Sometimes we must dig deeply to uncover a man's troubles.
Here is a morale problem that required about two years to
pinpoint: Jim's problem had me stumped. He had
excellent product knowledge, and his customers held him in
high regard. He had a good potential territory, yet his
sales were, at best, only average. While he never
complained, Jim obviously had something on his nix^ that
was distracting him. Also, curiously, I had met his wife
only once, and had not been invited into their home.
During one of my visits to his area, I asked if he and his
wife would join me for dinner. Jim suggested that we
discuss it. As the story unfolded, the reason for
Jim's gloom was his widowed and aging mother-in-law. She
had moved into Jim's home when he got married. She had a
few eccentricities. She was able to get around, yet would
not leave the house. She hated television, so Jim disposed
of the set. She refused to be left alone, so Jim's wife
could go out only when he was there to keep the elder one
company. This was one mother-in-law who was happy only
when making others miserable.
After several chats on the subject, I suggested that Jim
find some pretext to place her in a home for older people,
at least for a month's trial. Even if she insisted on
returning, I told Jim that he and his wife could at least
go on their four-year-postponed honeymoon.
Things worked out better than anyone expected. When Jim
and his wife returned from their trip, they visited his
mother-in-law. She was all smiles and insisted that she
wanted to stay right where she was.
Jim's life improved dramatically. Now he had a happy home.
He had more time to call on customers because he no longer
had to sit with his wife's mother. His sales went up
meteorically. They had to. Jim needed the extra
commissions to pay for his mother-in-law's care.
Here is one more example of a morale problem that occurs
all too often. An associate of mine came to my office one
day breathing fire, he was so angry. His first words were,
"That damn fool did it again!"
John was well educated, talented, and creative. He
frequently developed new ideas for products. He had
excellent knowledge of market potentials and how to
penetrate those markets. Unfortunately, he was in a staff
position with no direct line of authority. His superior
was a man of few words. They were usually, "No," or "We'll
see." I'm not sure if he was incapable of decision or
simply would not make a move for which he could be
criticized.
As I observed this situation, I watched John sink lower and
lower into his shell. He would show me programs that he
had patiently assembled. They looked good. Later he would
tell me that they had been delayed or stopped. If any of
his ideas were later implemented, his boss took the credit.
We discussed the problem frequently and I suggested that he
try giving his ideas piecemeal to his boss rather than as
an entire package. Perhaps his boss would be able to
digest the parts where he had been choking on the whole.
This didn't work. John tried presenting program outlines
at staff meetings, where his associates could lend support.
Still no luck.
Other strategies met with the same fate until John finally
gave up. By then his morale was at rock bottom. He did
only what was absolutely necessary, and no more. I hated
to see that much talent go to waste, but had no authority
to intercede.
But, I am glad to say that the problem finally ended, and
that John is now happy and productive again. His boss
retired. (He was, incidentally, an ardent disciple of our
one-time industrial psychologist.) The point of this
latter case is that not all morale problems are quickly, if
at all, solvable. In John's case, the morale problem
literally resolved itself. But, problems usually don't go
away without action. They must be detected and eliminated.
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Thotsaporn is the owner of http://www.salesfinance.org
where he provides finance information and resources.
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