As a business coach, I get to see a lot of similarities between industries. Services and products may vary, but one thing that never changes no matter the industry is managing employees or even just working with another human being in general. Every employee, every partner, every person always has an opinion or a feeling about every procedure and checklist and that opinion will almost always conflict with what is best for your business. This week Clay helped a fellow business coach client work through this problem. She was unsure of what steps to take with an employee who was becoming resentful and slacking on her job. Clay’s immediate reaction was to fire her, it was clear this business coaching client was concerned with how that employee felt and would feel if such action was taken. Clay pointed out that it was not her job to care about the feelings and thoughts of the employee but to simply make sure that they are doing the job they were hired to do. He said, “As a business owner you have to be built like a tank and not care about what people feel”.
Now Clay is not talking about literally being built like a tank, he is not encouraging everyone to take steroids. He is saying that to be a successful business owner you cant give a crap about people’s feelings. Some people may view this as harsh or mean but the truth is, it is necessary. A business exists to serve you, your family, and to get you to your goals. If someone is messing with that…you have to get them out of there, no pause for concern about them. If someone was breaking into your house would you just stand back and let it happen? Would you remark on how they must be having a hard day, or maybe they just needed a little bit more life coaching? Absolutely not! You would call the police and get them out of your house! So why would you let someone funk up your business or your life? This week I was able to use the example of being a tank to help a client realize that it is time to fire his management director. This business coach client is a great American with and kind heart and so it had been a hard decision for him. He had gone through a lot of back and forth because he was considering her feelings, the length of time she had been with the company, and the fact that sometimes she did really good work. What he realized is that all that aside she is still being insubordinate, changing company policies without his approval, and picking fights. So he decided to tank up and get her out of there.
Pausing for feelings does nothing but slow down action and progress. One of the Clays’ sayings that has really stuck with me since I started at Thrive is that entrepreneurs take the ‘e’ out of emotion and just get in the motion! This has been an incredible motivator for me as I continue to learn and improve myself. It serves as a reminder that no matter how tired, sick, or pissed I am or how many people question the sanity of what I am doing; I just have to keep going, keep taking action. I am not a business owner, yet, but I know that as I become a business coach like tank I will be better prepared to handle everything that comes with owning a business and managing employees.
