Q. How do you identify who can be trusted and who has talent?
What I’m really focused on is who has the fire in the belly. They have to have that in the first place. They have to be excited about what they do. That’s really key in the beginning.
We have these vice president meetings every Tuesday, and you can see who is energized and who really, deeply wants things to happen. Those are the people that tend to do better and can be taught.
It’s the ones that … aren’t very aggressive, just don’t possess any energy — those are the ones that are going to take a little more to push. They may be able to do it, but you are going to find yourself constantly driving them. You need people that are more self-driven. That’s a key factor.
They can have all the knowledge they want, but if they can’t seem to drive people or drive and get things done, it doesn’t matter.
Q. How do you drive someone to be better?
It’s a little touchy because you’ve got to try to understand why aren’t they driven. Why are they not excited? Is it something that they’ve experienced in the past?
You really need to take the time with the employee and try to understand what they are about and what they are feeling and what they are understanding. Maybe it’s not a good fit for them, and maybe that’s a conversation that you have with them — an honest conversation. There may be another area that they’d be better suited for or maybe they don’t belong here in the first place.
You are doing an injustice if you just keep trying to get something out of somebody who doesn’t want to be there in the first place.
How to reach: Whitlam Label Co. Inc., (800) 755-2235 or www.whitlam.com
