The news on the economy continues to be negative with unemployment up, financial institutions in a mess and the stock market continuing to act like a roller coaster.

 

Amidst all of the bad news, there is also some great news. We polled business owners and found that while the bad news is out there, one great change over the last four months is the reduction in gas prices. 

 

In fact, a gallon of gas has fallen from $4.01 to $1.85 (at least, in South Carolina). 

 

This has a huge impact on businesses who deliver products, have their customers come to them, or use a lot of plastic. It certainly impacts the day to day operations more than fluctuations in the stock market.

 

So let’s make sure we understand that the bad news is reported because it sells newspapers, and the good news sits on page 5.

 

Go look for the good news – it is out there, you just have to find it.

So, you’ve got a staff of people and you feel that you would be better off on your own. They are driving you nuts; you are constantly cleaning up after them, both literally and figuratively. Maybe you blame their age – after all, they are young and inexperienced. Maybe you blame the generation because when you were that age, things were much different.

 

First of all, playing the blame game is not going to help you. If you want to blame someone, look in the mirror. The quality of your staff directly reflects the quality of your management, the quality of your training, the quality of your systems, and the quality of your recruiting, to name a few.

 

To illustrate, I’ll give a story from Brad Sugars, founder and CEO of ActionCOACH. Brad’s friend was crying to him because his third marriage was ending and he wanted to know why he was having such bad luck in his relationships (at the age of 30). Brad asked the question, “What was the common factor?” After Brad dismissed the reasoning that all three marriages involved women, his friend exclaimed, “Certainly you don’t think I’m the problem!” Talk about denial!

 

Stop making excuses, stop blaming everyone else and stop denying that you have a problem. Take ownership and look at the situation objectively. Look at the last year and determine your employee turnover rate. If you are replacing employees at a 25% or higher rate, then you have a problem. Even if you have low turnover, you may still have a problem if you or your employees are unhappy. Many times this is evidenced by lack of communication, poor customer service, nobody having any fun.

 

Then determine what you are going to do to improve the situation. Perhaps you need better systems (or maybe you need to create them). How are you training your employees? Is your business, including your training, systemized to the point that there is no question what needs to be done? Does everyone know their role in the organization? Have you defined the company culture, so that everyone knows the “rules of the game”, the code of conduct?

 

How often do you have staff meetings? How open is the communication? Is every staff member comfortable enough to give you a critique on your own work, or to give suggestions on process improvements? Is everyone passionate about your business, and happy to work there? How do you recognize the contribution of your employees in a meaningful way?

 

Start digging into how you can become a better boss. This includes reading books, attending seminars and taking courses in leadership. If you’re not sure what to improve, ask; your staff will be happy to tell you. The more you own your role as the leader of your business, the more improvement you will find in your business.