roadblocks they face every day. He and I agree that, as long as the OWNER is paying us to train his employees on the systems, we’ll just keep on grinning. If learning systems that hold everyone accountable, including themselves, makes our the owner happy, that makes us happy.
For years now, we have witnessed the proven benefits of removing chaos from a business through quality controls, service controls, maintenance controls and many other control systems. Serious business owners should refuse to be daunted by some employees who say they “hate” systems that encourage accountability.
A big “BRAVO” to our client for bravely continuing the good fight to regain control of his business, after years of doing some things he ALSO “hates,” mainly the waste and chaos that had taken it over. Been there, done that, and I couldn’t go back! I WOULD HATE IT, TOO!
Did I mention? Great systems work!
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