Fear. Very effective for speed, not so effective for innovation. How do you create fear? Anger. Shouting. Swearing. Ruthlessness. Heartlessness. Innovation can’t happen because the innovators of the world do not have to work for anyone. And no one likes being abused. So your business is eventually overtaken by competitors. Greed. Attracts the wrong kind…
Its easy getting rid of assholes. Not so easy firing nice people.But sometimes a nice person has to go, and the only question is “How?”Rule number one is: Show respect.Most of the time, strict adherence to the law is the wrong way. The law incentivizes the employer to “manage” the person out of the business with…
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” -Oscar Wilde “Slacker” is the term given for sociopaths, incompetents, and rotten apples that wriggle their way into a company.The safest way to avoid slackers (and find stars) is to use the following checklist: Is he the type of person that always keeps…
Your staff and partners can make mistakes. No one is perfect. Accept there will be speed bumps and help your people to recover and learn.But never accept lack of loyalty. Loyalty comes first.Without loyalty there can be no trust. Without trust you can’t move fast.If you can’t move fast you will fail.Loyalty comes before competence,…
1. Stars arrive at the office at 7am without being asked. Slackers slouch in at 9, with a new excuse every day for why they’re late. 2. Stars never make excuses; they just own up to their mistakes and fix them without a fuss. Slackers always make excuses and try to shift blame. 3. Stars reply to emails…
I had the privilege of working with Clelland Kruger for over three years at iBurst.Clelland was the HR director in that time and was key to us ultimately winning 1st place in the Deloitte Best Company To Work For survey for the Telecoms sector.Somehow, in spite of struggling to make profits and being trapped in an endless…
You should always try to not hire staff. Staff bring headaches and overheads.Sometimes you simply must bring on help. You can’t do everything yourself or be everywhere yourself.Be careful.Bringing on the wrong staff can be expensive and hurt you. Company morale can be quickly damaged by a bad apple, especially in a small startup.Don’t be…
Hiring staff can be quite gratifying to the ego. “All these people work for ME!”Successful entrepreneurs understand the need to keep staff numbers to a minimum. Here’s why: HR issues You want to spend your time building and selling. Not settling squabbles over sick leave allowances and salary advances.The more staff you have, the more…
Every business starts small. When your business is small its easy to micromanage. But when you grow it becomes impossible to be on top of everything, and so you must delegate.You will give your team more autonomy and responsibility.If you are to focus on the big stuff you need to know your team has the small stuff in hand….
At the change of seasons there is an inevitable outbreak of flu.Not only is it kak to be sick, it’s not good for business. Especially if you’re an entrepreneur with a small team that can’t afford to stop moving. Here are some guidelines we use for dealing with flu in our companies:If you’re sick stay home, don’t make…
The committed player takes calls at all hours, and always returns them ASAP. The uncommitted player only takes calls when it suits him and never returns calls.The committed player sees no task as beneath his station. If sweeping the stoep helps the team, he sweeps the stoep. The uncommitted player only does tasks that befit…
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda Respect, or the lack thereof, is the foundation of the culture of a company. In our company we show respect to everyone, regardless of race, income or status. Respect is shown by observing cultural norms. Learn the culture of your colleagues. Remember the basics: Greet…