I still remember the scene. It was Las Vegas.
I was here to meet someone who is a reader of my COO Alliance blogs.
Let’s call him Mr.X.
Mr. X came out with his 40-foot pearl white Limousine.
Two of his bodyguards in black suits escorted him to the entrance of our meeting room.
For a minute, the entire crowd’s eyes were on his grand entrance.
He is a business magnate in this city.
We greeted each other and got down to business.
I was there for a leadership development program for his top C-level executives.
When I suggested to him an important meeting that he needs to conduct with his team monthly…
…he got defensive.
He said in a very hesitant tone, “Oh, I don’t want them to know how much money I make”.
I said, “Dude, you come to work in a 40-foot limo & own two private jets. Your team gets it.”
Here is my unorthodox idea that works:
“Every month, get all the employees to meet and review the income statement together. During that meeting, look for and obsess as a team about how to make more money, and how to save money in business.”
This puts some real “skin-in-the-game” for your team that no fancy perks or a YPO membership can achieve.
You can also share a percentage of profits with your employees – but make sure they earn it.
Or else you’re wasting it.
Imagine if your employees start looking at profits the same way owners do.
This is real leadership development. You are developing & breeding leaders within your organization.
How many new ideas, productivity, and revenue will your organization generate?
It will be worth more than how much you give them in profit sharing.
Let me tell you how I stumbled upon this strategy:
Twenty years ago I used to run a painting business – College Pro Painters.
I hired 9 of my friends and they all hated me.
Why? They thought I was making all this money off their hard work.
The reality was I hadn’t made a single penny in profits yet.
They knew what my revenue was but had no idea what my expenses were.
When I showed them that I wasn’t making any money, they got scared for me, and for themselves.
They thought “Hell” if we don’t get this guy to grow a little bit more, save him money, and help him be profitable, we might be out of a job part way through the year.”
When I got the leverage of 9 other minds who also thought like owners – business exploded.
Get transparent with your employees.
Show them how much money is coming in and how much is going out.
This will light a fire under them.
You need people who care as much as you do about the business, don’t you?
Let me know in the comments below what might be the biggest challenge for you to implement this.
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