Employees have to understand that they have a direct role to play in creating the kind of company they want, and creating such a company is their responsibility. You spend a good portion of your waking hours at work, so why not make it more than just punching the clock?

Successful businesses have employees who depend on one another and keep their promises and commitments to and with each other. The more engaged employees are in the business, the better the outcomes. Focused on a common goal, armed with the knowledge to act, the freedom to go after it, and fire in the belly, they are unstoppable. They almost always exceed expectations.

Lying and dishonesty have no place in business, nor does taking advantage of people, or bosses who act like S.O.B’s. We’ve all said it, karma can come back to you as we see someone finally get their comeuppance. You only gain credibility by telling the truth. Business doesn’t work unless employees believe you and one another. Be the kind of person for whom you want to work for and with. Let someone else keep karma busy.

You drop everything else. You focus night and day on that one thing. When your back is up against the wall you gotta figure out how to move the wall back. You do whatever it takes because people’s livelihoods are on the line. Take the hill! You gotta take the hill.

People only get beyond work when their motivation is coming from inside. Whatever goal you are trying to accomplish, if you don’t want it inside of you, it ain’t gonna happen. When you’re a winner nobody has to tell you. You feel it inside. You know it.

Sometimes management forgets that workers usually know more about the products or services than they do. Rather than guess or make up answers, why not ask for help? It builds trust and credibility and shows their opinions are valued. Besides, employees quickly figure out if you’re blowing smoke, which never benefits you, them, or the company.

If you teach employees how their actions impact the financial numbers, they’ll figure out how to improve them. Why? Because nobody wants to be on the bottom of the pile. People want to win. They want to know they’re the best at what they do, not just in the company, but in the marketplace against the competition. When workers think this way, they are becoming business people.

Our employees set their own labor and material standards, sales forecasts, and other benchmarks based on their experience and knowledge. They own those numbers for the entire year and must answer for deviations of plus or minus 5% from the standard. They don’t give targets they can’t hit. It is about keeping your word and doing what you told everyone in the company you would do.

People have to see the effects of what they do, or they won’t care. It doesn’t matter if the effects are good or bad. If people go to work every day and nobody acknowledges whether they are doing a good, bad or indifferent job, they assume no one cares. Soon they stop caring too.

Responsibility for the future rests squarely on the shoulders of people who run businesses. We’re the only ones left with the credibility and clout to affect real change. We have to eliminate the blame game and teach people to take responsibility for themselves, become self-reliant, and accountable. This won’t happen unless business steps up. Since we’re paying for it anyway, why not lead the charge?