Numbers vs. People part one

I love it when I know I am going to talk so much that I just call it part one from the start. I was thinking of doing an article on numbers, I was also thinking of doing an article that was a book review. I didn’t really like how either sounded by itself, so I decided to combine it and just make it a two part topic. I feel like I have talked about this multiple times on every platform possible. We live in a world of numbers; I want to live in a world of people. Those two worlds seem to be colliding with me lately. Everyone knows you have to have both, but what should the main focus be on? If I give my people a target, and then I reward them for hitting that target, everything should be good. If I care about my people, they will care about their numbers, problems solved!  What if it’s a mysterious third option, if you do one of those things, you will be ok, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter which one? After years of not having solid production standards in place, we finally have something in place. I don’t think it’s perfect, but in a lot of ways, it’s clear. I know when I start something what the ending results should be. Since we have started this, one thing is very clear, numbers have gone up for the people who look at their numbers on a regular basis. The two biggest benefits I see right away, first, some people who seem to be underperforming are actually solid contributors. Second, some underperformers have some issues that need to be addressed right away. Looking at it from that perspective, numbers are a great focus. Here is the crazy catch that I wasn’t expecting. Some people who were happy before, aren’t happy anymore. Some of those people I would consider to be top performers. So why are they unhappy? Some of it might just be the fact that we have changed something. I’ve always said that I struggle with change. The main thing that motivates me to change is when something isn’t working. When you are talking about specific individuals instead of a group, they don’t see the urgency to change anything. They are successful and it’s working for them personally. Sometimes they see the new thing as another hoop to jump through that slows them down. The good news is that they will still continue to perform, but you probably do need to spend some extra time with them to get them completely on board. So, if in the end you can get them on board and you can raise the performance of the low performers, does that mean that focusing on the numbers is the winner? Let’s look at the other side.  Before we dive into the people part of everything, this is where I want to introduce the author I mentioned at the beginning. About fifteen years ago, when I started reading books on a regular basis, this author was one of the first people I read. The author is Jon Gordon, the book I read all those years ago was titled “The Energy Bus”.  The tagline after the title says the book is about ten rules to fuel your life, work and team with positive energy. This book was Gordon’s first book, and it was about his life. He was a very negative person, his marriage was on the rocks, then one day it all changed. My takeaways from this book all those years ago was this. First, you are the driver of your bus. That means that you control who gets on that bus. Two, make sure you have the right people on the bus and that they are in the right spots. Third, you control the attitude on the bus. If you want it to be positive, then fill it with positivity. I’ve shared my copy of the book with a few people over the years; it’s a quick read and can make an immediate impact. His newest book was released a little over a month ago, and of course I had to get it and read it right away. The book is Gordon’s thirty-fourth book, and the title is “The 7 Commitments of a Great Team”. Next week we will go into this book a little more, but I think it will help us show the value of people so we can finish this debate. 

Until Next Week

As we wait for next week and part two of numbers vs. people, I want everyone to focus on two things. First, ask yourself what drives you more, being treated in a certain way, or having a specific goal in front of you? Two, Do I have the right people on my bus?