Unfortunately for some, there is a common theme between house cleaning and changing a company culture.  It is almost impossible to change a company culture without having to let some people go.  But be very careful when you start to redefine and redesign your company culture because you can create an even bigger mess than the one you are trying to fix.  Every action sends a message of what the future culture will look like.  If you walk in to a new situation or company with the goal of changing the culture and it all starts outside of the “Oval Office,” (as in everyone but upper management) you are already sending the message of who is to blame.  (Sharing the blame is usually the closest to reality.)  Although there are going to be individuals that don’t fit into the new culture and will have to be let go, don’t forget that they were brought on because they did fit into the old culture and part of who they have become is the result of that old cultural influence.  So, to ruthlessly pull out the guillotine when it comes time to change is not going to create an atmosphere of trust, care and loyalty going forward.  Change is not easy no matter what but it is a whole lot easier if it is in an atmosphere of care and understanding.  It is not easy to find good people and even harder to find people that don’t have any opinion or previous work baggage.  So, be careful letting yourself believe that bringing in a new set of workers is going to be without its challenges.  We live in a very dynamic marketplace that is in a constant state of change so you can’t just clean house and hire a new workforce every time a company needs to go in a new direction.  After all, some of the nay sayers may be your best source of feedback and help keep you grounded going forward.  So, taking the time and spending the energy to help people see and believe in the benefits of the change and embrace it, rather than reluctantly comply out of fear, will create a culture of care and trust that will make the next change go a lot smoother.

House cleaning is a very necessary part of our personal and professional lives and when it is neglected, in business especially, it sends a very clear message that there is no clear set of expectations.  Expectations for performance have to be clear but also the benefits of performance have to be clear too.  Sometimes when we expect people to change we fail to make it clear what the benefits are or we use some pathetic negative benefit like “you can keep your job.”  All change requires additional work, even if it is just the psychological work of forming new habits and most of the time it is for no additional pay or incentive.  That, makes it truly hard for anyone to jump on board.  Jack Welch of General Electric fame makes “Candor” and “Differentiation” two of his first themes in his book “Winning.”  According to Jack you can’t lump everyone into the same batch.  Performers must be rewarded and poor performers cannot be left to languish, you have to act and act differently with each group or your message about expectations will become muddied.  The question is when to act and how?  One thing I am sure of is that we are not born with the ability to know how to change, people need tools to change, so do the house cleaning only after there has been enough time and tools provided to make change possible.

I will cover some of those change tools next week.

I have heard numerous conversations in the past few years that it is very difficult to expand your work force without encountering numerous “productivity” problems (i.e. “it’s hard to find good help these days”).  It’s like you have to sell labor to your workforce.  Many people don’t know all the physical, psychological and of course financial benefits of working, so you have to sell it to them and it’s a hard sell.  I’m not talking about just going through the motions looking at the clock work but really “putting your heart and soul into it,” work.  Many small business owners have decided that it makes more sense to hang on to your good workers, treat them well and just turn down work than to try to grow and take on additional help with a questionable work ethic.  The question begs to be asked; is there a new societal problem that is influencing a decline in productivity and work ethic?  If so, is there anything that can be done about it?

There is no question that our environment has an influence on who we become and what we do in life.  There is a very wise axiom that you will become the average of your five closest friends.  It’s because you are open to their influence and their influence is the most repetitive and consistent.  The bigger picture is of the influence of a society and it’s significant emotional events during an individual’s formative years.   In other words what was happening in the world in your formative years (a terrorist attack, a war, a peace movement, economic upheaval) that made a lasting impact on your values and how you view the world?  Professor Morris Massey made this study famous in the late 1960s and 1970s at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Massey believed there are three key formative periods that shaped who you became.  He named those key periods the “Imprint” period, the “Modeling” period and the “Socialization” period.   Without getting into the details of Massey’s findings the overall view is that yes, there certainly may be a societal influence on productivity and work ethic.  It can be global (an entire nation) or local (a work environment in a school or manufacturing plant) but there is definitely an influence.  Imagine working for a boss or under a government who, it has been determined, is crooked and constantly out to get you.  How likely are you to put in extra hours and be completely honest and forthright in your work?  What if “that determination” about the boss is false but the prevailing belief (Rumor) is that it is true, is your behavior influenced by prevailing beliefs that are untrue or by unknown facts?  In both cases the belief or the fact of unfairness will influence your behavior.  If you believe you are not getting enough or that someone owes you and you are not likely to get what you are owed, will that influence your behavior?  You can answer these questions for yourself but I believe it’s pretty clear that we do make choices that are influenced by the prevailing attitude and belief of our surroundings because we tend to want to fit in.  What society as a whole values and believes today is much different than it was in the 1930s or the 1960s and so on.

So, let’s say we decide based on this evidence that there is a legitimate societal influence causing a decline in productivity and work ethic, making people less likely to want to work.  Then that brings us to the next question, can anything be done about it?

Getting past the imprint of our formative years is not an easy task.  Massey allowed for what he called “Significant Emotional Events” or SEE, that could bump us out of our belief system and values.  But they had to be truly significant, as in big enough to cause major emotional impact that overcomes the original emotional imprint.  Something like the loss of a loved one that makes you question you beliefs about life and death or a terrorist attack that makes you question you belief in the good of humanity.  So, the good news is, We Can Change the bad news is it won’t be easy.  But does this answer the question of can anything be done about a decline in productivity and work ethic?  (Eric Chester in his book “Reviving Work Ethic” addresses much of this conundrum and is well worth the read.)  But, as far as actually creating significant emotional events, like the ones Morris Massey talks about, in order to facilitate that change is beyond the ability of just about every organization and therefore not a viable option.  Which leaves us with the arduous task of finding those who have already experienced their own values reset from a Significant Emotional Event or those whose formative years were the right work ethic imprint.  It’s a little bit like mining for gold, the exploration will cost you but if you find the right people you will have a big payoff. 

Where can you find the work ethic imprint?  Look back peoples past beyond their recent work history to how the spent their formative years, get an insight into whether work was normal and fun for them.  Get help in formulating the right interview questions and scenarios and make the hiring process a system.  No more going by your gut if you want a winning team, you have to be an expert hunter (work ethic finder) and farmer (work ethic developer).  You can’t just expect people to want to work and know the benefits of hard work when you hire them now days.  The work ethic of the old days is harder to find but it is still out there.  The question is are you willing to do the work to find it and then cultivate it?    Nucor steel made it a hiring policy to hire farmer work ethic and to find this their interview process is in-depth and like Southwest Airlines, Nucor uses written tests and in-depth interviews to evaluate job candidates. It also relies on the expertise of industrial psychologists, who frequently visit the company's plants to screen prospects and evaluate employees. 

Expectations truly have an enormous influence on our performance.  There is so much evidence that the self-fulfilling prophecy concept is real.  We all communicate our expectations of others in many unconscious ways that are very visible and noticeable to others.  These expectations turn into influences without our even noticing it.  For instance, if we think someone is going to be a poor performer we will communicate that in ways that will influence that person’s behavior, by giving them simple tasks and responsibilities rather than big challenges and responsibilities we may be sending the message that “you are not capable.”  If we do it enough and are respected by them then that person may begin to believe your message.  And so the self-fulfilling prophecy concept goes.  So, having great expectations from your teacher, supervisor, client or parent is a great start and be very grateful if you have that!  But, great expectations alone are not enough if you don’t have the skill set or don’t know how to develop the skill set you need to meet those great expectations.  Great expectations are the rocket boost you need to give in order to get people performing but they will also need some flight controls to guide their efforts.  Flight controls are the skills needed to excel and grow in their performance. 

Rule number one in influencing excellence in your team is to have and communicate clearly what your “Great” expectations are.  Rule number two is identify the skill set that is needed to meet those great expectations and start implementing.  Many people will not know how to identify their own missing skill set and that where business leaders and mentors can provide enormous influence with great results. 

Now let me be clear, all the great expectations in the world will not change everyone.  There are people who need or want “command and control” and won’t respond to “enabling and inspiring.”  But are those the people that you want to work with and entrust with the responsibilities of growing your business or organization?  As a business leader choose to give all your team the gift of great expectations and an ample supply of skills and steps to perform but don’t be lax in moving under-performers off your team.  Like Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric says, dealing with the bottom ten percent of your people is a gift to your company and to them.

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Understanding the human experience is the greatest way to gain traction for any idea.  The only thing that can give an idea power is the human connection.  If an idea stands alone it dies a lonely death.  No matter how technically brilliant an innovator is, there will be no success with out understanding how products and technology fascinate and facilitate humanity.  It is other humans that give an idea power and traction.  So many of the brilliant innovators were people how had a vision of the human need before they produced the products to solve it.  
One never ending quest for knowledge must always be in the realm of human nature and human motives if you are going to be a successful innovator!  It will always serve you well. 

Resource allocation is a pretty basic management responsibility but it is far from easy to do in business and even harder personally.   For business and for individuals there will always be limited resources, limited time, limited money, limited energy, limited labor, limited attention and on it goes.  So, the key is determining the best way to allocate time and energy and money etc.  One of the reasons this exercise is so difficult is because it seems that priorities are constantly changing and there are an endless number of fires to call for our attention and energy.  In other words determining our most important priorities is a moving target.  So, how do you start your priority list so you can divvy up the available resources for maximum affect?  Well, the good news is that there is one priority that really trumps them all…. yourself! 

Do you remember the part of the safety briefing before you take off on an airline flight?  “Put on your own oxygen mask first before helping someone else.”  That is the same as the advice you hear about budgeting, “pay yourself first.”  You are your own golden goose!  If you don’t take care of yourself, and that means even the simple things like getting enough sleep and eating right and taking time to read and learn and grow outside of your work and building personal as well as professional relationships you will find that you have nothing left when you really need it.  Being able to be an agile performer and creative innovator requires a life balance (not a myopic focus on work)that can replenish our much needed and limited resources.  When you let yourself get run down and exhausted or if you focus too much on just one part of your life then your mind is not going have the edge that is required for peak performance.  And no one can afford to show up in today’s competitive market with your flag at half-mast! 

So, pay yourself first and allocate a little energy, a little time, a little attention to your own golden goose and you will find it makes you much more capable of peak performance in other areas of your life.  Also, what applies to you individually applies to others, so keep this in mind when dealing with your team.  Professional athletes have trainers to help them manage their sleep, their diet, their training and their focus and organizations that help, teach and train their people beyond job skills are much more likely to gain a competitive advantage!