Michael B. Kennedy Jr. makes sure everyone at KAI Design & Build has a copy of the company’s business plans when those plans are presented. But it doesn’t end at that meeting.
“Each manager, through people’s evaluations, would talk to them individually on how they fit into that role and what we needed them to do,” says Kennedy, president at the 97-employee firm. “Then with the formation of committees, you put the vision out there and have committees in place that meet quarterly or monthly so they can have the buy-in of the plan and take ownership of it. You don’t want to just drive it down their throat. You want input and you want them to take some ownership of it. You explain the theory and concepts and why it makes sense and then you have them buy into it and own it.”
If you find that people that tend to be waiting on you to move forward with plans you thought you had communicated, you clearly didn’t make them feel like they actually owned their role.
“Or they don’t feel like they can make a mistake,” Kennedy says. “Depending on your business, maybe you don’t want them to be allowed to make a mistake. Or you need to define what level they can make decisions without asking you.”
How to reach: KAI Design & Build, (314) 241-8188 or www.kai-db.com
