I contributed a column to a newsletter in March of 1992 which was headed as “Straight Talk from Gary Field, CPA.” The column started out as follows;
“Last year, General Motors (GM) lost $7 billion in North America. Management’s long overdue response: close the Willow Run plant and others. The UAW leadership’s response to the Willow Run closing: belligerence and inflexibility. GM, the UAW, and all of us business owners need to get the message: the market has a way of sifting out the weak, the lazy and the uninspired.”
The column continued;
“Allegedly, GM has a long – term rebound plan on the table, but I have to wonder. Without responsible leadership at both GM and the UAW, the plan is meaningless. The leadership from GM and the other “Big Three” recently made fools of themselves with their incessant whining about Japanese competition. Is this responsible management? The UAW and its membership’s Japan bashing and position regarding Willow Run are equally irresponsible. Until GM and the UAW assume responsibility for their poor management, they can forget the “rebound plan”, its not going to happen”
I hate to say it but as the adage goes “the rest is history.”
As business owners, we must vow to build our companies on a foundation of responsible employees. We must understand that there are only two types of employees: those who produce reasons (irresponsible) and those who produce results (responsible.) Your job is to identify, hire, train and retain those who recognize that they are the cause that creates the effect. An “it’s not my responsibility” mentality is a prescription for disaster. Witness the current state of the auto industry.
By making good hiring decisions, our employee base is composed of people who understand the importance of responsibility, integrity, purpose, excellence, self development, service and cooperation; a base of people who are of the right character and interested in creating. With a well thought-out hiring process employers can make good, sound hiring decisions and avoid employing a “union mentality” such as that spawned by the luxury of a labor monopoly the UAW once had.
Despite an excellent hiring process, however, occasional bad hiring decisions are inevitable. They can only be minimized. Nevertheless, with a foundation of responsible people, an irresponsible person inadvertently hired cannot
survive for long. Responsible people connected to the “success principles” will purge their ranks of people that are not like – minded.
Perhaps some readers will think that I’m kicking the auto industry when it’s down. Quite frankly, I don’t care. They are a clear and timely indicator of what one can expect from bad management. Certainly, an unwillingness to assume responsibility isn’t limited to the auto industry. I am equally appalled at the teachers that don’t teach and public servants who don’t serve.
The list goes on, but that’s not the point. The point is that success can only be attained after a solid foundation of principles have been laid down and adhered to. Attempting to build a business without the base of principles would be like straightening the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
So, now hear this. Like the game we all played as kids, “tag, you’re it!” Now what are you going to do about it?
This article was written by Gary Field, CPA at Numerico, PC. Click here to view Numerico’s website.
