The SIMPLE Managerial Framework that changed my business

Summary

In this insightful video script, the speaker discusses a three-pronged framework for diagnosing and addressing issues when employees do not perform as expected. The framework includes ensuring clear communication of expectations, providing necessary training, and assessing motivation. The speaker emphasizes the importance of these elements in driving organizational growth and aligning individual actions with company goals, ultimately leading to success and efficiency in the workplace.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Communication is Key: Ensuring employees know what is expected of them is crucial, and it should be communicated clearly, frequently, and documented.
• 👨‍🏫 Training is Essential: Employees must be trained on how to perform tasks and understand the company's desired outcomes and processes.
• 🏆 Motivation Matters: Incentives and motivation play a significant role in driving employees to accomplish tasks and meet expectations.
• 🔍 Diagnosing Underperformance: When an employee is not meeting expectations, it's important to consider whether it's due to lack of communication, training, or motivation.
• 📈 The Triangle Framework: A simple yet effective model to understand why tasks are not being completed, focusing on communication, training, and motivation.
• 🤝 Protecting Egos: When addressing underperformance, it's important to focus on the process, not the person, to maintain a positive and constructive dialogue.
• 🔄 Consistent Reinforcement: Repeated communication and reinforcement of expectations help to ensure that tasks are understood and prioritized.
• 📝 Documentation: Having expectations documented in writing and integrated into regular reporting helps to emphasize their importance.
• 💡 Understanding 'Why': Employees are more likely to perform tasks when they understand the purpose and benefits of those tasks to the company and themselves.
• 💼 Realigning Incentives: Sometimes, the issue may be with the incentive structure, and realigning compensation to motivate the desired behavior can be necessary.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video script?

The main purpose of the video script is to provide a framework for diagnosing and addressing situations where employees are not performing as expected, focusing on communication of expectations, training, and motivation.

What is the triangle framework mentioned in the script?

The triangle framework is a three-pronged approach to understanding why employees may not be doing what is expected of them. It includes communication of expectations, training, and motivation.

Why is it important to communicate expectations clearly to employees?

Clear communication of expectations is crucial because if employees do not know what is expected of them, they cannot fulfill those expectations. It helps in setting the right direction and ensuring everyone is on the same page.

What does the script suggest doing if an employee is not performing a task they should be?

The script suggests using the triangle framework to diagnose the issue by checking if the expectation was communicated, if the employee was trained on how to perform the task, and if they are motivated to do it.

How can the communication of expectations be reinforced according to the script?

The script suggests repeating the communication, documenting it in writing, and ideally including it in daily or weekly checklists or reports to emphasize its importance.

What role does training play in the triangle framework?

Training is essential in the framework as it ensures that employees know how to perform the tasks expected of them. It involves showing them what the task looks like and how to do it properly.

How can motivation be assessed using the triangle framework?

Motivation can be assessed by determining if the employee wants to perform the task once they know what is expected and how to do it. If they are still not performing, it could indicate a lack of motivation or misalignment with incentives.

What does the script suggest when an employee claims to be too busy to perform a task?

The script suggests looking at the claim of being too busy as a potential sign of a motivation issue. It implies that with enough motivation, such as a financial incentive, the task would likely be completed.

Why is it important to understand the 'why' behind tasks for employees according to the script?

Understanding the 'why' behind tasks is important because it provides purpose and context for the work, making employees more likely to engage in the task and perform it to the best of their ability.

What is the significance of tying tasks back to personal benefits for employees as mentioned in the script?

Tying tasks back to personal benefits helps to increase an employee's motivation by showing them how performing the task can directly benefit them, such as improving their sales performance or job satisfaction.

How can the triangle framework be used to improve communication with underperforming employees?

The triangle framework can be used to have a structured conversation with underperforming employees by asking if they were aware of the expectation, if they know how to perform the task, and if they are motivated to do it, which helps in pinpointing the exact issue.

Outlines

00:00

🧐 Diagnosing Situations with Employees

The author discusses how to approach diagnosing issues with employees by attacking the process rather than the person. Emphasizing that influencing others is inevitable, especially in a company setting, the author introduces a 'triangle framework' to manage employees effectively. The framework includes clear communication, frequent and documented expectations, and ensuring that employees understand their roles and tasks. Additionally, the importance of training and motivation in managing employees is highlighted, referencing Andy Grove's ideas from 'High Output Management.'

05:01

💡 Communicating and Training for Success

This section focuses on the importance of clear communication and training. The author shares a personal anecdote about failing to communicate expectations to a sales manager, leading to misunderstandings. Key points include the need to communicate expectations clearly, repeat them, and document them. The author emphasizes that effective communication includes frequent and detailed interactions about tasks and metrics, which signals their importance to employees.

10:02

📈 Motivation and Incentives in Management

The final part of the video discusses motivation and incentives as crucial elements in getting employees to meet expectations. The author explains that unmotivated employees might not perform tasks even if they know how to do them. The section includes practical advice on how to handle underperforming employees by using the triangle framework to diagnose and address the root causes of performance issues. Emphasizing the importance of explaining the 'why' behind tasks, the author illustrates how understanding the purpose of their work can motivate employees. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to like, comment, and ask questions.

Keywords

💡Diagnose

In the context of the video, 'diagnose' refers to the process of identifying the root cause of an employee's performance issue. It involves understanding whether the problem lies in communication, training, or motivation, as explained through the triangle framework.

💡Triangle Framework

The 'Triangle Framework' is a model introduced in the video to diagnose why employees might not be performing as expected. It includes three components: communication of expectations, training, and motivation. Each point on the triangle represents a potential area that needs to be addressed to improve performance.

💡Communication

Communication in this context refers to the clear and consistent expression of expectations from management to employees. The video emphasizes the importance of not only stating what needs to be done but also ensuring that these expectations are documented and repeated.

💡Training

Training involves providing employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their tasks effectively. The video highlights the importance of showing employees how to do something, demonstrating the process, and ensuring they understand how to report on their activities.

💡Motivation

Motivation refers to the drive or incentive that compels employees to perform their tasks. The video discusses both internal motivation (personal drive) and external motivation (incentives like bonuses). It stresses the need to align employee tasks with what motivates them.

💡Expectations

Expectations are the standards or outcomes that managers want their employees to meet. The video explains the necessity of clearly communicating these expectations to ensure employees understand what is required of them.

💡Call Reviews

Call reviews are a specific task mentioned in the video where a sales manager listens to sales calls to provide feedback. This example is used to illustrate a situation where an expectation (performing call reviews) was not communicated effectively to an employee.

💡High Output Management

'High Output Management' is a book by Andy Grove, referenced in the video. It is cited for its concepts that there are primarily two reasons employees fail to meet expectations: lack of knowledge and lack of motivation. The video builds on this by adding a third reason: lack of clear communication.

💡Incentive Structure

Incentive structure refers to how employees are rewarded or compensated for their work. The video points out that aligning incentives with desired behaviors is crucial for motivating employees to perform tasks that are important to the company.

💡Personal Benefit

Personal benefit is the advantage or positive outcome that an employee gains from performing a task. The video advises managers to explain how tasks benefit both the organization and the employee personally, which can enhance motivation and adherence to tasks.

Highlights

The importance of diagnosing situations when employees are not meeting expectations.

A three-prong framework for understanding why employees may not be performing as desired.

The significance of clear communication in managerial roles and ensuring expectations are understood.

The necessity of repeating and documenting communication to ensure it's understood and remembered.

The role of training in ensuring employees know how to perform tasks effectively.

The concept of 'advanced is simple', emphasizing the importance of mastering the basics.

The impact of personal interaction and service quality on business growth.

The importance of maintaining high standards even as businesses scale up.

The role of motivation and incentives in driving employee performance.

The practical application of the framework to diagnose underperformance in a team member.

The strategy of embedding compliments within constructive feedback to protect employee ego.

The importance of understanding the 'why' behind tasks to increase employee engagement.

The role of personal benefits in motivating employees to perform tasks.

The impact of aligning employee tasks with company goals and personal incentives.

The value of understanding and communicating the purpose of tasks to employees.

The importance of providing a clear purpose for tasks to avoid pointless labor.

The strategy of appealing to both the larger organizational benefit and personal employee benefit.

The call to action for viewers to engage with the content by liking, commenting, and asking questions.

Transcripts

when you're trying to diagnose a

situation if you're asking an employee

and i'll give you like some of the

scripting around this at the end it's

like hey is it this like i've noticed

you're not doing this thing is it this

this or this that's causing it and then

you're not attacking the person you're

attacking the process and it makes it

much easier to talk about all right

if you deal with human beings you are

going to inevitably try to influence

them at some point to do what you would

like them to do and this happens within

the context of when you go to a

restaurant you ask waiter do you hope

that they put the thing in for you right

you want the food to come out the way

you want to come out we have desires and

demands that we make of the universe and

we want them to come back to us based on

our preferences now that being said when

we run a company right we deal with

employees and other people a lot in

order to organize them in a single

direction to get them to the outcome

that we desire all right and so i have

talked about this in the past but i will

give you alex's simplest framework which

is a triangle framework

[Music]

uh

uh it matches acquisition.com and if you

don't know why my name is alex from

rosie on acquisition.com probably with

companies that deserve a hundred million

dollars a year to make these videos

because i want you to make tons of money

and then hopefully partner with us in

the future to get from 3 million to 10

million to 20 million 30 million and

beyond all right awesome so let's rock

and roll so one of the easiest

frameworks and i've actually been

somebody who's struggled at the

managerial side more than kind of like

the strategy or the marketing things

like that like i i've struggled more on

the managerial side so for me frameworks

here in some ways actually provide me

for more value than other frameworks

because some of these other frameworks

came more naturally to me this one did

not and this one is something that i

have stolen ruthlessly from layla

because she's the one who really does

more the managing than i do um but i'm

sharing this for the entrepreneurs of

the world because i hope that you do not

struggle as i did all right so if you

want somebody to do something and they

do not do it what do you do all right so

there are three reasons that someone

will not do something and part of this

two of these i snagged from uh andy

grove who was the founder and storied

ceo of intel uh he wrote high output

management which is an excellent

excellent book it's very it's a little

uh it's a little hot a little advanced

but it's really good so recommend that

being said he said there's only two

reasons that an employee does not do

what you want them to do which is either

they do not know how or they are not

motivated right and so he said therefore

the job of the boss is to motivate and

to train he said if you're not training

you're not motivating you're not being a

good boss and i thought that was

wonderful that being said i came up on a

circumstance in my life where both of

those situations were not actually uh

the case there was a third scenario

which came up which is why i now have a

triangle for why people uh don't do

stuff all right number one is they don't

know that you want them to do it and so

i'll tell you a quick story so i i had a

sales manager that i really wanted uh to

succeed right and so uh we hired them

and they were new and i was super

excited and uh you know a few weeks in i

was like hey dude had a conversation

with some of the sales guys and uh you

haven't done any call reviews wtf bro

and uh the guy was like i was unaware

that you wanted me to do call reviews i

was like well i just i mean i just

figured that's that's what you would do

as a sales rep now mind you that is

probably what they should be doing a

sales director but guess what i didn't

do i didn't tell him i didn't tell him i

want him to do that and so two things

here with uh with communicating

expectations number one is you have to

communicate them number two is you have

to repeat the communication number three

you have to make sure it's documented

all right which means it's in writing

and ideally multiple places and if you

can make sure that as part of daily or

weekly checklists or things that they

report on the things that you ask them

to give you are going to be the things

that you subconsciously communicate are

important to you all right so if you say

hey i need you to report on these three

metrics guess what they're going to

think is important to you the three

metrics if you want something to be done

make sure they are reporting it to you

on a weekly or daily basis the faster

the communication cadence that you have

around the item or task or activity or

metric the more important they will deem

it so if you meet twice a day about a

specific metric they will think it's

very important right if you meet once a

quarter and you and it's one line item

on a slide chart they will probably

think it's less than board and if you

don't report on it at all and never talk

about it all they will definitely not

think it's important and very very very

high likelihood of not doing it all

right so peak of the triangle here is

communicate the expectation it sounds

silly but when you think about this and

this is why i'm sharing this framework

is that when i have somebody who's not

doing what i would like them to do or

not adhering to the preferences that i

have i think which one of these three is

it so it's very helpful it's also really

helpful when you're trying to diagnose a

situation if you're asking an employee

and i'll give you like some of the

scripting around this at the end it's

like hey is it this like i've noticed

you're not doing this thing is it this

this or this that's causing it and then

you're not attacking the person you're

attacking a process and it makes it much

easier to talk about all right so that's

number one number two is training which

is do you not know how to do this thing

do you not know how to do a call review

well let me tell you what a call review

looks like let's do two of them together

and we'll record the thing so that in

the future you can go back to it right

this is what we're looking for this is

the transitions this is how we take the

notes and this is how i want you to

communicate it to the sales team aha

right and so not only did we communicate

what we wanted we said hey this is how

you do it and this is how i would like

it to be done right and then finally

this is how i want you to report on it

to me so that i know it was done right

very very simple but you know what

people don't do it and being advanced is

simply never not doing the basics and i

do have a double negative there because

that makes it makes you think a little

harder but what it means is that bing

advance is always doing the basics like

that is what being advanced is is doing

the basics even while you have

tremendous volume right if you think

about this for a second when people

start small businesses they tend to grow

because they have lots of personal

interaction they provide lots of service

they service with a smile and what

happens they hire some teammates the the

service goes down there's less smiles

less skill and so what they did was they

stopped doing the basics at scale that's

all it is and that's why businesses

plateau and so it's thinking about what

are the things that made you successful

in the beginning and then how can i

duplicate those at scale it's always

doing the basics that's what it is all

right so number one communicating the

expectations doing so ideally frequently

and making sure it's measured and in

writing and if we do that we have hit

the peak of the pyramid number two is

that we have the training side is that

we showed them how to do it and how we

want them to do it and how they how we

want them to report on those things all

right that's number two number three

drum roll please is

incentive is motivation is do they want

to do the thing because think about it

if i said hey dude i need you to do x y

and z right and you know how to do x y

and z and you're not doing it the reason

might be that they are unmotivated now

i'll give you the caveat here is that if

someone says i've been too busy right

now you can look at that as a because

that's usually what will happen like

let's go real world for a second right

theory sounds great but let's what's

real world they'll say i was busy

because they're not no one's gonna be

like i was not motivated right so part

of that could be motivation right

because if i said hey if i give you ten

thousand dollars to get this done by

tomorrow will you do it they probably

would so i think with enough motivation

they can do it but that being said they

might also not have the training know

how to manage their schedule in a way uh

to prioritize these activities so you

might have to train them on other

components to make sure that it's easier

for them right now that being said when

you introduce that this three frameworks

i just love it from a conversational

perspective and how to assess and

problems so if you have a teammate so

this is for you right now real world if

you have a teammate or a director or

manager or an individual contributor

who's in the company and they are not

doing things to the extent that you want

them to to the quality you want them to

at the speed that you want them to or

they're just not doing it at all think

about using this three this three-prong

framework which is like hey johnny

you're underperforming right now and

it's really unlike you right and the

reason we say that is because it also

embeds a compliment which is like it's

not like you to suck right and so

automatically we're actually protecting

the ego of the person while still

attacking the behavior all right it's

really nuanced i learned that one from

layla just being real but it works

really really well she said hey it's not

like you to be late for stuff so what's

going on right it's not like you did not

get your end of week reports in like

what's going on right and this is where

when you say that what's going on it's

you look through the three lenses like

what's going on is it you didn't know

that i wanted you to do it did i not

communicate it well is it that you don't

know how to do it either in general or

given your workload or is it that you're

not motivated to do it right are there

other priorities that are more

motivating for you to do right and so

when you ask those questions it gives

them very clear boxes to direct their

their replies and then you can isolate

the issue and then you can solve it and

the thing is is if you have the three

boxes and you can isolate the issue and

then you take the actions to solve it

and if the activity still doesn't happen

then you say hey we talked about these

three boxes we solved the problem like i

can't say we haven't communicated so is

it just a motivation issue right and so

at that point then you can get into a

little bit more real conversations like

you know what i actually hate this job

and you're like you know like we hate

having you i'm kidding you don't you

wouldn't say that

you could say you'd say oh my gosh that

sucks let's see and if you like the

person they're a cultural fit and they

have other skills you may be like well

maybe there's another role in the

company that would fit you i would say

nine times out of ten that's what you

want to do it's usually not the right

call because usually if you were to hire

somebody for this other position that

you might have opened the company you

should probably just hire the person

that you would normally hire there

because if you look at that person and

this person and a track record of

failure does not make it a high

likelihood candidate all right so big

picture for everyone use the triangle of

figuring out why people do not do the

things that you want them to do which is

one did i communicate the expectation to

you am i doing it with adequate

importance to tell you how important

this is to me which is frequency and

detail of communication and making sure

that it's recorded down right the

training oops that's the side of the

triangle the training is that i actually

show them how to do it and then how to

manage the other things in general that

they are doing so they can get all this

stuff done yes check that box and then

finally are they motivated or

incentivized in order to get this done

and so i talked about their internal

motivation but there's also external

motivation which is like do i need to do

i need to realign their bonus structure

do i need to rely on how they're getting

compensated because if for example i ask

them to do this thing and they're

getting compensated for four other

things and they don't get compensated

for this extra thing well then guess

what they're probably not going to be

motivated to do the thing so we have to

make sure that they are properly

motivated you know internally as a human

being in terms of their aligned with the

company they see why this thing actually

makes a difference all right this is a

this is my last little little tidbit on

this is that people a lot of times just

want to know why just why why am i doing

this and if you if someone understands

why they're because otherwise activity

without purpose is what they do at

prison camps right it's pointless labor

right and so that's the thing it's like

you have to give it a point you have to

give it a purpose right which is like

when you update the crm with the notes

from your calls it helps finance it

helps judy in finance actually have good

conversations with these people which

helps us collect more money and helps us

get more people staying on track right

it helps uh cindy in customer success on

the onboarding give them a much more

personalized experience so we want to

sell something great right don't you

want to sell something great well if you

don't put notes in you're actually

selling something that's worse because

we're going to provide a worse

experience for them right and so they're

going to get on the onboarding call and

we're going to be able to have no

personal life we're not going to know

what their issues are we're not going to

know what their pains are we're not

going to know what they're struggling

with and then we can't even help them

more so you're going to try and sell

them this amazing solution and then

we're not you're not giving us the the

ammo to actually do the things that you

have just promised them oh right and the

other reason we do this is because for

us to not waste your time so now i just

did two benefits to the global benefit

which let's be real a lot of people

might care about if they're good people

but a lot of people do not so but for

you specifically when you leave the

notes it helps us screen out candidates

on the front end so that we can use that

data to make your call likelihood of

close higher so that a higher percentage

of your time is spent closing people and

talking to people who have the money who

have the problems that we actually fix

rather than wasting time with tire

kickers and people who are probably not

going to buy does that make sense right

so when you do this we help you sell

more and make more money fair enough

great and so you can appeal to the the

larger picture of like why do we need

this as an organization but then also if

you can ideally tie it back to a

personal benefit uh to why it benefits

them a lot of people just don't know and

so just explaining that process you hit

all three of the triangle boxes and you

are far more likely to get somebody who

does the things that you're asking to do

so that your company can grow the way

that you want it to so you can make all

the money in the world and then wonder

why you did it to begin with all right

motivation keeping awesome lots of love

and i'll catch you guys next video bye

mostly nation you guys are the best and

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