WHO IS ON YOUR BUS

WHO IS ON YOUR BUS?

My grandfather used to say, “There are only a few bad folks; they just tend to move around a lot.” This reminded me of the 80/20 rule. Think about it! Eighty percent of all the work in any organization gets done by twenty percent of the people. Eighty percent of all money collected in church offerings is given by twenty percent of the congragation. Eighty percent of revenue is generated by twenty percent of inventory. Eighty percent of all capital is owned by less than twenty percent of the people. This is not my rule! I did not make it up! No doubt you too have heard this rule. No one seems to know how it works or why it works, but it is a basic truth that applies to all aspects of ones life and business. Which are you, an eighty percenter or a twenty percenter? That is an interesting question and when asked everyone will answer, “I am a Twenty Percenter, of course.”

I’d be willing to bet you could look over your staff and within two minutes tell me the names of your “Twenty Percenters.” I’d also be willing to bet that when you hired those folks you had no idea, other than a gut feeling, whether they would be part of the “Twenty Percent” group or the “Eighty Percent” group. If you knew they were going to be an “Eighty Percenter,” would you have hired them? Wouldn’t it be great if you could know who was going to be the “Twenty Percenters,” the folks that get the job done, come up with all the ideas and always come through with the most production, even in tough times. WOW!

No doubt you and your Human Resource Manager work very hard to find all “Twenty Percenters,” but even then, after you hire all “Twenty Percenters,” eighty percent of all the production would be done by only twenty percent of those “Twenty Percenters.” The rule still applies.

In Jim Collins book, “Good to Great,” why some people make the leap and other don’t, offers his Conceptual Links found on page 198 through 201 that make sense and could go a long way in helping managers find the “pick of the litter,” so to speak.

CONCEPUAL RELATIONSHIP TO CONCEPTS IN BUILT TO LAST

Level 5 Leadership – Clock Building, Not Time Telling: Level 5 leaders build a company that can tick along without them, rather than feeding their egos by becoming indispensable.

Genius of AND: Personal humility AND professional will.

Core Ideology: Level 5 leaders are ambitious for the company and what it stands for; they have a sense of purpose beyond their own success.

Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress: Level 5 leaders are relentless in stimulating progress toward tangible results and achievements, even if it means firing their brothers.

First Who, Then What

Clock Building, Not Time Telling: Practicing “first who” is clock building; practicing “first what” (setting strategy first) is time telling.

Genius of AND: Get the right people on the bus AND the wrong people off the bus.

Core Ideology: Practicing “first who” means selecting people more on their fit with the core values and purpose than on their skills and knowledge.

Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress: Practicing “first who” means a bias for promoting from within, which reinforces the core values.

(Read your copy of Good to Great by Jim Collins for the rest of the “Conceptual Links” that will help you determine your company’s core values and the people you need to help build on those core values.)

Mr. Collins says, “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.”

“The good-to-great leaders understand three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and discover you need to change directions? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction. “Hey, I got on the bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”

Till next time I hope you have a great year and that you find the right folks for your bus.