If you’re an entrepreneur and you
aren’t willing to invest your heart and
soul in making your business a success, the chances are pretty good that
you will fail, says Richard Miller.
“All you’ve got to do is work 100 hours
a week and stuff happens,” says Miller,
founder, president and CEO of Fineline
Printing Group. “There has to be a reason why one goes into their own business. You’re going to pay a price.”
The key is to find that reason
within the person and use it as hir
or her driving force to make the
company a success. For Miller, the
key was the image of him and his
father — both of whom had emigrated from Argentina — standing together in New York with
only $100 between them.
By holding on to his dream, no
matter what, Miller has led his
72-employee printing company
to 2006 revenue of nearly $11 million.
Smart Business spoke with
Miller about how to earn respect
by getting to know your employees.
Q: How do you earn employee
loyalty?
If they like you and respect
you, you’re going to win. You
earn it by doing social things
with them, things that are not
really expected. Having random chili cook-offs like we
have here.
Last week, we had a back
masseuse come in. Work with the people
and talk to them from the bottom up,
rather than from the top down. I ride
with our truck driver, and it seems like
that is unusual. You get to know them
personally, you get to know their family,
and you get to know about them and
their dreams and aspirations and
thoughts about the future.
It allows you a moment that it is strictly about them. It has a tendency to create a tad of passion. They look up to you,
and because they know you, because
they shared their life with you, they have
more of a tendency to be more engaged in your business and want to be here.
I like serving the people, not just our
customers but our employees. Serving is
as simple as when we have a picnic for
150 people; I do the cooking. That’s one
manner of serving. If there is trash to be
taken out, I’ll take it out. If your car
doesn’t start, you can take mine. What
can I do for you? Be very accessible.
Don’t be afraid to come over and talk
to me.
When a new person comes in and goes
through orientation, the staff itself starts
complimenting how you manage and
what you do. By the time I found out
about them, a lot of the homework has
been done for me. In a sense, if you set it
up, it just grows.
Q: How do you find the right people?
We go to a battery of tests for assessment
on IQ and adaptability for positions. We are
always looking; we all look for people all
the time and keep a bank. As a position remotely close to our need comes open,
we contact those people first.
It’s networking, just keeping our eyes
peeled. If present employees are happy,
they are the ones who suggest a former coworker or someone that touched their life
somehow that it’s worth for us to talk to.
Q: How do you identify leaders?
They can quickly come in and tell you
what they would do if it was them,
if they had the opportunity. I’m one
of those that will let you try it and
not hope that you fail but hope that
you make it. People that are not
afraid to try and not afraid to fail.
It’s your department — understand it and bring to the plate how
to make it better. You’re the knowledgeable individual in your department. We will listen and add to it
and help you talk it out and spread
it out to your staff.
Let them bring ideas to the table,
implement them, and bring the next
idea and stay out of their way. I
want them to know that we do
value everybody’s ideas.
I want them to understand and
ask, ‘How hierarchal are we? Do we
promote cross-functional development? Does our climate promote
open and honest communication?
What are our strategies? How are we
performing? What makes us money?
What costs us money?’
Q: How do you deal with mistakes?
I forgive, forget and go on. Don’t
dwell on it. Make it right; move on.
Somebody stiffs you for money — forgive,
forget and move on. You can’t let it fester.
It doesn’t create an example of anything.
We do have a system where people
write a corrective action form. Where
did the mistake come from? How can we
avoid it in the future?
We catalog those and get together and
implement another checkpoint for it. We
see in the system where the failure
occurred and address it at that location.
HOW TO REACH: Fineline Printing Group, (317) 872-4490 or
www.finelink.com