Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

After I wrote my last post

http://www.outofthecrisis.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30

It occurred to me the topic may have been newsletters but the concept could be much broader. The concept is really cooperation. By cooperating each contributor has more, at lower cost, than they may have had by going it alone.

I believe cooperation is difficult in our present society. Most people pride themselves on being fiercely independent. Cooperation may be seen as a bit of a weakness and no one likes surrendering any of their individuality.

Yet cooperation need not entail being less independent, I believe it can be an enhancement of our independence. An example might be a great marriage. Each party gains far more than they might have gained by not being in the marriage. As a couple, they are completely unique and independent, yet they do not compete against one another. Rather they work to support one another and each has far more as a result.

This may seem self evident, yet cooperation in business is rare. Employers [managers] generally do not cooperate more than necessary with employees nor visa versa. I feel fear plays a big role as well and the solution is leadership.

A true leader is not a person who lacks fear, it is a person who can act in the face of their fear. They assess risk and formulate a plan, that increases the odds of success. In the case of business, it may be the fear of being taken advantage of. Employers may also fear that they are not able to lead their people to do their best.

Reward systems are a prime example. A manager may express they wish cooperation, yet the reward system clearly fails to show this. Take incentive pay as an example. What is expressed is, “I am willing to pay you X amount.” For the sake of this discussion X being more than enough to fully compensate for the effort expended.

What is not expressed, yet clearly grasped is, “As long as you can give me what I ask.” It is simply a conditional promise. If the employee, for any reason, cannot meet the established goal, the employer is under no obligation to honor their part of the agreement.

There may be nothing unethical about such an agreement, so long as both parties understand the terms. The issue is rather one of effectiveness and cooperation, in my opinion. Contrast this with a system that tells the employee, “I will pay you X, and trust you to do your best.” In this case X, again represents the maximum from above. In such a system the responsibility falls to the employer to assist the employee to do their best.

I believe it far more likely they will cooperate to increase the employee’s chances of producing the amount needed to cover the expenditure of wages. The employer will more likely see this in their own best interest. The employer controls the system and the resources produced. This puts them in a much better position to effect positive improvement.

What is needed for such a system to work is trust, perhaps an opposite of fear. The employer [leader] must trust, their ability to provide a system that enables the employee to do their best. They trust the employee, so enabled will do their best. They further trust that they will be able to recognize this. Each person cooperates and as a result has more than they may have had otherwise. Neither has given up anything, only traded one method of management for another.

Of course pay is only one means of reward and a reward system contains many more. If I believe cooperation can produce more for everyone, as a manager I would do well to consider each component. Rather than fighting for the bigger piece of the pie, perhaps we can cooperate to make a bigger pie?

_________________
Louis Altazan
Owner/Manager AGCO Automotive Corporation
Baton Rouge, LA

[Dave]

Louis,

You are wise beyond my years.

You have several profound thoughts in this post. There is much to digest.

Dave

[Louis Altazan]

Hi Dave,