The desperation hustle at the office may seem like a giant productivity boost for companies during tough times.
Bosses can extract the work of two or three people out of a single body. But are employees really working harder? Or are they simply kissing up? And if they are working harder, how do managers tap into these paranoid spirits without turning workplaces into sweatshops?
"Everybody is weirding out all over the place," says Stanford University management professor Robert I. Sutton. "I am surrounded by people who are just hysterical." The danger, says Sutton, is that fear in the workplace can be contagious. "Bosses need to be patient, understanding and forgiving. These insecurities aren't irrational."
For some leaders, the paranoia is a kind of blessing. "The world's best innovation comes from the greatest desperation," says Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, a Trenton, NJ company that makes organic fertilizer and other planet-friendly products. He put the tough times challenge out to his charges: Do more with less. Amp up sales without spending any money.
Szaky says he has already seen a revenue jump. "Money is easy," he says. "It's good to starve companies sometimes. That's where innovation comes from."
In these recessionary times, a business doesn't stand much of a chance of survival unless it provides a demonstrably superior value proposition than the market's current offerings. If your company has actually come up with a product or service that will significantly improve people's lives, right now is the right time to build market share. Today, buyers happen to be more available than at any time in your memory. Today's economic environment has created a new understanding of the importance of true teamwork and unrelenting productivity. Energized employees who know how to work together can keep costs as low as possible and innovation sky-high.
Source: BUSINESSWEEK, April 13, 2009