What do you do when an employee sees a clear problem with the company and the company does not see the problem or won't change? Many people would leave such a company. However if this is not an option, what is an employee to do? In many instances the employee has to consider what changes he or she can make to either help in their own circumstances or indeed help the company.

The Problem

Paul was one of five salesmen working for a local company that sold their product to the retail public. He was a relatively new employee but compared to the others he had a strong background in marketing and sales and in time became very aware that his company was woefully deficient in these areas. They had been in business for over 20 years and the owners seemed content in "coasting" and not making a very aggressive effort to increase sales and grow the company. They chose not to use aggressive marketing and to not offer the sales staff packages that would help in their efforts. There appeared a striking lack of communication within that has resulted in a passive contentment among most of the employees. Many employees had second jobs to supplement their income.

Paul, however, felt the company could do much better and he personally very much needed additional income. Quitting was not an option because of his personal circumstances, which included a recent marriage, a baby and his wife's secure job preventing them from relocating. He spoke to his boss and the owners over a several month period and the afore mentioned contentment and stagnation became clearer to him. Meanwhile his income was nowhere near his financial need and the bills were mounting up. As he approached the prime season for his product he realized he might have to consider bankruptcy if some drastic measures were not taken.

The Solution

He decided to undertake the marketing and sales efforts that he felt needed to be done on his own and at his own expense. First he of course prepared a budget for himself to determine the cost effectiveness of the approach. He then mentioned to his boss that he was going to undertake some personal marketing efforts. Consistent with the company’s passive approach to business his boss had little interest in what he was doing and had no problem with his plans. He then rented a mailing list for his territory, prepared brochures (using some of the companies existing materials) and had them printed up and purchased a used commercial printer that could generate mailing labels. He also purchased inexpensive ads in local newspapers that targeted his territory. And, as mentioned, he timed everything to coincide with the onset of his high sales season. In effect he created a company within a company.

As his sales doubled and he surpassed all the other salesman and indeed made more in sales than any of the other two salesman combined, he finally got the attention of the owners. They wanted to know what he was doing to make so many sales. He of course told them. This story would have a very happy ending if we could say they adopted many of his approaches and made him sales manager, but they remained in their "safe zone" and the company did not change. However Paul's income went up dramatically and he has worked out a way to remain in his job and survive until a better alternative comes about. Likely he will form his own company.

Analysis of the Problem and Solution

This company violated many of our recommendations to increase Flow. Paul on the other hand utilized many to increase his personal Flow within the company.

The company did not Model (Factor #1) for their employees very well. They rarely Praised (Factor #3) and just assumed that people needed jobs and would keep on working. Helping employees earn more income is of course a key way to meaningfully praise them. The Big Picture (Factor #9) was not part of their perspective. They certainly did not utilize Creativity (Factor #17) to increase Flow to mention only a few of our 18 recommended factors to enhance productivity. 

Paul on the other hand undertook several of our 18 factors to implement on his own. He of course Modeled (Factor # 1) and showed others what to do. He broke down the difficult job of marketing into more easily digested Bite Sized Pieces (Factor #7). He clearly saw The Big Picture (Factor # 9) and he was very much a Positive Presence (Factor # 11). Needless to say he had significant Resilience and was indeed quite Creative (Factor #17) especially when working for a company that was so stuck and uncreative. These solutions were done on a shoe string with significant results. Imagine how well the company would do if they did a “full court” press using Paul’s approach.

As a footnote to this, one other salesman is beginning to use his techniques. Hopefully others will as well.

Is there an issue that you would like Dan to address?  If so, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and tell him what you're thinking.