Smart Business Magazine, November 2019

50 Smart Business Cleveland November 2019 MICHAEL FEUER Co founded OfficeMax and in 16 years as CEO grew the retailer to sales of 5 billion in 1000 stores worldwide Today as founder CEO of Max Ventures his firm invests in and consults for retail businesses Serving on a number of boards Michael is a frequent national speaker and author of the business books The Benevolent Dictator and his newest book Tips from the Top His long running nationally syndicated Smart Business magazine column has received more than 10 awards for excellence mfeuer@ max ventures com Visit Michael Feuers website www TipsFromTheTop info to learn more about his columns watch videos and purchase his books The Benevolent Dictator and Tips From The Top TIPS FROM THE TOP MICHAEL FEUER Bad attitudes in business are highly contagious and can spread faster than a cruise ship virus A hand mirror provides the best treatment What everyone doesnt know however is how to effectively deal with that employee who seems to turn sour becoming a thorn in everyones side and accomplishing little or nothing I have never had an employee who woke up in the morning drove to work and couldnt wait to do a bad job and make others lives difficult Virtually everyone begins with high expectations about the opportunity the company and the colleagues with whom he or she will work When an employee does seem to be a bit off it can be a temporary case of getting up on the wrong side of the bed Others including the boss hope that by tomorrow everything will go back to normal But thats not always the case and unfortunately there can be a cascading effect when an employees negative attitude begins to spread to others faster than a cruise ship virus If youre the boss the time then comes to take decisive action The first step is to attempt to isolate the catalyst that triggered the problem You must rule out an exogenous matter beyond your control If thats not the case its likely a byproduct from something that was germinated within the company The best antidote is to figuratively look in a mirror and quickly determine if you unknowingly triggered this troublesome behavior Did you ask the questionable performer to do something that seemed arbitrary or retaliatory work the weekend without an adequate explanation On reflection pun intended perhaps you asked someone to do something but you neglected to explain why Maybe you were even trying to spare the person worry and didnt tell them that everything was hitting the fan and you needed added research and analysis yesterday Maybe youre a repeat offender and habitually dont provide the rationale for a disruption from the norm This starts a domino effect especially if the employee lacks the confidence to challenge you After a few perceived bad deeds the associate either subconsciously or even worse deliberately retaliates manifesting a jaundiced coping mechanism that spreads and detrimentally affects others Suddenly everything from the simplest tasks to major undertakings take on jagged edges and are painful for all If youre blameless then its up to you to determine what is causing the problem Without your intervention in short order poor attitudes take root and eventually become the modus operandi of how work gets done in the company or likely doesnt Attitude issues are usually a two way street and frequently the perpetrator might not even be aware of the damage being done When it becomes clear the issue isnt going away its time to pick up the mirror and look at yourself Then turn it around so that the afflicted worker can reflect on the problem and how it can be rectified There are always causes and effects and its the bosss responsibility to quickly determine the former and control the latter Its a given in business that attitude can make the difference between success or failure winning or losing and an employees satisfaction or perpetual lack thereof