CEOs, P&L heads, B-School Professors…please bear with me before you experience a conniption! 😉
I am not proposing to trash our weekly reporting, growth forecasts, gross profit calculations, KPIs, quarterly board reports etc etc etc… I am simply suggesting to take the measurement tools we know and love (and to my employees…yes, I really do enjoy this part of the business) and translate these metrics into fun experiences a majority of our employees will be more interested in hearing and more motivated to achieve.
For example, if your goal this quarter is to increase sales by 17% while maintaining your current profit margin of 12%, don’t throw those numbers up on a screen and try to motivate through PowerPoint. Even those of you who are Ciceroic orators will likely be challenged in making these numbers sound exciting to your troops. Rather, translate the 17% increase into plainer terms…45 new clients, 150 new billable employees etc. Then allocate a portion of the additional future bottom line profit to an exciting, fun or even outrageous event. Something as simple as taking the entire company to the latest superhero blockbuster will hold their attention more than an explanation of the importance of achieving an acceptable EBITDA for the board.
And if you and your executive staff are brave souls, why not promise a banquet dinner where you and your executive staff serves food and drink to your employees? The more creative you can get, the more fun you can have with it. And the morale and excitement generated throughout the quarter will pay dividends to your operations.
Phil Bartos is President and CEO of NarraSoft, an offshore outsourcing company based in Cary, NC. Its 60-person software development, mobile development and 3D digital art/animation studio is based in Metro Manila. NarraSoft has been in operation since 2009. Phil can be reached at phil@narrasoft.com