Grooming a Generation of Efficiency Experts--It's On You

"Eighty percent of success is showing up" - Woody Allen

How many times have you heard that quote?  Like so many other clichés in our culture, when a celebrity utters something witty or clever, people begin to repeat it and the masses begin to believe it.  While Woody’s statement may indeed be an adequate job description for a seat-filler position at the Oscars, business owners and operators need a great deal more than warm bodies on their front lines if they are going to succeed—or even survive—in today’s turbulent economy.

The New York Times reported recently that college professors are finding that their Gen Y students expect above average grades just for having good attendance. The article reports that one third of post-secondary students expect a ‘B’ for merely attending lectures and 40 percent believe a ‘B’ is deserved if they complete the assigned reading. One student quoted in the article said, "I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade. What else is there really than the effort that you put in?"

Well, for starters, how about results?

Effort, while laudable, does not guarantee success. Showing up, while important, does nothing beyond placing you in proximity to the work that needs to be done. In the end, it all comes down to results.

This rude awakening flies in the face of those who received numerous “participation” medals and awards for sports or other activities where self-esteem has taken precedence over personal responsibility.

In recent weeks, seven NFL coaches were fired by their respective teams. These were seven celebrated professionals who each worked 60-80 hours per week, showed up for every meeting, every practice, and every game, and who each tried their hardest to win a championship. But ultimately, the only thing that matters to these seven teams—and to any other business or organization in a free market economy—is results.

As a 16-year-old high school junior, I took business and marketing courses (part of the renowned DECA program).  We learned that in America's free enterprise system, the efficient succeed and the inefficient fail. No matter how cold, unfair, and unforgiving that might seem, it is the fundamental principle of our free market economy. This principle is the reason businesses strive for efficiency in every phase of operations.  Ultimately, it’s what makes capitalism work and our nation great.

I never forgot that simple idea and I've always credited my successes to being efficient (i.e. smart, creative, thrifty, industrious, diligent, determined, relentless, etc.).  I've also experienced my share of failures and—after the pain subsided—could trace almost every one of them back to personal inefficiencies.

Today’s university professors are teaching bright students who are book smart and techno savvy.  Unfortunately, most of these young adults have grown up protected from the harsh realities of the efficient/inefficient principle by their doting helicopter parents. At school, they’ve learned from teachers who’ve been ordered to spend every minute of class teaching-to-the-test.  The result is students who have no idea how to be efficient in the workplace or succeed in the real world.

Instead, we’ve engrained into their psyche that showing up and trying hard is all they need to do. The efficient/inefficient principle is being threatened as our government hands over billions, if not trillions, to failing businesses and industries. Regardless of where you stand on the stimulus programs, it’s more than a little unnerving to think that our future leaders are being shown that in America, the efficient succeed and the inefficient can expect a bail out.

Stop Feeding the Bear

Now, more than ever, you need your front lines staffed with results-oriented efficiency experts. But we can’t go back upstream and re-grow a generation.  We also can’t expect them to figure it out on their own. 

We have to teach. We have to groom. We have to model. 
And here’s the hard part: we have to hold them to a higher standard than they have grown accustomed to at home and at school.

How can we do it?

1. Be picky. Don’t confuse skill with work ethic. While it’s important to search for candidates with both, it’s far easier to train skills than to teach a work ethic.  The good news is that there is now an online test that can accurately assess work ethic. (Click here to learn more.)  The even better news is that as the economy struggles, your increased application flow is giving you more choices and more opportunities to upgrade your workforce.

2. Be clear. As is true with your own children, your young workers will live up or down to your expectations. If you only expect that they show up and try hard, that’s all they’re going to do.  But if you expect results when it comes to productivity, performance, and service, articulate those expectations before they come on board and reinforce them while they are on your payroll. Let them know exactly what it takes to succeed in your organization.

3. Be proactive. Contact the school(s) in your area and volunteer to talk to business classes or participate as a presenter on career day. Then tell students what it takes to succeed in business and in life. Don’t pull punches.  You aren’t there to recruit employees or make friends. Instead, share with them actual stories that prove to them that efficiency is a prerequisite of success. Yours may be one of the most important, life-changing messages they will ever hear.

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