Sort the good from the bad
Of course, not every idea is a home run. A side effect of Ott’s
emphasis on communication is the sheer volume of ideas he has to
sort through. Deciding which ideas are worth pursuing is a formidable task, and this is another instance where Ott can take advantage of his management team.
He says to ensure your team is able to see the problem from all
sides, you have to surround yourself with people from different areas
of the company who understand the big picture as well as you do. If
you are uncertain about an idea, you have to get input from the people that the decision would affect.
“If it’s a suggestion that is going to change the way you do business,
you don’t just make that call by yourself,” he says.
The members of your management team may be reluctant to give
input at first, but Ott says they can be a valuable resource if you
show them their contributions matter.
Whether he is hearing an idea for the first time or re-evaluating it
with his management team, Ott’s three-pronged strategy is always
the same.
“You have to let them speak,” he says. “You have to listen undistracted. In this day and age with BlackBerrys and so much input,
when someone is trying to give an opinion or tell you something,
it can be very distracting or disjointed in their communication of
their thought process for you to do three things at once.”
Also, he always — always — gets back to his employees about
their ideas. Whether you think the idea is good or bad, you have to
get back to them. If you don’t, your employees will believe their
opinion doesn’t matter, and you can forget about getting anymore
useful input from them.
Ott doesn’t make decisions based on his gut. That’s why he never
shoots down a new idea right away. He takes a day or two to think
it through and get the right input to make an informed decision. It
also shows the employee that you are carefully considering their
idea and not just dismissing it outright.
Once the decision is made, Ott says you have to give the credit to
the person or group that brought the idea to you. If you’ve decided
the idea isn’t going to work, make sure you explain why it’s not going
to work to the employee who brought it to you.
So if you listen attentively, respond promptly and give credit where
it’s due when an employee-created idea brings the company success, your employees will appreciate it.
An added benefit is the self-esteem boost an employee receives
when his or her idea is implemented throughout the company.
“It makes a huge impact on how they view the importance of their
thoughts,” Ott says. “You get more collaboration; you get better communication because they know if an idea is coming from the store
level, that it makes a big difference. It’s more valid than someone in
a corporate office someplace making decisions and handing ideas
out.”
HOW TO REACH: Claim Jumper Restaurants LLC, (949) 756-9001 or www.claimjumper.com
