Diary of a start-up: The Ten Commandments, 1-3

AN EMPOWERED, motivated employee is going to do more for your business than just someone putting in their nine-to-five, turning the crank.

But with the massively varied, often relatively inexperienced staff we frequently have to work with in the wilds of Costa Rica, on the rock of Gibraltar or in the middle of the Med in Malta, I’ve found that ’empowerment’ may be used in HR circles, but less often makes it out to workstations and cubicles.

Recently, I was faced with five brands to run, two dozen relatively inexperienced, homegrown staff, a $40m budget, and hungry, creative competitors aiming for my customer base.

Of course, there was never any time for seminars – from which one recalls maybe 20%, and actions 10% – so I needed a training shortcut that anyone in the department could turn to for immediate guidance.

I needed a ‘ten commandments’ of sorts: a simple list of clear instructions that would both guide and support the newly-empowered; even if things should go astray occasionally. The team needed to respond creatively to the challenges we faced, and there was always enough going on that we had to let them make their own calls – even if their previous experience was as a head chef or captain of a fishing boat.

Hence, with input from various managers and mentors, I’ve formed the following – a list of the things I found myself saying over and over to various staff.

Emphasis here is on ‘creative;’ if you just need people to turn cranks as instructed, stop reading now.

But if you’d like to see your staff have more initiative and deliver more insight, you need a way to set them free from whatever company culture they may be labouring under. Here are the first three of my ten:

1) The only rule is there are no rules. Tough way to start a list of rules by eliminating them, but if you want some new-think, new insight from the team, set them loose. I always charged my departments with being the “idea factories” of the company; if they felt constrained by rules laid down by previous managers, we had to get those shackles off their thinking.

This did not mean they could work from 1pm to 4pm and drink beer at their desks; rather I wanted them to consider every angle to overcoming an obstacle regardless of the ‘way we’ve always done it.’ If an idea seemed ‘against the rules,’ we’d discuss it rather than dismiss it

2) If it’s not written down, it was never said. A lot of great ideas happen in the chance meeting in the lunchroom or over a shared cigarette, and as many dissipate as quickly as the fag ash on the pavement. A good idea, or an intelligent request or order, needs to be followed up by an email reiterating the idea or request.

This allows everyone to consider it further and to create a tracking mechanism of sorts so the idea is eventually actioned. Apply a rule like this from the CEO down, and dropped balls – frequent in this sector’s fast moving, seasonally driven firms – will be reduced and accountability made crystal clear.

3) We don’t take no for an answer. This is an important mantra both internally and externally. The marketing department wants something from IT and IT says it’s can’t be done. Or we want to reach a certain market segment and the key media for it says ‘no’ to online gambling ads. There’s always a way!

Now, you do have to consider the ROI on the effort but perhaps, for example, outsourcing the microsite development or using a Trojan horse with the uncooperative media partner would accomplish nearly the same goal. But “we can’t do it,” is never an acceptable answer. If we think it makes sense, we find a way to get it done.

Run a small to medium-sized egaming business? EGRmagazine.com welcomes pitches for further Diary of a Start-Up blog posts – email online editor Jon Parker for details.

Follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/egamingreview.