Support your people

Douglas Bergeron
CEO, VeriFone Holdings Inc.

Mike Klayko
CEO, Brocade Communications Systems Inc.

In everything that you have to do as a
leader, it’s easy to overlook the most
important asset that you have — your
people. It’s important to make sure you
create a strong culture for your people
so the company can be most effective.
One way to create a place people want
to be in is to promote people from
within.

“People want to feel that their contributions are valued, so we always
look first to make promotions from
within the organization,” says Douglas
Bergeron, chairman and CEO of
VeriFone Holdings Inc., in the January
issue. “You have to think about what
kind of message you’re sending as the
CEO if you don’t consider your own
employees first for any new opportunities.”

It’s also important to create strong
metrics for performance.

“Top achievers want to be in an environment where they can accomplish
and be recognized for those accomplishments,” Bergeron says. “When people know that they’re being measured
and what they’re being measured on,
they’ll perform. If people don’t perform,
you have to get rid of them.”

In addition to measuring people, it’s
important to reward them, as well, says
Mike Klayko, CEO of Brocade
Communications Systems Inc., and our
August cover story.

“Through performance plans that are
reinforced via compensation structures, everyone understands their role
and how it all ties together and everyone knows what they need to do as
individuals in order for the company
to be successful,” Klayko says.

If you do these things, you’ll see success.

“I sincerely believe that if you priori-tize the success of others and if you
truly help the people around you succeed, you will be a better CEO,”
Klayko says.