Tuesday, September 2, 2008

About Visions and Missions

Friend of mine just called and complained about some problems with her staff. She tried to instill some discipline and ground rules for her operations but met with resistance from some employees. Simple stuff that they were trained to do became chores she has to get involved in, as CEO of the company.

My answer: they (the staff) don't share your same vision and mission; and she's better off getting rid of those bad apples than to risk infecting the rest of her employees who need the job more and who are prepared to adapt to her ground rules.

I'm sure this happens to all companies, large or small. I also told my friend that it's the survival of the organisation and the security of all her employees which should take precedence over one or two rotten apples.

Every organisation must function and survive as a team. Just like football and any other sport. The minute we have a prima donna, the minute we have the weakest link who can't move at the same speed as the others, and who doesn't have the same conviction as the others, the organisation cannot survive, let alone advance in this highly competitive globalised world.

This friend of mine is a nice person, always kind, always mindful of her employees to the extent that she cannot bear to put someone out of a job. But I emphasized that it's the survival of the organisation, the interests of the shareholders, and the feeding of the majority of her staff and their families which are of paramount importance.

I'm glad she felt a lot better after hearing what I had to say. And I hope she will be able to put principles into practise and have the conviction to see changes through.