Finding Help for Uncle Paul
Uncle Paul wants to expand his business over the next few months and is increasingly worried that he will be unable to maintain a high degree of customer satisfaction if his time is split over too many jobs. After getting to know Uncle Paul in his work environment, it is also clear he is uncomfortable about letting some one else take responsibility for key product management activities. This is a classic growth inhibitor I have seen in many companies – a conflict between wanting to grow and a lack of conviction by management to give up or delegate certain responsibilities. |
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I took leave from my own worries to spend several lunch times with Uncle Paul to talk about the kind of person or people he needs to help grow his business – in fact, I even gave some serious thought to trading my high tech product managers hat for one will a big banana on it! But alas, Uncle Paul does not offer a stock option plan and taking four weeks vacation is only going to happen if I drop a box of watermelons on my foot. |
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We focused in on a few key points: |
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A proper balance still needs to be in place between individual objectives and overall group objectives. Tying compensation to revenue or profit achievement is also okay, but if everyone does their job properly but the boss hired a few incapable sales people, why should everyone’s bonus payouts suffer! This is a hard issue to manage fairly, at the end of the day, the business has to succeed to be able to afford to pay everyone tomorrow. |