Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/717930
30 • september 2016 • world fence news Successful companies are a team effort Employees should feel "pride of ownership" by tom luby, president, profit builders international Every fence company functions, as it must, as a team effort! Yes, all of the trucks, equipment and materi- als in the yard, all the assets and real property may be owned by an individ- ual, family or even corporation, but in some ways employees are also part owners. Look at it this way: Any fence company is operated primarily by the employees. You are all working to- gether as a team; not one person doing everything, but each member doing his or her part for the greater good. Therefore, it is only logical that your fence company should be operat- ed like any successful sporting team, as a coordinated group effort to win. The employees sell the fence, erect the fence, operate the office, answer the phones, and keep track of money, all in a joint effort to be suc- cessful and make money, correct? Of course, I do not want to di- minish the important contributions of both time and money that the owner has invested in the company; no one would have a job without him or her. And, usually, the owner is the first to arrive and last to leave; their dedi- cation and hard work is unquestioned. However, the employees are also criti- cally important to the company and it is important that fact is clearly under- stood and respected by everyone, even the owners. On a personal level, as a fence in- dustry consultant, I like to encourage fence company owners to adopt the philosophy of encouraging the em- ployees of the company to embrace the "Pride of Ownership" mindset as well. Of course, I do not imply actual ownership of company assets, simply the pride in accomplishment and en- couraging every employee to buy into a real team effort as a fact of employ- ment. Implanting the feeling of "Pride of Ownership" can be an important and powerful motivator, something every owner should strive for. Every employee needs to be aware that together "we" are struggling. If you are successful and making really good money, congratulations, keep it up. For others, it can be a struggle to stay in business and to pay your bills and, most important, to pay yor valu- able employees. Management needs the help of all the employees as a team if they are going to continue to be a viable em- ployer. Consequently, the employees need to trim waste and save resources, and, most important, protect the assets you have all worked so hard to earn and stop any abuse and waste within the company. This mindset can turn a fledgling, mediocre fence company into a great success virtually overnight. This concept can truly work mira- cles and can be the best advice I could ever give to a company that wants to do better for everyone – owner and employee alike. I have written about the impor- tance of pride in workmanship many times before. I have spoken about this topic in lectures and seminars, but now I want to touch upon this concept in conjunction with team building, running efficiently and eliminating waste in the fence company. OK, let's talk about pride in work- manship and company efficiencies, because those two concepts go hand in hand. In fact, let's try to take it one step further and take these two con- cepts of pride and efficiencies off the printed page and into use in the oper- ations of the company. First, please let me explain, in the- ory, what exactly I am looking to do and how it may impact the firm, then how we can plan together to make that happen. Let me start with the "why" part of this proposition first. For any company to function as a team and to operate efficiently, the quickest and most profound impact any team can have on the overall ef- ficient operation of any company is the immediate elimination of wasteful behavior. For some reason, many employ- ees have a hard time understanding that waste affects everyone, not just the owners. A bit of every wasted dol- lar could have been used to increase wages or pay incentive bonuses. I can hear you now: "What do you mean, wasteful behavior? What waste? Not us! We never throw un- used or damaged pickets or posts away at the end of a job. We never lose or break tools. We never leave behind ties or nails. We never run out of ma- terials before we finish a job because