Tag Archives: Challenging

How Do You Work with Challenging People? Two Cases

Situation: A CEO has two challenging employees. One is talented and learns quickly. However, he is an individual performer who only works well on his own. He feels that he should be paid more than the maximum available at his grade. The second individual will do anything, but generates a lot of overtime. He is  meticulous but has a high rework rate. How do you work with challenging people?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Offer a trial opportunity to the first individual, as follows.
    • Say a particular job is estimated to require 3 hours of labor. If he can finish it in 2, he will be paid the full 3 hours of labor. However, if rework is required, then the hours for that rework will get dinged against future work that is completed under-time.
    • This provides an opportunity to make more on each job – and the company the ability to bid and complete more jobs – but also means that if sloppy work is used to finish early, he will pay for this later.
    • Because this individual is a quick learner and is diligent, he is a good candidate for this program on a trial period basis. If it works, others may want to try the same deal, potentially cutting overtime and labor cost per job. This may also prompt them to assure that they have everything that they need before they start a job, cutting unproductive time and overtime.
  • The second individual could be a cut-him-loose situation.
    • Take the individual aside and clearly express the expectations. If he indicates that he understands and will complete his work to expectations, tell him that you will work with him.
    • To assure that he clearly understands the instructions and expectations, ask him to repeat these back to you.
    • Emphasize the importance of making sure that he has the materials needed before going to a job, and the job is done correctly the first time.
    • If his response is “No, I can’t do that,” tell him that the company will help him to find another job, within reasonable bounds of time and effort.

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How Do You Balance Career and Personal Goals? Three Guides

Situation: After two challenging two years, a CEO has observed that to keep the company afloat he has had do set aside his personal goals. As the economy has recovered business conditions have improved and he wants to devote more time to personal goals and objectives. Where should he focus, and how have others faced this challenge? How do you balance career and personal goals?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Take the time to think about and quantify a long-term solution. This should be in detail with specific and measurable objectives, and, ideally, timelines.
    • Talk to peers. Ask them about their experience and how they defined both professional and personal goals.
    • Seek a mentor. Evaluate several before selecting one
    • Use introspection and identify the real issues and factors – both those that must be tackled and those that are aspirational.
  • Document your dreams and pursue them.
    • Define your goals and objectives.
    • Define what makes you happiest and assure that the goals objectives align with this.
    • Create a reward structure. Assure that you are in charge of each reward.
  • Pursue fulfilling outside activities.
    • Look at organizations or courses that are inspirational and aspirational and which align with what was documented in the first two steps. These could be formal organizations like Toastmasters or evening academic or online courses that appeal to the documented aspirations.
    • Get a copy of Don Clifton’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths.” It includes a link to the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment that helps to identify strengths and fulfilling talents.

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How Do You Beef Up Talent to Drive the Company? Three Questions

Situation: There is no secret that hiring is more challenging now than it was two years ago. A CEO is finding it difficult to attract and bring in the right talent to achieve her growth objectives. What are others doing to bring in new talent, especially high performers who will help to bring in new accounts and work with key customers to develop new business. How do you beef up talent to drive the company?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • What has worked best for others?
    • Hired low and developed home grown talent. This means building the capacity to train new talent to meet the company’s needs.
    • This may not produce entrepreneurs like the company’s founders but can produce solid performers.
    • Some sectors are by nature risk averse. Individuals are not dollar driven as much as by security with an acceptable salary. Good candidates who are hungry for growth are more likely to be found outside of these sectors.
  • How do you hire to match the company’s objective?
    • The objective is rapid growth – the mold of the original founders who were risk-taking entrepreneurs atypical of the sector.
    • Look for candidates who are driven by growth. The right candidate will jump at the opportunity to take a $5M book of business and grow it to $10-15M in 3 years with appropriate corporate support and compensation.
  • What has been tried or investigated in the past?
    • Looked for successful smaller businesses similar to the company as possible acquisitions. The challenge was that the people running these companies liked their independence and didn’t want a boss.
    • Looked at individuals from corporate backgrounds in the same sector. Some worked, some didn’t. Frequently, these people were not entrepreneurs or builders.
    • Talk to private equity companies. Ask who they have bought or sold in this space. Gather names of drop-in CEOs and key staff who turned companies around and did well.

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