How do you put out a fire? By dousing it with water! That’s right; to kill a fire you simply douse it with water.

Now, how do you kill enthusiasm? Simple, by dousing it with water!

Now why and how, you may ask, pour water on enthusiasm? I’m not really referring to physical water here, of course you know that.

I used the analogy because enthusiasm is like a fire burning within an individual. People doused it with water by simply saying NO! STOP! THAT CAN’T BE DONE!

This is one of the most common management mistakes. Sometimes, an individual comes along with a new or an improved idea. Enthusiastically, he shares to the bosses, very confident that this idea would improve performance, cut costs, lead to better sales or really create big changes within the organization.

But the audiences aren’t too keen on changes, they either dislike it or they fear it.

For most old timers, changes may mean that what their current practices may no longer be acceptable no matter how effective they maybe in the past. And they can’t accept that, call it pride, call it ego, but for them nothing beats the tried and tested means.

Then there is the feeling of being threatened.

These people with ideas may come on too strong for them, and they feel that they should slow them down before they gain their momentum. This is most especially true when the person with idea is young and new in the organization.

“You just can’t barge in throw and your weight around!” This is the message that they would like to convey to the newcomer, no matter how good or excellent the idea maybe, more so if it’s a really good idea.

I have nothing against old timers, or management for that matter. And I’m not saying that all new ideas are good ideas. What I’m trying to say is, all ideas are worth hearing.

You may think that it’s just a waste of time especially if it’s a really bad idea, but think again, a bad idea may lead to a better idea.

Someone has started a fire, don’t be the firefighter that would put out the fire.

An idea, no matter how bad, didn’t come just for the sake of having an idea. An idea came out because there was something that needs working on, something needs to be improved, something needs to be solved – something needs to be CHANGED.

Enthusiasm, desire, drive, passion, motivation – seek for it from an employee, but be sure to be ready to support it.

Be a bridge that would help them walk their way through, rather than being a wall that blocks their path. Remember that most great things that we have today – started from just a small, simple idea.

So how do you put out a fire? Simply by dousing it with water! And how do you kill enthusiasm?

YOU DON’T!

Would you believe that an effective way to keep your people happy is by firing away the unhappy ones?

Sounds like a joke? Jay Goltz really hoped it was.

Goltz, who owns five small businesses in Chicago, shared his secret in keeping happy employees in the company in the report from Yahoo! Finance.

Admitting that he doesn’t have a Ph. D., an M.B.A. or any economics degree, Goltz said that he had learned through times that you cannot make everyone happy.

He said, you can try – listen, solve problems, listen some more, solve more problems… but there will come a time that you will realize that you are robbing the company precious time and energy by trying to keep some people happy.

Goltz said that he doesn’t really get hyped up every time he fires people. He is one to admit, “There’s no joy in the act of firing someone.”

He continued his article sharing “bad management can make a good employee dysfunctional, but a good management may not always make a dysfunctional employee good.”

And then there’s the case of “being a square peg in a round whole” where an employee who used to exceptional elsewhere may not really perform at par in your company… it could the type of business or the culture in the organization.

Goltz was right on the dot when he said that it only takes one. A single unhappy employee can make a big difference.

He summarized by saying that, it is his style… his opinion. “Everyone has right to his or her opinion. When you own a company, you also have the right to surround yourself with the people you choose.”

“When you have the right people, business is much easier. I know because I have tried it both ways.”

Unorthodox it may seem, but Goltz maintains a happy organization.

Read his full text here.

Ideas abound, sometimes even from the most unlikely source in the corporation. That is why some foreign companies are even holding ideas blitz on a regular basis, if not annually. So they can encourage their employees to voice out their two-cent worth of ideas. And surprisingly, from this blitz of ideas out comes a jewel that can help the organization increased their earnings from great innovations, or even help them save from their expenses.

Sadly though, this is not always the case on our local organizations. With Filipinos who are known to be sensitive people, any new idea is often treated as a rejection of their current tried and tested system. Believe me, I have personally experienced this.

Any newcomer who comes in wanting to try his own system, will always be met with resistance. And oftentimes, this is even interpreted that he is just trying to make an impression.

It has always been an unwritten rule, new members of the organizations should learn how to blend in. He should know how to embrace the culture that has been embedded within. And most especially, he must follow every rules, policies and dogma that are in place.

Of course, that is correct.

But with every new blood, fresh ideas should always be expected. Otherwise, an organization will not evolve. It will become stagnant, while other organizations that are more receptive, will leave them behind.

New ideas should not only be encouraged, it should be reported. Who knows, from a seed of an idea will come innovations, evolutions and dynamic changes that can spell the difference between a company’s success and failure.