Opinion: Get staff on board to score success

So why can’t your employees see that? Why do they fight you on every issue? Why do they quit when you know you are offering the best game in town?

What’s wrong with them?

Maybe it’s you. Your big plans make sense to you, but your employees may be suspicious.

You need a right-hand man. You need someone to back you up, and get this big plan sold to the rest of the team.

Let me tell you about a terrific right-hander. I mean no disrespect to the very successful owner he works for, but I have to tell you: The company didn’t take off until Jimmy Jacobini kicked it in.

Jimmy Jacobini’s story

Jimmy wasn’t a top student in high school. He was outspoken, a bit rebellious and very ambitious. He started as a plumbing apprentice and worked up to journeyman.

Marriage and kids fueled Jimmy’s ambitions. He got into the overtime game. If he couldn’t get the overtime, he would work side jobs. Jimmy routinely worked 80 hours a week. And he socked the extra money away. Though he now had three kids, Jimmy rarely saw them. He was starting to burn out.

His wife saw an ad in the paper for Ed Wolfe Plumbing. Ed’s shop was just down the road from where they lived. She nudged Jimmy to call Ed and arrange an interview.

When Jimmy arrived, Ed took him through a four-hour interview and testing process.

“He was pulling parts out of a box and asking me to identify them. He had me take a personality test,” Jimmy recalled. “I thought the guy was a nut – that he was looking for Superman. I left thinking I wasn’t sure I wanted that job. Here he was with four service trucks. I was working for a company with 100 trucks, and they never put me through the paces like that. I left that interview totally confused.”

Additionally, Ed Wolfe Plumbing was charging four times what the other plumbers in town were charging for service. Jimmy swallowed his fear and signed on.

Jimmy did all right with the pricing system. In fact, he posted great sales right out of the gate. But there were some old-timers at Ed Wolfe Plumbing – service techs who had been there before Ed changed everything. They complained about the high prices, the new policies for uniforms and truck stock. Jimmy started to question his employment choice.

“I was spooked. We were down to four service techs, and Ed fired this guy for not cutting his hair,” Jimmy said. “Why did he care so much about a hair cut? Ed kept hiring guys to replace the ones that left, but after nine months, I was the old-timer in the shop. And I was the one whining about everything. Then, Ed told me he wanted to send me to a four-day sales training class. I told him to save his money because I was going to quit.”

Jimmy went to work for a new construction company. He quickly lost interest in the company’s slow-moving, milk-the-clock culture. Three months later, he talked to Ed about going back to work for him.

“Ed never wavered in his commitment to me,” Jimmy said. “He started to win me over.”

As Jimmy’s trust in Ed developed, he felt comfortable talking to him about the problems in the field. Ed had the right idea with some of his systems, but there wasn’t any follow-through. Ed started to pull Jimmy into the office once or twice a week to go over financial reports and talk about how they could improve the company. Jimmy was shocked when Ed showed him a big loss on the bottom line, and that Jimmy was actually making more money than Ed.

When Jimmy wondered how he could survive on what he was making, Ed shared that he had real estate investments and rental properties that kept him afloat. As Jimmy learned how to read the company’s financial reports, Ed coached him on real estate investing as well.

“He was teaching me how to keep score in business,” Jimmy said. “I’m a huge sports fan, so once I got that connection, I could understand the business.”

Jimmy was promoted to service manager – the right-hand position. He was sold on Ed’s plan for the company, and he could sell it to the rest of the techs. He found a videotape of Mark Messier. Mark had led the Edmonton Oilers to five National Hockey League championships. Jimmy showed the tape to his techs, encouraging them to relate to their jobs like a game. They were a team. They would have to take lumps for each other now and then. But if they were going to win, they would have to work hard and get the puck in the goal – in other words, score sales.

Ed’s communication style is very different from Jimmy’s. While Jimmy didn’t have any management skills per se, he had a better understanding of what would get the techs to respond. Wolfe Plumbing is up to 17 service techs.

Ed and Jimmy are a great example of the synergy of a visionary leader and an undefeatable right-hander.

Jimmy’s advice for new managers

• Without sales, there is nothing to manage. Get over your issues with sales.

• Pick and choose your battles. Some are worth it; others are not.

• Don’t tolerate morale busters. You can’t change how people think, but don’t allow them to dump their negative thoughts on others.

• When reporting to the owner, deliver the bad news in the morning, and the good news at day’s end.

• Training is critical. Teach them how to do the job right, and teach them how to sell.

• Hold them accountable for performance, and make sure that their compensation is tied to performance.

• It’s better to save him than to fire him.

Want to be wildly successful in your business? Find a right-hand man. Teach him. Learn from each other. Make lots of money together. Have lots of fun.

Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant who offers systems for getting focused and organized, making money and having fun in business. Her latest book is “The Bare Bones Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@barebonesbiz.com.