Being an effective CEO means recognizing that every once in awhile, you
won’t have the best answer to a problem, says Fred Pratt, co-founder and CEO
of DYONYX LP.
“I encourage these guys to interact and
tell me what they’re thinking,” Pratt says.
“I’ll go, ‘Man, that’s a funny look on your
face. Tell me what you’re thinking. Don’t let
us walk into this thing and get stung.’ In a
professional way, a healthy debate over
what’s the best way and the right way to do
things is always encouraged.”
By encouraging employee input
and looking to build relationships
both within his company and with
clients, Pratt led the IT and management consulting firm to 2006 revenue of $27.5 million, with 77 full-time employees.
Smart Business spoke with Pratt
about how to empower employees
and why he leads with his gut.
Q: How do you earn employee
loyalty?
Just talk to people like they are
human beings. Don’t talk to them
like you’re the CEO or like you’re
some guy who is in charge of
something. I’ll meet them in the
coffee bar. ‘How are you doing?
How was church this weekend?
Did you catch any fish?’ It’s a
very personal relationship.
When they are doing their jobs
right, it’s great. If something
goes wrong, I can talk to them
on a level of not going in to bust
their chops but,‘Hey, what did
we do wrong here? Is there
something that I didn’t do to help you? Was
it just a mistake?’
Establish that interpersonal connection
with people. The guys I learn the most from
are the guys who are on the front lines.
One of the practices that I do if I ever get
a break during the day is I go around the
office and sit in everyone’s office and just
say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’
I hear more about what’s happening in
the field and what’s happening with our customers and things that are going on. I
use opportunities like that to really try to
stay in touch with these guys
Q: How do you assess growth opportunities?
People are driven so much by revenue
that they are not driven by goals and
objectives any more. Their goals are, ‘I’ve
got to turn X million dollars this year or
else I’ll be in trouble.’ If our goal is ever to
attain a certain amount of dollars, we’re
on the wrong boat.
Have a goal of what’s the long-term
vision of the company. What are you trying to attain? For us, we want to build a
legacy.
If we look at new strategies, I’m not
bashful about wading in there and breaking the ice with my shotgun to see what
will work and what won’t. If you do
something like that and you get it going
and you find out that it is successful, that’s when you look back and you see
that other people are following you.
People want to follow success.
But you have to lead by example. I
don’t think you can just say, ‘Go here, do
this and go do that,’ and get things done.
It doesn’t mean that I try to swing at
pitches that are outside of the strike
zone, either. It has to be balanced with
the things that we can do well and that
fit in to the overall vision and direction
for us.
Q: How do you find the right people to
help grow your business?
The skill parts change every
day in this business. We can train
that. It’s their commitment to
excellence that’s going to make
them go above and beyond and
press hard and make it happen.
Empowering an employee is a
little bit at a time every day, consistent pressure that this is what
we do and this is how we do it. We
trust you, now go do the right
things. They build a level of confidence.
I trust these guys, and they trust
me. I get out there, and I do my job.
If I make a mistake, hey, everybody
owns up to it, and we made a mistake. How do we keep from doing
that again?
Q: What one thing will kill a business?
Inconsistent leadership will kill it
faster than anything I know. People
throw their hands up and go, ‘I don’t
have a clue what these guys want.’
The way you treat the people, the
way you lead the company and the way
you treat a customer, you have to be consistent. There is no such thing as having
a bad day in my book. I work really hard
not to have a bad day. When I come in, I
do whatever I have to do to make sure
that I’m consistent.
HOW TO REACH: DYONYX LP, (713) 830-5900 or
www.dyonyx.com