Jeff Bezos tells this story of their early days at Amazon, when it was a small operation and they were working out of his garage. The team packed orders off cement floors on hands and knees.
At one point, Bezos, bent-over and tired, looked up at his team and said, “I think we should buy knee-pads for us.”
One of the software engineers turned around and looked at him in surprise. He replied, “We don’t need knee-pads. We need packing tables.”
The next day, Bezos bought packing tables. It doubled their productivity.
You need to regularly ask questions and have conversations about what would make your business better – performance and environment. And you need to really listen. To discover fresh ideas and perspective, be open to hearing what people think and create a culture where open discussions are welcome.
This is even more important now, when we’re going through an experience we’ve never had before. Most of your people are working remotely. Most of us are tired from the feeling of Groundhog Day that only seems to be intensifying in some countries. We don’t have answers for how to navigate the complexities of this challenging time.
You don’t have to figure it out yourself. Ask your people what they need. What would make their life better, more enjoyable? What would get their energy up?
And really listen.
Many leaders I’ve worked with are afraid that if they ask a tough question about what needs to change, they’ll have to act on the answer, even if they don’t think it’s a good idea.
That’s not true.
Sometimes, just asking the question, gives your team the feeling that you really care. One caveat, you have to be genuine and interested when you ask the questions. Don’t ask because you read up somewhere that you should (like in this email). Ask because you genuinely care and you want to know what others are thinking and feeling.
Once you’ve asked the question, over time, consolidate the information and decide what you want to do with it. Close the loop by making sure that you get back to your people and share what you’ve heard, what your thoughts are and how you’re going to take action. Make it an ongoing conversation.
Fresh thinking and new perspectives always add value.
Do you have a coach, friend, mentor or trusted adviser who helps you think differently about key areas of your business?
Click here, I’m really curious to know your answer.
And if you’re thinking about hiring a CEO coach for yourself or for the leaders in your business, let’s talk. We have a team on hand to help.