I’ll admit: I don’t have too much managerial experience.  I am new to the entrepreneurial game; new even to the “real world” of working “real jobs” to pay the bills (I only graduated college a little over a year ago).  Yet sometimes it is appalling to me how little other people, specifically those in charge, seem to know about their own jobs.

The conventional wisdom among managers, from what I hear, is that you never discipline an employee in front of anyone else unless absolutely necessary.  What can become a simple corrective measure may turn into an ugly scene as people get defensive, fearing what the criticism may do to their reputation or to their pride.  The chances that the employee will acknowledge their mistake and learn from it are significantly diminished if they are required to do so publicly.  There’s just really no upside to it, but there is a large potential for a downside.

Consider a case study from my own experience.  I arrived to work on Wednesday and was immediately called into the sales office by the manager of the fitness club where I work one day a week (mostly to have a reason to get out of the house, as working from home can get rather lonely).  When I walked in I was immediately taken to task for a “snarky” email that I had sent earlier that day to the sales staff in response to our latest promotion.

On the one hand, I had to agree with him.  I probably shouldn’t have sent an email that jokingly criticized the corporate marketing program without offering a useful suggestion or two.  On the other hand, I took immediate offense to the fact that he brought this up in front of two other employees, both of whom took turns looking rather uncomfortable during the entire 15 minute conversation.   They had no business being there and they both knew it.  So why didn’t the manager, and why didn’t he consider it worth his time to walk over to his office and shut the door before talking to me?

The fact that I agreed with him about my comments being slightly inappropriate mattered much less than the fact that I was annoyed that he chose to talk about right then and there.  In the end, I decided not to walk out on the job only because, in general, he’s a good boss and there are a lot of other good people there that I like seeing there every week.  But it was a tough decision, and one that I wouldn’t have faced at all if the issue had been handled properly.

They need me working there about as much as I need the job (which is to say, not at all).  They have extra people that could fill the weekly shift I cover just as I have other sources of income to replace what I would lose from quitting.  But why rock the boat unnecessarily?

The whole situation was a quite illustrative example of how important even simple interactions can be in the business world — and one I won’t soon forget as I move up in it.

About the Author:

Efficiency is a boring subject, but in light of year end and the New Year upon us, it’s important to consider. This will allow you to find more time in your day to focus on your bigger projects.

Tips worth considering:
1. Delete out-dated computer files.
2. Shred manual files no longer needed.
3. Go through your calendar(s), and check off everyone with whom you were to follow-up; if you “don’t feel like it”, send a greeting card!
4. Clean up your email boxes: in, sent, trash.
5. Vow that for in-person appointments you will schedule locales near each other to be efficient with time vs. repeatedly driving across town.
6. Schedule calls and online appointments on particular days to establish a routine; however, flexibility for emergencies is key.
7. Writing a book? Schedule either a set amount of time or pages to be written for each day.
8. Establish your next day schedule the night before; list major tasks to be completed.
9. Use a combined database and calendar to keep on top of follow-up .
10. Create a to-do e-mail mailbox, and never lose track again!
11. Review your customer service policies; check for consistency and that they are reasonable.
12. Build relationships with everyone you meet.
13. Organize your desk; if you need, help hire it out!

Some of these tips may sound like New Year resolutions, but those fade by mid-January. Instead, change your mindset to making these strategies permanent.

Your efficiency will translate to expert leadership and marketing-communication skills attracting new and larger audiences to your business. Prospects will convert more easily to clients and business development will appear to be on auto pilot. You will be closing more sales.

I hope you find these tips helpful and wish you a very Smooth Sale!

With this in mind, we interviewed some entrepreneurs who have had to go through this situation:

Kevin Burton, CEO,  Burton Asset Management, Inc.

One of my first employees is still a great friend but no longer works for me.  As the company grew and the demands of our entrepreneurial firm pressed, he “felt like he was working for the Man.”

In a strange twist, I, the guy who was the best man at my friend’s wedding and had been friends for over 15 years had to let him go.

1.  His salary demands were outrageous.
2.  His work standards suffered because of our relationship.
3.  We didn’t see eye-to-eye on growth.

I remember a long talk we had as I was letting him go.  I said, “Look, I’d rather have a friend than an employee.”

I didn’t want it to get to the point where business resentment impacted our friendship.

In an interesting twist, we’ve had massive growth in the past six months and are exploding in a space he loves.  He and I were talking yesterday and he said, “I hate that you are finally in the position to take the company to the next level, and I can’t see myself there.”  It was strange because the work he could be doing for us is the work he
loves- but I guess I’m still the Man.

Question and Answer:

Q: How did you eventually separate business from the personal relationship?
A: I fired him.  It was one of the hardest things I’ve done as the Founder of our company.  I mean, this guy is really, really good at what he does.  But in the end, what did I need?  What did he need?  We both needed to be ourselves and remain friends.  “Look, I can hire a guy to do what you do,” I said. “But I can’t hire a friend.”  So there it was.  He wanted to work on computers and systems without constraints.  My business model needed to be more constrained so that we could sustain our rapid growth.  There wasn’t a trade-off to be had there.  Nothing to negotiate.  Staying friends, that’s what was important.

Q:  Was there any point where you thought the friendship would go down in flames?
A: Big time.  He embarrassed me in front of a client once and on several occasions was late or put me in a position where I was unsettled because we’re doing the OJ thing to an important meeting.  It was how he was wired- the last minute guy.  I’m the ten minute early type.  I had to think about how I wanted to approach that with him because as a friend, there was a lot I could have said that would just be nasty.  As a boss, there were things I could have said that were nasty, too.

This is the main problem with hiring friends, you have the potential to have personal stuff you might say or do get mixed with the professional stuff.

Carlos Chiossone, sprout.net

I unfortunately had to do this twice. Both times, fortunately, both people understood why, and we are still good friends. You just need to make it clear from the start, business is business, and I can be a jerk of a boss.

Question and Answer:

Q: For what kind of role did you hire your first friend that didn’t work out?
A: He was hired as Director of New Business.

Q: How early on did you know it wasn’t going to work?
A: About 3-4 months after he was hired

Q: Did you stop being friends with the person that didn’t work out?
A: No, they understood exactly that business was business. I do remember we did not go out for beers probably for the first 3 months or so after I had to let him go, but we were good friends prior to hiring him, we remain good friends.

Q: Would you hire friends again?  If so, with what caveats would you do that?
A: It’s a touchy subject, but while they understand that doing business does not last forever and that I have to make decisions to keep our business growing, then I will consider it.

He was hired as our 12th employee. I never believed in having sales people as all of our business came from word of mouth. But since we had a new web product to promote I decided to hire him. He did a great job in gathering possible buyers, showing the product and getting response. Unfortunately sales did not come in. In 1999 we introduced some of the first easy to use e-commerce sites at super low price, it was an amazing product but the small stores still had little understanding on how to use the internet for sales. Readysites.com grew 3 years later.

Q: For what kind of role did you hire your first friend that didn’t work out?
A: Senior art Director

Q: How early on did you know it wasn’t going to work?
A: It did work but she was the first of 4 art directors to have to go due to slow downs.

Q: Did you stop being friends with the person that didn’t workout?
A: I sat her down and explained that business was business as we discussed years earlier when I hired her. I gave her 3 months to find work but unfortunately she did not. We remained good friends.

She was and is a great art director. She had no web experience when I hired her and learned on the job. She became very good, but her style was not what we needed at the moment, the client she handled was moving their work to India. Of course, letting her go did not go well at first, the stress from it overwhelms everyone. But from the beginning we cared about each other and understood the fact of business. We remain good friends.

Vince Collura, Team5 and Gotham Photo Company

I have hired my share of friends for both www.team5.com and www.gothamphotocompany.com.  3 turned out to be disasters.  2 turned out to be excellent moves for both of us.  There are a lot of grey areas.

Question and Answer:

Q: What kind of role did you hire your friends that didn’t work out?
A: Developers and designers

Q: For the two that did work out, what made their situations works?
A: Being extremely mature.  More so than thier ages would warrant.  Even though they were employees, they took ownership of their work, as if they were partners.

Q: Did you stop being friends with the people that didn’t work out?
A: At first, yes.  Time heals all wounds, and we are now on good terms.

Q: Would you hire friends again?  If so, with what caveats would you do that?
A: Yes.  They have to understand the difference between work and hanging out.  I am not their friend at the office, and friendship puts thier jobs at risk more than helping them.

With Greg in mind, WV is going to do a study of entrepreneuers who have shunned VC and are making it on their own.

We’re all so busy with the day to day tasks of our professional lives that it’s easy to view feedback as a nuisance, and change as the enemy.  I’m already behind, so why do I need to take time out of my schedule to mess with what’s working.

What I’ve learned from Jim is that feedback and improvement are typically undervalued, and that it’s the job of the leader to make sure that the organization takes the time to seek them out.

For example, at one of my previous companies, we ran a weekly staff meeting with the same format for 4 years.  We’d always done it that way, and it didn’t seem to make sense to change it.

At his company, Jim came in and observed the existing meeting structure, then asked folks for feedback on whether or not it was working.  Based on that feedback, he made changes which were well-received.  But rather than sitting on his laurels, after another month or two, he asked for feedback on the new format.

As Jim is fond of saying, “We’re all sitting here so much, let’s make this time as productive as possible.”

Don’t be satisfied with your rut.  Persistently seek feedback and improvement.