Brad Rhame

How Great Managers Succeed – by Brad Rhame

Good mangers manage processes, while Great managers lead people.  I have a saying I like to throw around and that is, “Companies(buildings) don’t run themselves.”  It takes people working together to build a great company.  People can make or break a business…daily.

Have you ever arrived at where you were going, when you never had a destination in the first place?  What about getting to that same place, for the first time, without a map?  That is precisely why companies have vision and mission statements.  They also have an assortment of goals that keep them on the road(mission) to success(vision).

Those things are definitely needed for a company to become great.  It is also highly recommended that current and potential clients be given first class treatment.  You want them coming back and they are your biggest advertisers.

It is great to want to put the customers/clients first, but if your team is not happy, then you are not growing(in a healthy way).  Sure, a company can grow, but the turnover will be higher, if the employees are not put first.  Happy employees make for happier customers.

As a manager you need to control the processes, while tactfully leading your employees.  They need to know you have their back, or a time will come when you need them to have yours and they will not be there.  Employees are like plants that need to be nurtured.  They also need breathing room and the ability to grow.  Some need more attention than others.  There needs to be a balance of positive feedback and constructive criticism.

There are some employees that are like loyal dogs.  You can beat them daily and they keep coming back.  Sometimes it is because the money is too good and other times it is because they cannot get another job…right now.  The days of “old school” management are over.  People want to be treated better than fair, whether customer or employee.

If you want to have a chance at becoming great, then you have to be great to those that work under you.  Remember their birthdays.  Throw them “thank you” lunches or parties.  Have an “employee of the week” award.  Walk by and shake their hand for a job well done.  Thank them for a great idea.  Admit when you are wrong.  Laugh, or at the very least, smile more.  BUT…more than anything, show them you care.  And before you know it, you will have a company on its way to becoming great!

Best of luck!!

And like Zig Ziglar used to say, “I’ll see you at the top!”