Communicate Clearly and Expect To Do Well

In heading a growing business, its important to be aware of your own personal management style and how it impacts the performance of each employee and staff member. For example, I tend to be very direct and honest but also demanding and competitive.

I expect a high level of performance from people. But as long as they perform, I give them a lot of rope. Therefore, I try to delegate responsibility to people who have shown that they can deliver at a high level. Then, when someone is not meeting expectations, Ill be quick to talk with them about it. Im very honest and open with people. I tell them when I am happy with their performance, I tell them when I am unhappy with their performance and I try to make clear what my expectations for them are. Everyone should know where they stand.

Winning is important. We share the small wins with everyone. We want everyone to enjoy winning and to know that each person in the organization has to perform well in order for the entire team to achieve the big wins. We want everyone to take ownership in the company. We want them to feel that this is their company. If each employee makes decisions throughout the day as if the company were their own, then we will be successful. We try to instill a sense of ownership in all of our employees by sharing as much information with them as possible.

Each Monday we have an all hands meeting to review the previous week and discuss what is on the agenda for the coming week. We share the sales successes and review productivity goals. We have an open books policy and we share weekly and quarterly profitability with the staff. It is important that everyone knows where we stand as a company. We believe it is also important that everyone understands that the company has to be profitable, and we want each and every person to understand their role in making it profitable.