Being a boss
How not to be a boss
A few months ago, I was called into a small company to help them get out of tremendous debt, increase sales, and maintain customer relations.
After the first month, working 16 hours days, seven days a week, and numerous meetings and calls, I came into the office one morning and received a call from one of the two partners.
Understand something, one partner worked in the office with me, the other (who the call came from) worked 1000 miles away and gave, maybe, two hours a day of time to the company. The partner who worked a thousand miles away was the legal president of the company, the partner I worked with in the office was the secretary - but, both were equal partners in the company - but, he was the president, so buyers and outside people/contacts spoke with him first.
So, I received a call from the president, who maybe, during the past month, gave me four hours of his time for the whole month, while the partner in the office gave me at least eight hours a day.
This is how NOT to be a boss or even someone appreciative of someone else's efforts:
The president says "Thank you Blaine, for all of your hard work, it will not go unnoticed".
What???!!! There are only five people in the company; two partners, two sales reps, and a secretary. The two partners have seen my work, my reports, my recommendations, etc. on a daily basis - and now the president says that it hasn't gone unnoticed? This is as funny as it is sad. First, I was a consultant and not an employee - I was being paid no matter what they noticed or didn't notice. Second, was I going to get a raise or a bonus because of my work? We already agreed to the payment. Third, everyone had told me that they hated the president, that he was condescending, not to be trusted, etc., and here I got an idea of what they were talking about. And so on and so on.
I guess the question had to be asked - what did he expect to accomplish by making this statement? That I would work harder? That I would make their debt disappear?
Even months later, I think of this statement and have to start laughing. No wonder the company was in the situation it was in - someone was president of this company and no idea how to talk to a consultant, let alone an employee.
Don't become like this individual. Realize that your employee's are smarter then you think and that platitudes are just that, wasteful breaths of air that don't help anyone, especially if your the boss.