CARE-ing For Fast-Growth Companies

By John Smithman

Can success kill a company? Here’s an example…

The company began small and grew quickly. Sales exploded, employees were hired for sales, the shop floor, and the office. Good workers were promoted to management. Everything was looking good! But a serious disease began to take hold.

People were working long hours to keep up. There was not enough workspace for everyone. Too much time was spent on meetings. Job attendance was up, but performance was down. The grapevine of discontent was flourishing. Money was good, the company was not.

The company owner couldn’t understand how it was possible that a company could have so much success and so many problems at the same time? He hired consultants and consulting companies who told him what to do. He did what he was told. The troubles grew larger. What was wrong??? Panic set it.

Yes, success can kill a company. Quickly growing companies can consume themselves in the process. The secret is to pay attention to their most important asset: their people—the “champions” in their workplaces.

"C.A.R.E., Bringing Empathy to the Workplace," a Canadian book by Mike and Sheila Larkin, gives us a guiding system to help companies that have lost touch with their most important asset.

C.A.R.E. stands for the following four principle needs of employees:

 o Clear Direction and Support

 o Adequate and Appropriate Training

 o Recognition and Rewards

 o EMPATHY

I have begun using the CARE system to bring companies back from the brink to a position of strength and consistency. This process, together with an attention towards reducing employee turnover will set the company right back on track.

©  2002 John Smithman Used with permission of Author. John Smithman, founder Champions in the Workplace Training & Development Inc. "Where People Grow" (604) 618-6277 Mailto:HeadCoach@champions.ca John Smithman has been building champions in the workplace for over 40 years. As an entrepreneur, he built an Ontario airline, a BC university services department, an Ontario transportation company, and a school products manufacturing company. Based in Vancouver, John coaches business owners across Canada since 1996, as head coach of Champions in the Workplace Training & Development Inc. John is a Toastmaster, a Rotarian, and a Junior Achievement volunteer.

Article courtesy of Bob ‘Idea Man’ Hooey and Ideas At Work! www.ideaman.net