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Happywork TV Episode 12: Owners, Take Your Arguments Behind Closed Doors

Posted on November 11, 2014 // 1 Comment

In Episode 12 of Happywork TV, I introduce yet another commitment contained in the work code of conduct I’ve created called “The Happywork Agreement.” (which is in the book!)

Here it is: “I promise to take arguments between owners, or between owners and upper management, behind closed doors. Employees do not need to see or hear such things. Often, such strife can hurt employee morale, and can even make employees fear for their future. I need to keep that in mind.”

When upper management and owners fight among themselves out in the open, it’s just an ugly scene, and you’re adversely affecting employee morale. When you guys fight, we’re scared for our jobs. We live in fear when we work in such situations. If two or three owners aren’t getting along, which is bound to happen, take it behind closed doors. Or take it offsite. Don’t fight in front of us. Yes, disagree with each other, but do not be disagreeable. It unnecessarily adds stress to the workplace (unnecessarily being the operative word there).

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Watch Episode 11 here!

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Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!

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Happywork TV Episode 10: Hire People Smarter Than You

Posted on November 6, 2014 // 1 Comment

In Episode 10 of Happywork TV, I discuss commitment 8 in the list of 46 commitments in my book Happywork. Here it is: I implore you, Mr. Manager and Miss Owner, to hire people smarter than you! As I say in the video, it’s the sign of a great owner and a confident manager.

Reasons why this doesn’t happen more often? Control and ego, I think. Ego = for some entrepreneurs and leaders, it’s difficult to fathom that anyone is more talented than them. It’s this bravado that might allow them to take the risk of starting a business in the first place. Control = in certain situations, you don’t want to bring in someone who could challenge you for control of a situation, or worse, control of a company. It would be like LeBron and Kobe on the same team – they’d win tons of games! Or would they? Who’s the alpha dog? Who’s more talented?

We enjoy when ESPN pundits get into such sports discussions, but you may not have realized that this same situation happens (perhaps on a slightly smaller scale) in businesses every day! It’s not just about accomplishment as a team. It’s WHO accomplished it. Some of us are constantly scratching and clawing for recognition – we don’t want to merely succeed. We want the credit for the success of the business. And we absolutely do NOT want anyone else getting ANY credit for stuff we did. So, to avoid this, we consciously or subconsciously ensure that such situations do not rear their ugly heads – we don’t bring talented people who could challenge us for supremacy.

So that’s my take on this. However, guys, this is the episode I need some comments on! I can speculate as to why a person in power wouldn’t want to bring in someone of similar ability and intellect, but WHY would that person decide not to do so?

(By the way, at the beginning at this video, I explain something that I probably should have already explained. I keep referring to these commitments and this “work code of conduct.” Without giving too much away, this work code of conduct is used to fix Vunorri Inc., the incredibly broken company in my story. My two main characters write the code of conduct, and they call it “The Happywork Agreement.” My book was almost titled “The Happywork Agreement,” but we decided on Happywork instead.)

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Watch Episode 9 here!

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Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!

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Happywork TV Episode 8: Give Your Employees Variety in Their Work Day

Posted on October 28, 2014 // 1 Comment

p.s. Really sorry about the sound on this one. I was using my shotgun mic, but it was quite windy. Some gusts of wind really cut into the audio quality a few times. My bad!

In Episode 8 of Happywork TV, I discuss the sixth of 46 commitments in my upcoming book “Happywork.”

Here it is: “I will try to provide some variety in my employees’ work days. Working at Vunorri does not have to be like some Henry Ford assembly line. Cross-training would be helpful. I respect my employees’ curiosity to know how things work, even in other departments.”

If you’re running a company and you’re not giving your employees a little variety in their work day, or you’re not cross-training them, I don’t think you’re committing one of the cardinal sins of management. You’re not firing someone because they’re the wrong color, or sexually harassing them, or threatening them, or sabotaging their work. As I say in the video, providing some variety to your employees isn’t completely necessary. Let’s admit that.

By the same token, let’s also admit that, if we want to cut down on turnover — keep our good employees — and have a workforce working to excel on our behalf, we might do well to keep those employees engaged and interested in what they’re doing. If you don’t care about this, and you just want to keep hammering the square peg into the round hole, you can do that. But please don’t! Boredom is one of the big reasons good people leave their jobs.

So consider the notion that we can build a more cohesive workforce by keeping our best employees, and we can do that by respecting their desire to learn and grow.

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Watch Episode 7 here!

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Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!

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Happywork TV Episode 1: Don’t Make Rules You Can’t Follow Yourself

Posted on October 14, 2014 // Leave a Comment

In Episode 1 of Happywork TV, I discuss the first of 46 commitments featured in my upcoming book “Happywork – A Business Parable About the Journey to Teamwork, Profit, and Purpose.”

Number 1 is this: “I will not ask my employees to do anything I would not be willing to do myself. And I will not create rules that I cannot follow myself. I realize that acting in such a way destroys employee morale.”

We’ve all had bosses like this. They can dish out the rules (like “be on time”) but then can’t seem to follow their own edicts. Yes, they have the literal power to do whatever they want, as they run the show. Maybe that’s our cue to shut up. But we all know it’s not good for morale to act this way. People don’t like to be told what to do, but they do appreciate when you take the time to explain to them why they’re being asked to do something. And they love seeing management and ownership jumping in and getting their hands dirty.

Mostly, it’s about creating great working relationships, and inspiring employees to greatness. Don’t make rules you can’t follow yourself.

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