Pruning, Always Pruning

It was February 2000.  A large IT vendor agreed to fund my dot com start-up with $10 million.  Twenty days later we were ready to go with $2 million in the bank. 

The problem was the dot com mantra was "grow fast", and I had already seen first-hand that growing fast is a delicate process and can easily turn into a disaster for a new company.  However, they were paying, so we set aside what I had learned and tried to hire and grow according to the IT vendor's strategy for us.

It was not pretty.  We made good progress, but also had a few rough setbacks.

One year later the IT vendor shocked us by cutting off the remainder of our funding.  Things had changed at their company, they were shutting down their fund.

Again I had been given an opportunity to learn a lesson.  Since then it has become clear that growth is good, but a healthy organization requires constant pruning of people, projects, and activities.  Cutting away unnecessary tasks and vague objectives are critical to achieving big T.A.R.G.E.T. goals.

Since that dot com turned into a dot bomb I have dedicated myself to developing a more systematic approach to how leaders hire, manage, develop, and retain top performing employees.  I am convinced that leaders and organizations who follow this systematic approach benefit immensely. They achieve a strong company culture, provide a superior experience for clients, and maximize profits.

To achieve these objectives requires constant pruning.  In gardening, different plants need to be pruned at different times of the year.  Here are some ways to prune in your company so you can grow beyond your past and into your potential: 

1. Start With Yourself.  We all have bad habits.  Work on better understanding yourself.  Identify 1-3 bad habits you have and how to change them.  Build it into your schedule.  Get help from a coach, mentor, or coworker.
2. Refine Your Schedule.  What projects, people, or interests are taking up your time, but not producing great results?  This can be a constant battle, and it creates a need for constant pruning.  Respectfully and professionally start pruning your schedule.
3. Evaluate Your Hiring Process.  Sometimes you hire people who do not consistently perform at a high level.  Zappos now pays $4,000 for a new hire to quit in their first 90 days.  Why?  It is cheaper to get someone to leave than have to work with a cultural misfit and act like they can be part of their winning team.
4. Simplify Your Offerings.  You might sell and/or support too many products or services.  It's time to consider to selling and/or supporting fewer product lines.  Make it worthwhile for your clients to switch to your preferred platforms AND fine tune the specific product offerings within your key solutions.  For instance, do not offer 5 good managed services offerings.  Instead offer 2 or 3 great ones.
5. Streamline Communication.  Try harder to communicate briefly via email, notes, or text.  It's best to compose an email that is short and concise, even when referring to a complex subject.  Instead, save those lengthy, detailed discussions for a verbal conversation. Take notes if necessary, then move on to the next task.
6. Adapt Your Communication.  In addition to keeping things brief, you will save time and build stronger relationships when you adapt your communication style to the preferred communication style of the other person, AND appeal to their values, not yours.  This is the basis of our Talent Assessments and a major reason they are so popular.

I could go on, but then I might need to prune this blog post...  :)