It sticks out like a sore thumb
Lazy, crazy, and stupid exists in all banks. That’s an undeniable fact. Everyone knows it, but few are willing to point it out, because in reality, many of these types of employees are managers, senior executives, and some have even found their way onto the board of directors. Unfortunately for community banks, it’s not that easy to hide them when you have just a few hundred employees or less. By the time a person becomes employed in the banking world, he is pretty much who he is at the core level. However, many managers have a fix-um mentality, believing they can actually fix people and turn them into something they’re not. An employee can be trained and taught skills to do the job and can be coached to develop his talents into strengths. Think of this like a cake, you can add frosting and decorations and transform a simple cake into a delicious work of art, but you can’t change what’s already been baked in. Same goes for that employee, you can’t take out what is already in. The best training and coaching in the world might teach a lazy, crazy, and stupid old dog a few new tricks, but the dog is still going to be lazy, crazy, and stupid. Since you can’t fix it you need to learn how to spot it and then, as quickly as possible, get rid of it.
Lazy
Defined as averse or disinclined to work. If we’re honest, we all have moments when we need a break from the banking world to recharge. That’s what vacations, weekends and evenings away from work are for. However, what we’re referring to in this case is someone who is in a perpetual state of vacation. As sad as it sounds, there are employees in many community banks that don’t want to work. They want to do as little as possible to get by, while not being noticed, and collect a paycheck at the end of the week. This person will flourish in a culture where there is no accountability, no expectations, and no method of keeping score. As a manager, if you are not creating a culture of accountability then you may be the lazy one. If implementation and innovation is not taking place and excuses rule the day, then laziness exists and remarkable performance has lost its place in your bank. When evaluating an employee’s performance, you need to know if it’s a talent issue, a management issue, or a training issue. Once you know that information you can begin to see if it may just be a Lazy issue.
Crazy
Defined as mentally deranged, senseless, impractical, totally unsound. We once came across an employee that said all the crazy customers came to her teller window. Our response… “Maybe you just bring out the crazy in people”. Like attracts like. Crazy people aren’t interested in moving your bank forward. They are very controlling and expect everything to revolve around their constantly moving standards of insanity. These people continually “move the bar” to meet their lack of performance and they get involved in areas where they don’t belong. They’ll attempt to redefine your incentive plan, your tracking methods, and your culture, until it fits into their crazy little world. Want to spot crazy, then listen for excuses as to why it can’t be done, why the expectation is unreasonable, why the goal is too high, why the circumstances won’t allow it and why it’s not my fault. If you let crazy guy stick around long enough, you’ll soon be in charge of a loony bin because all his friends are going to start showing up. If crazy guy is your boss or even worse, he’s sitting on the board of your bank, your best option may be to leave as quickly as possible, wait it out (it could take an entire career), apply for a transfer, or find another bank.
Stupid
Defined as lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind. Forrest Gump, said it well… “stupid is as stupid does”. You know it when you see it. We’ve all done stupid things but sometimes people do things that make you stop in amazement at their level of stupidity. It makes one stop and ask, “did she just do that”? Example… We had a new employee conduct training at a bank in the Bible Belt of South Carolina. We were informed that during the training she used several descriptive curse words. Our employee then confirmed this with us. Stupid doesn’t work in our company and she didn’t make it to the end of the day. Stupid is stealing from your bank. In fact, many employees steal by taking money for a lack of work or cheating on an incentive plan. Stupid is the person that refuses to do the job in the way his boss asks him to. Stupid is an employee who can’t seem to follow basic non-negotiables like coming to work with a good attitude or not participating in gossip. Stupid is playing games on Facebook or shopping on Ebay while at work. Sometimes people just need to be fired for stupidity.
You can’t fix Lazy, Crazy and Stupid but you can certainly get rid of it
Now that you know what to look for and understand that you can’t change who these people are, the next step must be taken. Begin the separation process. If you still think you’re the one person on earth that can fix people or if you really don’t think lazy, crazy and stupid exists within the doors of your community bank, then you might be that person. In fact, you could be all three wrapped up into one. Assuming you’re not that person, here’s the good news… When these employees are out of your bank, many of them will join your competitors. Let those banks waste hours, days, and years attempting to fix the unfixable while your bank moves forward with the remarkable.
