Where Consensus Rules, Confusion Reigns!

Who is REALLY in charge of your business? I mean REALLY—let’s be honest!

Thinking about a phone conversation I had a short while back with a struggling business owner, I still get a little hot under the collar!

The owner was having serious and expensive problems with constant, repeat errors and had called me hoping, it seemed, for some kind of miracle cure. I had given him my best initial thoughts about a workable solution, only to hear from him later that he had polled his employees about it and they had rejected the change flat out. These, by the way, were the same employees who made the most mistakes, he said.

Again, I ask—who is REALLY in charge of that owner’s business?

I’m thankful to receive many calls from business owners seeking AND offering solutions to problems most businesses face daily, such as:

• rework due to errors,
• late deliveries,
• not getting paid for corrections to customer files,
• the lack of written processes,
• poor quality control,
• messy production areas and offices,
• preventative maintenance issues, etc.

When I suggest what I know to be proven solutions, most of the owners tend to heartily agree with those recommendations. Unfortunately, they too often will turn right around and stick a finger in the air to see if the winds of opposition are blowing. If so, they’ll poll their employees to get a consensus, not trusting their own judgment or ability to lead.

If your business is experiencing costly, repetitive errors in production, I feel sure you would agree that something should— and needs to—change. If you find a simple solution you believe will eliminate those mistakes, why then would you ask those responsible for the repeat errors for permission to implement a workable solution?

Where’s the BEEF?

MY BEEF IS...WHY would a business owner who is risking everything he or she has, and who is bearing the weight of ownership, allow ANYONE a vote on whether or not to correct bad and costly problems?