Ok, I know what you are thinking. Sure you’re heard this before, but this time the topic is something personal that I am struggling with, especially in terms of business. Some of you may recall that I have blogged about this topic before. I’d be grateful if you could sit through this one, read it thoroughly and leave your thoughts in comments below.
An article written on January 8th about “Biz 2.0 – The Future of the Workplace.” talks about stereotypes in the workplace and how they limit potential. Click here to open the article in a new window. When you are done reading please close the window of the Biz 2.0 article, then return to this window to continue reading this article.
If you took some time to read the entire article, together with the comments, you would have noticed two comments from Marc Ashton. He wrote the following:
Yes and no… My number one mistake in running my small business – thinking that I could make it sustainable being a desk jockey and that my staff using all these “Web 2.0″ applications.
It is nice pop culture to say “the rules have changed” but they haven’t – business is done by interacting with people. Maybe the tools have changed a bit and the internet has given some new ways of interacting, but the most basic concept comes down to how do I network.
If I hired junior person now, I don’t think I’d give them more than 2 hours a day of internet time. 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon to check e-mail and bounce back, For the rest of the time they need to be physically talking to people and interacting with people who can add value to my business as either a client or a partner.
Its part of the reason we’ve set up the whole Rival Pioneers entrepreneur network – let people interact online and offline because that’s how they can give their small business a fighting chance…
Just also as a follow-up to your comment about managers who expect their staff to work like robots for 9 full hours a day…
… One of the things which I strongly regret is being too lenient with my employees when I started out. I had the same attitude as you. Months went by and they talked a good game but could never actually show me a deliverable.
You have to be ruthless with staff in an SME. If they are idle they should be put to work. Unless you are relaxing on an exotic beach somewhere or have a pipeline to last you the next 12 months, you cannot let them take their foot off the pedal…
It seems as though my statement of “business is nothing more than a simple exchange of product or service” has been taken the wrong way. I did not write that there should be no interaction in business, in fact I believe that effective networking, together with a personal touch are the keys to success for any business. I also disagree with Marc’s disagreement about the fact that “the rules have changed” because they have, so much in fact that we no longer conduct business in the same manner that we have 5 years ago, at least not in the Industry in which I work. In response to Marc’s statements about his staff, I would like to know this: Are they getting paid per hour, or do they receive a fixed monthly wage? If the former applies then you have all the right to govern their time, but if the latter applies then I completely disagree with your statements. If months went by without then actually being able to show a deliverable then the solution is quite clear, they need to be replaced. There are hard working individuals out there that will perform really well, and even better when they are given the freedom to manage their own day.
The reason that I have decided to respond to Marc’s comments in a new article instead of raising my concerns in the comments field on the other article is because this is the exact block that needs to break, unless you want your workplace to be seen as a jail, with your staff saying nasty things behind your back and doing nothing at all when you leave the office. Trust me I have been on both ends of this argument and whichever way you look at it, no good can come from this type of business conduct.
As a business owner you need to be open and understand that your employees are people too, adults in fact, that would like to be able to govern their own day. Employees should be given the freedom to be able to do what they want to do on one condition: Do the work properly, professionally, and on time or get fired. Who cares if they browse the Internet when their job is done? Or play around on FaceBook or Twitter. Times have changed, the rules have changed. It’s time you catch up! Do whatever you want to do as long as you do your job, if you don’t do your job then you’ll get fired.
This brings me to my main topic: “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” – Have you ever seen a young person sitting in front of a computer, casually dressed while playing around on social networking sites? I’m sure you have, even if only in the movies. Are you aware of the fact that while you aren’t looking, that very person could actually be a very productive, well organized, well spoken business professional. One that works hard, gets the job done, but also enjoys being himself and being in control of himself? Do you ever think that very person could in fact be the founder, and owner of an International organization with a team of hundreds of people from all over the globe? No? Let me paint (photoshop) you a pretty picture:
Or how about an older man that never wears anything but a black polar-neck, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes?
Oh wait, that’s Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple; a multi-billion dollar International corporation. Now do you get my point? Do you understand where I am going with this? Never, and I mean, NEVER judge a book by it’s cover.
I face the problem of being judged as incapable on a daily basis, some potential clients look at me, after which myself and my staff can immediately see that since meeting me, the client no longer takes our company seriously. Yes I conduct myself in a professional manner, but I have medium length black hair, a nose ring, and smart-casual clothes. I’m not dressed in a suit and unfortunately my slender defined face makes me look younger. Are you really going to change your mind about the ability and credibility of an entire company just because the CEOs’ appearance doesn’t meet your expectations? If that is how you operate, then you will be greatly disappointed because more and more people are starting to conduct business in a more casual manner. Business owners are more laid back, staff get to do as they please with freedom of time and freedom of expression. None of this should be a problem as long as the work gets done right?
Unfortunately it is human nature to judge, and as much as we would all like to stop judging books by their covers, we usually, and naturally jump to conclusion the moment we see the covers, instantly making up our minds about what we think the content is all about. To avoid this I have two options; cutting my hair, removing my nose ring and wearing suits (basically stop being myself) or I can pretend to simply be an employee of the company and only act as an eccentric graphic designer or sales agent. I have already started removing “Chief Executive” from my email signature. I think that this could be the only way to break through the judgement barrier. Should I employ someone to act as our CEO and pose for pictures to display on our website? Childish question I know but in a heavily judgemental society what else is one to do? Either that, or we can all STOP JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER!
How do you feel about this? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below…
