For years, soft-headed types have looked at highly productive work groups and noticed something. Workers in the top performing groups also had higher morale than workers in other groups.
"Aha!" thought the soft-heads, "happiness causes productivity." Never mind that there's no good research to support that. Never mind that the fields of business are littered with the dead bones of companies that believed it.
Take the example of a small, regional air carrier from some time ago. Company management believed that if they made their workers happy, productivity and profitability would follow. They set about doing the things they thought would make their people happy.
They paid their people very well, much more than other airlines. They gave them lots of perks on the job. And they gave employees lots and lots and lots of paid time off.
Workers got paid time off for just about every holiday on anyone's calendar. They got paid time off for their birthday, unless they worked. Then they got triple time. There was lots of paid family leave. You get the idea.
Productivity didn't go up. The airline was no more productive than the competition. But it was a lot less profitable because it was paying a whole lot more than competitors for the same amount of work. Eventually the airline went out of business. Then the employees were very sad.
"Ok," you're thinking, "If top performing groups are filled with workers who are both happy and productive, and if happiness doesn't cause productivity, it must be the other way around." Nope. It turns out that some slave ships make pretty good time.
Consider the early years of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford's vaunted assembly line set the pace of work and it was a brisk pace indeed. Workers and their families were scrutinized by Ford security and those of "poor moral character" were let go.
The Ford assembly line wasn't a happy place to work then. But it was very productive. It was so productive, in fact, that Ford was able to buy vast holdings all over the world without borrowing a penny. The profits from the Model T were enough.
If you're starting to despair, don't. Stay with me. Because we know what it takes to grow work groups that are both productive and happy.
To be productive and happy, people need to feel like they're being treated fairly. They want to make enough money. They want their salary and benefit package to be comparable to other people doing similar work within the company and in other companies.
After that, though, monetary rewards don't make a lot of difference. If people are being treated fairly and paid enough by the company, it's their boss that makes the big difference.
Jeff Immelt is now the CEO of General Electric (GE). But his dad worked on the line for GE while Jeff was growing up. Here's what Jeff Immelt says.
"When I would sit around the kitchen table with my dad, I never knew who the CEO of GE was. I knew my dad's boss.. .. [when he had a bad boss] He came home in a bad mood, uncertain about the future. And when he had a good boss, he was pumped."
That's the secret to a happy and productive workforce. Give them good bosses up and down the line.
Don't concentrate on making your workers happy or on making them productive. Instead concentrate on making your bosses good.
Select your bosses, the people responsible for group performance, from a pool of qualified and engaged workers. Give them the training they need to be a good boss. Give them regular and usable feedback on how they're doing their job.
Then, help your new bosses become good, experienced bosses. Keep training in basic one-on-one leadership skills, but go beyond the training room. Help your bosses get development opportunities where they can develop both skills and vision. Help them connect with other bosses to discuss leadership situations and issues.
It's no mystery, but it's not easy. It takes time and resources. But building a cadre of great bosses is the way you build workgroups with high morale and high productivity. And those workgroups help you build a profitable company for the ages.
Don't Try To Fool Me
The old business strategy, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," can be so true for a joint venture. Business owners want to succeed in keeping their business sustainable and growing. And usually the biggest obstacle for a business is competition. But do you view your competition as that which must be conquered, or have you really taken a look at your competition and analyzed how you can work to increase profits together?
The psychology of competition has always been that of beating the other companies. There must be a clear winner and a loser. However, this does not have to be the case in business. It is quite possible that you and your competition can put differences aside and work towards mutually beneficial goals. But in order to make that work, you need to remove the face of "the other guy" and become an informed and strategic-thinking entrepreneur.
Analyze the Competition
Before you can figure out how to work together, you need to know the similarities and differences between you and your competition. First, take a good, long look at your competition. Gather and write down information about their business process. Where do their customers come from? How is their product packaged? Where do you see their advertisements?
Learn everything you can about how your competition works. Become a "secret shopper" and make a purchase. You can hire someone or get an associate to do this work if your competition knows whom you are. First-hand knowledge of business practices can be some of the best data. How do they treat customers? How fast was their service? What is their décor if they operate in a retail shop or office? Casually ask other customers about their experiences with your competition.
Formulate a Strategy
Once you have gathered as much information as you can about your competition, analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Is their packaging inferior? Do they provide much better customer service than you? Find the points where your competition could help your business, as well as the strengths you possess that can help them.
After you have pinpointed potential areas in which you can combine efforts, formulate a point-by-point presentation that you can use to convince your competition that by working together you can both enjoy increased revenues.
Approach the Competition
This could be the hardest part, especially if you have had an adverse relationship with your competition in the past. But remember the past is history, and you want to look toward the future with high expectations of success. Agree to bury the proverbial hatchet.
Take them out to lunch or invite them over for a formal meeting. Outline for them your strategic plan that shows specifically how you can combine strengths to generate higher revenues. Can you create more attractive packaging? Can you use your cost-cutting method of production with their stellar customer service? Remember to focus on showing them how they can benefit from your strengths.
If your competition has an open mind, then a joint venture can easily be agreed upon if the benefits are there. Remember to maintain a professional and business-like attitude and your competition can see that you'll be easy to work with. If your competition agrees with your plan, then congratulations! Move forward to setting your plan in action and enjoy the benefits of your joint effort.
Both Wally Bock & Christian Fea are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Christian Fea has sinced written about articles on various topics from Partnerships, Joint Venture and Business Plan. Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability. To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strateg. Christian Fea's top article generates over 22200 views. Bookmark Christian Fea to your Favourites.
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