Since childhood, which for me occurred during the Depression, I've noticed that many people are unable to thrive even in the best of times, while others thrive even in the worst of times. The reason is that, in most cases, the thrivers understand that what happens "out there" is not nearly as important as what happens in their own thinking. There is not a great deal that an individual can do about the national economy, but there is much each of us can do about our personal economy. With this in mind, let's look at some factors that give all of us a chance to thrive, regardless of the economy.
First, we need to recognize and accept the fact that the employer and the employee are literally on the same team with the same objective: Each wants to be profitable in what he or she does. Starting with the employer, Samuel Gompers many years ago made the statement that the first responsibility of a business is to make a profit. He reasoned that if there were no profit, business would go bankrupt and every employee would be negatively affected financially and socially.
Clarence Francis, a businessman, said, "You can buy a man's time, you can buy his physical presence at a given place. You can even buy a measured number of his skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm, you cannot buy loyalty, you cannot buy devotion of hearts, minds or souls. You must earn these."
Question: How do you earn these things? The answer is to understand that according to the Department of Labor, 46 percent of the people who voluntarily leave their jobs do so because they do not feel respected and/or appreciated. When employers show employees respect and express appreciation on a regular basis, loyalty, commitment and enthusiasm all prevail in that person.
The late Cavett Robert said there are over three billion people who go to bed hungry every night, but there are over four billion people who go to bed hungry every night for a word of love, appreciation and respect. The message is clear: Nice people say complimentary things to producers who really do a good job (the compliment must be sincere). It has been said many times that people work for more than a raise -- they work for praise. The most effective and least expensive motivation going is recognition with a simple "thank you."
The employee then needs to understand that the prime reason he or she was hired was because the boss or owner expected to make a profit on that individual's efforts. In short, if the employee does not produce more than he or she costs, it is a losing investment for the employer. No business loaded with non-producers is going to thrive. Each individual who does not pull his or her own weight leaves that part of the load to be carried by other employees. It's one thing for this to happen occasionally, but on a regular basis, it spells disaster for the company.
Despite all the testing currently being done, something like over 70 percent of employees who lose their jobs do so because although their individual qualities, experiences and abilities were good, their ability to get along with co-workers was not good. Personality does play a part. With this in mind, it behooves the boss to keep a close eye on how a person fits into the organization. And it certainly is in the best interests of the employee to develop human relations skills that enable them to fit in with others. The result is a productive team, and a profitable one, in most cases. This means each individual will thrive regardless of what happens to the economy.
This is the gist of thriving in any economy. It's wrapped up in smart, hard work, loyalty, commitment and responsibility on the parts of both the employee and the employer.
Too many companies have wishes instead of standards. "I wish my people would make more calls," one manager told me. A standard is a measurable indicator of performance involving a consequence. If you're a manager, confront lack of sustained effort with coaching. If you're in sales, take action instead of looking for excuses. Clementine Paddleford, put it this way, "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be." And also “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself."
