Peace is a good thing, but it’s not always the best thing for your business. This isn’t to say that you want your employees shouting at each other in the hallways or across their cubicle walls. But if everything is too serene, you might wonder how hard they are actually working to grow your business.
With growth and change comes the occasional obstacle. Those obstacles may seem pretty daunting, but you can’t fear them. Embrace them for what they are, signs that your plan needs a little work. If you believe that problems arise for a reason and can actually help you be ready for what the future holds, they may not seem so scary. Here’s what some of the leaders we’ve spoken with had to say about unexpected problems.
“A progressive company that is managing change and constantly working to improve itself is hardly ever stable and orderly. There will be growing pains.”
–Adam Coffey, president and CEO, WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems LLC
“You have to be comfortable with a little chaos. Your job is to take all that chaos and turn it into order.”
–Zorik Gordon, co-founder, president and CEO, ReachLocal Inc.
“Quite candidly, you want to hear the bad news more than the good news because those represent the areas of opportunity within an organization.”
–Brett Good, president of Southern California district, Robert Half International Inc.
Summary: Don’t assume that every problem is really a problem for your business.
Train your people to be responsive when a project hits a bump in the road.
Make sure people aren’t afraid to bring you bad news.
