Ask your employees for input

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”-Henry David Thoreau

We should be asking our employees for input

Do you regularly ask your employees for input, to share their thoughts and suggestions? Do you allow them to contribute ideas and then buy into the direction and goals of the company?

Don’t attempt to go it alone

Attempting to go it alone rarely succeeds. In the business world, results have proven again and again that the most powerful decisions that move a company forward are not those of a strong, authoritarian president. Instead they are decisions in which both the employees and management have come together to find a solution.

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart who became one of the richest men in America, believed in hearing what people, especially his employees, had to say. Once he flew his aircraft to Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and parked the plane with instructions to his copilot to meet him one hundred or so miles down the road. He then flagged a Wal-Mart truck and rode the rest of the way to “chat with the driver.” He said, “It seemed like so much fun.” It was also a great learning experience.

Dallas-based Chili’s, one of the nation’s five best-run food service chains, according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine, is another company with a leader who listens to employees. Norman Brinker, Chili’s chairman, believes that responsive communication is the key to good relations with both employees and customers. He also has learned that such communication pays big dividends. Almost 80 percent of Chili’s menu comes from suggestions made by unit managers.

 Seek input from your employees and start listening!

Our leadership and other strengths are not worth much if you are not able to achieve leverage and results through other people. Keep reminding yourself and your management team that the greatest assets of your business are your people!