Epilogue

KEN BLANCHARD AND GARRY RIDGE

IT WAS INTERESTING for us to discover that our fathers had a similar philosophy. It can be summed up by the statement “Talk is a lot of hot air unless you back it up with some action.” In other words, don’t say what you’ll do; do what you say. Or as Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This book could be a lot of hot air unless it stimulates you to do something. If you’ve been complaining about how your performance is evaluated, share this book up the hierarchy. If you’re a top manager and you’ve been hearing some rumblings about how performance is evaluated in your organization, you might want to look in the mirror.

One of our favorite stories is about the guy who opens his lunch at work and complains, “Baloney sandwich! That’s the fifth day in a row I’ve had a baloney sandwich. And I don’t even like baloney.”

One of his coworkers, trying to be helpful, suggests, “Why don’t you tell your wife to make you some other kind of sandwich?”

“My wife—forget about it!” said the complainer. “I make my own sandwiches!”

Is your performance review system full of baloney? If so, what role have you played in creating it? In what ways are you responsible for what’s not working?

Not all managers are like WD-40 Company tribe leaders. Many still believe you need to use a normal distribution curve that grades a few people high, a few people low, and the rest average. The reason these managers and their organizations are often reluctant to discard the normal distribution curve is that they don’t know how they will deal with career planning if some people don’t get sorted out at a lower level. If they rated a high percentage of their people as top performers, they wonder how they could possibly reward them all. As people move up the hierarchy, aren’t there fewer opportunities for promotion?

We believe that question is naïve. If you treat people well and help them win in their present position, as they do at WD-40 Company, they often will use their creativity to come up with new business ideas that will expand your vision and grow the organization. Protecting the hierarchy doesn’t do your people or your organization any good.

Ralph Stayer, coauthor with Jim Belasco of Flight of the Buffalo,1 tells a wonderful story that proves this point. Stayer was in the sausage manufacturing business. His secretary came to him one day with a great idea. She suggested they start a catalog business, because at the time they were direct-selling their sausages to only grocery stores and other distributors. He said, “What a great idea! Why don’t you organize a business plan and run it?” Soon the woman who was his former secretary was running a multimillion-dollar new division of his company and creating all kinds of job opportunities, as well as revenue for the company.

Leadership that emphasizes judgment, criticism, and evaluation is a thing of the past. Leading at a higher level today is about treating people the right way by providing the direction, support, and encouragement they need to be their best. If you help your people get As, your performance management system will ignite them to blow away your customers with outstanding service. Why? Because people who feel good about themselves want to return the favor.

Endnote

1. Jim Belasco and Ralph Stayer, Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead (New York: Warner Books, 1994).

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