(Time to read this Blog is about 4 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “When I was a kid in Sunday School we sang a song, ‘Brighten the corner where you are!’   None of us can brighten the whole world…but every one of us can brighten the corner where we are.
    
   And, here’s the good news!  Not just moths are attracted to light.  People are attracted to light!  Customers and great Team members are attracted to light.  Be the light in your business!”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Don’t brand your business with a promise you can’t keep:   
    
   In 2019, Canada’s Via Rail launched their new brand slogan, ‘Love The Way’.   Since then, they’ve had almost 6 years to get it right.
    
   But, in the past year alone Via Rail has paid out $31 million in Travel Voucher credits to customers who didn’t ‘Love The Way…mainly because of excessive delays in train arrival times.
    
   So, create a clear and compelling Brand Promise.  Consistently deliver that promise.  And then promote the hell out of it.  But don’t make the promise and then 6 years later still not get it right.  If you can’t deliver the promise…don’t make the promise!
    
3. What’s on your Bucket List? For more than 20 years, the beautiful ‘Seychelles’ islands in the Indian Ocean have been on my Bucket List.  We’ve just returned from a magical time there visiting nine of the islands on a beautiful small Expedition Ship, the Swan Hellenic Diana.
    
   So, what’s on your List…and when are you going to do some of those things?  What are you waiting for?
4. Fun Fact: A traditional local dish in The Seychelles is Fruit Bat Curry. I do not make this up.  Fruit Bats are giant bats who, apparently, eat mostly fruit, so they’re very sweet.  We took a pass.
    
5. AI Data Center update. Data Centers used for AI systems consume massive amounts of electricity. That typically causes electricity bills for all customers in the area to increase as demand outstrips supply. Electricity prices in the US have surged by as much as 267% in areas located near large Data Centers.
    
   According to one research group, US$64 billion worth of Data Center projects have been blocked or delayed by local opposition in the U.S.  Now, many US companies like OpenAI and Meta are planning to build new Data Centers in Canada, because of our lower electricity prices.
    
   But, one plan for six new Data Centers in rural Alberta was recently rejected by the local government after it sparked massive backlash among residents.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Is failure to deal with non-performance hurting your business?

Failure to deal with non-performance is one of the biggest problems in many businesses today. Several of my Biz Coaching clients are struggling with this problem right now as we work to terminate team members who should never have been hired in the 1^st place, or who have been allowed to under-perform, defy and stonewall, frustrate customers, destroy morale, cause good people to quit in frustration and, in some cases, actively sabotage or defraud the company. 

These people should have been given the boot long ago and now it’s going to cost much more to get rid if them.  Don’t make this mistake!

The problem is even more complicated when the non-performers or toxic team members are shareholders, partners or family members. I’ve recently worked with a number of clients to clean up these complicated messes.   It’s never fun…but it’s absolutely necessary.

For years I’ve stated that, ‘businesses don’t die from a single shot to the head…they die slowly but surely from a thousand uncompleted tasks.’  Staff under-perform or exhibit toxic behaviour because they’ve been allowed to get away with it.  That has to end…now!

The solution is simple. It starts with creating a culture of clarity, commitment, urgency and accountability.  As business owners, leaders or managers, our 1^st job is to create clarity about…

• the compelling value and experience we commit to deliver,
• the extraordinary future we commit to create,
• how we’ll get to that extraordinary future,
• the healthy bottom line we commit to generate…and,
• how we commit to behave along the way (our values, ethics & standards).

Without ‘clarity’ there can be no commitment and without commitment there will be no urgency or accountability.  So, once we’ve created ‘clarity’, we’ll create a culture of commitment and accountability.  We’ll replace the words ‘goals, targets, aims and objectives’ with one word…’commitments’.  When we change our language, we change our culture.  We become what we speak. 

I know I’ve written about this ‘clarity and accountability stuff’ before, but it’s so important that it needs to be repeated.  To access my insightful Biz Tool #A-4 on creating ‘Clarity’ in your business, Click Here.

Here’s the simple 10-word solution to chronic non-performance. Every time you give someone a task or project, ask this simple 10-word question, “By when can we agree that this will be completed?”  Then, negotiate and document the agreed fair and do-able completion date, always follow up, reward success and deal quickly with non-performance.  Everyone on your team will quickly know that you mean business. 

Bonus tip:  When speaking with an employee about their need to improve their performance,  attitude or behavior in some specific way, the magic 11-word question to ask is basically the same, “By when can we agree that this improvement will be accomplished?”   Agree on a specific time by which the required improvement will take place and ask them for a plan as to how they will achieve that improvement.  Also, ask them how you can help support their journey of improvement and be very clear about the consequences of failure to make the required improvement.  Then, document their commitment and follow up to ensure that it has been done …and stays done.  No back-sliding allowed.  

If you don’t have a professional HR function in your business to guide and assist you, a simple tip for tracking employee performance over time is to create a file for each person reporting to you.  Every time they have a significant success, significant failure or behavioral problem, after you speak to them about it, make a quick note, date it and place it in their file.  Have the employee sign the note to confirm that the conversation took place. Then, when you’re evaluating staff for raises, promotions or dismissal, you have an accurate, balanced record of their performance. 

When the time finally comes to terminate someone, it’s essential to have that written record of non-performance or toxicity and proof that they’ve been talked to repeatedly about the need to get their act together, when those conversations took place, what was agreed to and what the result was. 

If you get sued for ‘wrongful dismissal’, the side with the best documentation generally wins. It’s also important to seek guidance from an experienced labour lawyer.  Getting rid of non-performing or toxic team members can be tricky…especially if you’ve ignored the problem for some time. 

Everyone on your team is part of your value, or part of your problem.  What are you doing to reward and grow your ‘value’ people, and to rescue or dismiss your ‘problem’ people? 

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.