Sheri Watts Tells Her Own Story of one of her business endeavors, “You, Inc.”
The “Birth” of YOU, Inc.
While employed over 30 years at a major telecommunications corporation, one of my primary job responsibilities was to coach and develop the employees, both managementand non-management. One day, I was asked by a supervisor to speak to one of her direct reports, a young woman whose job was in jeopardy due to unsatisfactory performance results. Ironically, this employee had once been one of the top performers; however, in recent months, she had begun to exhibit behaviors that suggested a lack of interest in maintaining acceptable performance levels.
After being formally introduced to the young woman at her cubicle, we both entered a
nearby conference room for further interaction. After listening to all her
“reasons” for no longer wanting to meet performance requirements, I asked
her about several photos of a young boy I had seen earlier while at her cubicle.
She smiled and confirmed that it was her only child that she was raising without
involvement of the father. I then asked her if she really loved her son and wanted
him to have the very best that life had to offer for the rest of his life. With a
look of shock, surprise and in a slight tone of resentment, she stated, “Of course I
do…why would you ask me something like that?” “Then if you want the best for your
son, why aren’t YOU doing YOUR best? Who are you REALLY hurting….the company
that’s about to fire you or your son that will also be affected when his mother is
out of a job?” With tears in her eyes, she didn’t have to respond.
After this encounter with this young woman, along with the positive impact I later
learned that our discussion had on the significant improvement of her results, I
realized the power of famous motivational speaker and author, Zig Ziglar’s words,
“You can get anything in life that you want, if you just help enough other people
get what they want”. I further realized that companies that want “loyal and
delighted” customers need to “walk-the-talk” by ensuring that their customers aren’t
interacting with disgruntled employees. And so…”YOU, Inc.” was born!
What Does “YOU, Inc.” DO?
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