We’ve all heard the stat and there is no doubt it is a fact… 10% do 90%. Your top 10% of employees do 90% of the work or production. Your top 10% of customers represent 90% of the business and are your advocates.
As a leader and manager, it’s critically important to understand that you do not treat everyone the same. Your top 10% are special. They are the key to your success. They should be treated differently than everyone else and they are watching your actions.
With this basic knowledge in mind, step up for your top 10%…
- Reward and recognize top performers – Recognize them publicly and in a way that they want to be recognized. This will paint a picture for the other 90%. They can see clearly what matters most.
- Place people, don’t fix them – Match talents to task. Don’t dump what no one else wants to do or can’t do onto your best people. Replace miscast employees with those who can perform. Spending excessive amounts of time trying to fix your worst employees and customers will drive your best people away. We know it, they know it and deep down, you also know it… You can’t fix Lazy, Crazy and Stupid.
- Lead by example – Be at work before your team gets to work. Keep a calendar that your team can see. Treat your top 10% (customers and employees) like gold.
As easy as these three things are, most managers and leaders fall into of the trap of spending 90% of their time with the bottom 10% of customers and the bottom 10% of employees. It’s critically important to understand that your top 10% are watching you very closely. Just because they (customers) advocate for you now or just because they (employees) are your top performers now doesn’t mean they always will be. As a manager and leader, never forget that the top 10% will see hypocrisy, they will see a lack of effort and commitment, they will see unproductive behavior just as easily as they will see greatness. This post is just a simple reminder to look in the mirror every day, self evaluate and make sure you are performing at the highest level, spending the majority of your time focused on the top 10%. If you don’t, you’ll run the real risk of the 10% leaving you or just staying with you but no longer giving you that 90%.
