The Other E-Myth

Gordon:

Thanks for mentioning what Ben does.

It's an Employee/Employer Model that Can produce Great Results. However, as you so rightly added into your writings...

It won't take long to find out who is ready, willing and able.

Meaning, you will Still get the Deadbeats, just that you'll weed through them faster.

The problem I see is the thinking of "employees". Change that to partners, in the real in your bank account sense...and it may produce a change in conduct and performance. (bold added by me)

Thus, is May Not produce any change at all. AND, Could begin to create infighting as different departments Blame each other for lapses in productivity. (I've seen this happen in companies)

So yes it may be "difficult" to hire trustworthy employees, but that is building a problem into the process (bold added by me)

I'd like to Bring Back to the point of not just using a catch all phrase like Trustworthy - what's that mean in this context anyway - and to Stick with the Three elements - reliable, competent, work unsupervised.

A project I am Involved with at the moment has allowed me to see up close and personal, the performance of two dozen people working for the same company. Of those two dozen I would judge only two of them to be Reliable, Competent and able to Work Unsupervised.

One of them told me he has, just recently, come to the realization that he needs to just do His Work instead of trying to cover for the less able, less reliable or those who need supervision to work. To stop getting dragged down. As a result, he is still there while those others have been Let Go.

The other has told me how his Work/Team/Crew Mates are incompetent and need supervision, otherwise they would spend all day walking around and talking (something I have seen for myself). And how he also tries to Distance himself from them to keep his Work Ethic and Standard and Rate of Production up to scratch - what he deems that to mean - to avoid being dragged down by them.

It's interesting how my outside judgement of them - how they fit the 3 elements - has proven correct and how both of them have resorted to the same actions, based off the same reasoning, as the solution to keeping their income being generated.

It's also interesting that while the income of all two dozen is tied to their productivity, these two are the only ones to embrace that, know it, understand it, and make use of it. While the others either underperform and are summary dismissed, or just cruise to maintain an income level they are comfortable with for the effort expended.

What Jim does is hire, what we in Australia call, Subcontractors - independent one-man-show business owners. Many businesses down here work like this - garage door businesses hire independent Installers, Kitchen businesses hire Independent Installers, Office Fitout companies hire Independent electricians, dry wallers, carpet layers, tilers, painters, cubical installers, etc. All their income is dependent on their performance - they quicker they work the more money they make, plus get production bonuses.

But it is No Guarantee you will get good people, reliable people, competent people or people who can work unsupervised. While MOST such people can work unsupervised, that doesn't make them reliable or competent. Heck, even the Supervisors can be incompetent! Then you've got real troubles.

One company I know of, pays Top Dollar to its independent workers. Sure they get Everyone wanting to work for them. And sure it does Not stop them putting on people they need to let go down the track. But it does keep their Standard a Tad Higher than other similar companies as people know: do good quality work within the time frames possible and you'll stay and you'll be rewardewd financially, fail to do so and your place is opened to someone else.

Either way, reliability, competence and working unsupervised are still hard to find in people. MOST do not have all three elements. Profit Sharing just brings those with the elements, together under one roof. Leaving the dregs for the other companies to fight over.

Michael Ross