Business owners, have you ever felt the frustration that comes when nobody seems to be listening to you? Seemingly simple conversations with parents, in-laws, significant other or teenage child go unrecognized. You look around your home and see unorganized chaos that you would never tolerate in your workplace. The one bastion of organization is your study which is off-limits to the rest of the household. You head off to work believing that as owner of the company and the person who signs the pay checks you will have an attentive audience for your directives, only to find that the employees are equally independent or more so than your family. At times the frustration overwhelms you to the point that you want to exclaim, “It is my way … or the highway!”
I feel your frustration. I’ve personally conceded that there is nothing that I can do that will make my family more attentive. However, when it comes to employees I have zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the directives I’ve given. It has nothing to do with pride but rather the financial security of the business and those individuals who depend upon the success of the business for their livelihood. I feel that if people are going to commit their time and expertise to the business that I must commit to them a stable work environment. In my business, it’s my way or the highway.
Some of you, having read this statement, will assume that I must be a pretty hard boss to work for. Contrary to that assumption, most of my employees feel that I’m firm but fair. Those that don’t feel this way are usually the ones who feel that they don’t need to follow my directives. It is those individuals who find themselves in training meetings with me so that I can educate them on the need to follow directives. If, after a series of meetings with me, the employee cannot or will not follow directives they are invited to look for employment elsewhere. After all, it is my way or the highway.
Are there other options which would allow employees more latitude in the way they perform their job? Yes, possibly, but at what cost and to whom? As owner it is my capital that is at risk. As employees it is their jobs that are at risk. Why would any owner allow a single employee so much latitude that they could put either the owner or other employees at risk? They wouldn’t. What are your thoughts?
Edward Boyle
CEO, Employing Broker
Katchen Company
Katchen Company, founded in 1962, is an integrated real estate company with its corporate headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado. The company offers real estate development, redevelopment, property management, brokerage, consulting services, construction oversight and maintenance services to individual and institutional real estate investors throughout the greater Denver metropolitan area in Denver with satellite offices in Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami market areas.
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