Keep momentum
The test came in spring 2009, right after Standard Pacific’s cuts, when the market saw an unexpected spike in home sales.
“And we sold and built the homes,” Campbell said. “So we proved it to ourselves in the real world, which is the best test.”
Once you get the ball rolling, successes will keep people on board, so make sure you communicate wins.
“There’s nothing like a little success to feed people’s confidence,” he says. “… Now the problem is we know you can do it so you’re going to have to keep doing it.”
Campbell, who says a big part of his job is keeping employees updated on the company’s progress, does frequent calls with his 780 employees and visits them all at least once a year. He also benchmarks their success against competitors so they gain a relative sense of their marketplace.
“It’s critical to keep them up to date on how they’re doing, whether they’re doing well or not doing well,” he says. “I happen to think telling them how to do better is more valuable than congratulating them for doing well.”
Actually, they may be one in the same, because recognizing people who perform well can encourage others to perform better.
“Thank you is a very powerful management technique,” says Campbell, who sends notes and small gifts as part of his thanks program. “Maybe it’s a $50 thing, but it’s a ‘recognize people’ thing.”
Instead of handing bonuses to managers, Campbell used incentives to empower them to take responsibility for the company. He replaced management bonuses with 67-cent stock options, giving them equity that would only become more valuable if they succeeded.
Now, with stocks nearing $5, they’re reaping greater rewards than if he’d paid bonuses.
“They convince themselves. When it starts to work, it feeds on itself,” he says. “Now that they see they can make money and they’re performing better than everybody else, it provides a whole other level of energy and confidence.
“It’s just like a sport. If you’re sitting over a golf ball and you know the ball’s going to go in when you’re putting it, it’s much more likely to go in.”
Success builds employees’ confidence in themselves and also in your leadership. If you guide them to a win, they’ll be more likely to follow you in the future.
“Since they’ve seen it work in ways that they were probably skeptical of at first, now they’re more inclined to take my advice and they’re more inclined to believe in themselves,” Campbell says. “So it’s easier for me to help them now. Before I had to rely on the world falling apart and now I can rely on the fact that they delivered when they weren’t sure they could. That’s the most fun thing in the world, is watching people succeed in ways that even they didn’t think they could.”
Campbell predicts that growth is still at least a year away, depending on the economy. In 2009, revenue held at $1.2 billion. But Standard Pacific is getting more profitable — with 2009 gross profit stabilizing back in the black at $141.8 million — which he counts as a success.
Still, he’s staying put until growth comes.
“If this company succeeds, it will be because they succeeded,” he says. “I just help them figure it out. Success here is me leaving. That’s when you know it’s over.”
How to reach: Standard Pacific Corp., (949) 789-1600 or www.standardpacifichomes.com
