Will You Still Respect Me In The Morning?

Don't you think it's interesting that we have books that directly tie corporate performance to employee morale? What gives? Did you ever read the Monk Story? A simple tale about treating people with respect.

"A monastery has fallen on hard times. It was once part of a great order which, as a result of religious persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, lost all its branches. It was decimated to the extent that there were only five monks left in the mother house: the Abbot and four others, all of whom were over seventy. Clearly it was a dying order.

Deep in the woods surrounding the monastery was a little hut that the Rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for a hermitage. One day, it occurred to the Abbot to visit the hermitage to see if the Rabbi could offer any advice that might save the monastery. The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot and commiserated. "I know how it is," he said, "the spirit has gone out of people. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore." So the old Rabbi and the old Abbot wept together, and they read parts of the Torah and spoke quietly of deep things.

The time came when the Abbot had to leave. They embraced. "It has been wonderful being with you," said the Abbot, "but I have failed in my purpose for coming. Have you no piece of advice that might save the monastery?" "No; I am sorry," the Rabbi responded, "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you."

When the other monks heard the Rabbi’s words, they wondered what possible significance they might have. "The Messiah is one of us? One of us, here, at the monastery? Do you suppose he meant the Abbot? Of course - it must be the Abbot, who has been our leader for so long. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas, who is undoubtedly a holy man. Certainly he couldn't have meant Brother Elrod - he's so crotchety. But then Elrod is very wise. Surely, he could not have meant Brother Phillip - he's too passive. ,But then, magically, he's always there when you need him. Of course he didn't mean me - yet supposing he did? Oh Lord, not me! I couldn't mean that much to you, could I?"

As they contemplated in this manner, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect, on the off chance that one of them might be the Messiah. And on the off off chance that each monk himself might be the Messiah, they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect.

Because the forest in which it was situated was beautiful, people occasionally came to visit the monastery, to picnic or to wander along the old paths, most of which led to the dilapidated chapel. They sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that surrounded the five old monks, permeating the atmosphere. They began to come more frequently, bringing their friends, and their friends brought friends. Some of the younger men who came to visit began to engage in conversation with the monks. After a while, one asked if he might join. Then another, and another. Within a few years, the monastery became once again a thriving order, and - thanks to the Rabbi's gift - a vibrant, authentic community of light and love for the whole realm.

Author, M. Scott Peck

Simple idea! Treat people with respect. Now we have ample evidence that suggests that treating employees well pays dividends.

"Giving Employees What They Want: The Returns Are Huge" (reg req)

"David Sirota, co-author of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want (Wharton School Publishing), believes far too many managers stifle employee enthusiasm across the board by using bureaucratic or punitive techniques that should be reserved for a troublesome few."

Mr. Sirota studied 28 companies employing 920,000 people that lead to the following findings:

•  14 of the 28 companies with high morale had a 16% increase vs. just 3% for low morale companies, Share prices in the respective industries was 6% overall,
•  let employees take pride in their work - employees want a sense of achievement from work,
•  treat fairly and respectfully - fair pay and benefits,
•  camaraderie - to work as a team - giving people a say in how they do their jobs - they want to participate.
  

Sirota: "We are often asked how to motivate employees. Our response is, that's a silly question. The real question is: 'How do you keep management from destroying motivation?' When we look at the data we find that people coming to a new job are quite enthusiastic. Most of them are very happy to be there and looking forward to meeting their new coworkers. But as you study the data you find morale, or enthusiasm, declines precipitously after five or six months."

While this is a formal study, I read the "Peon Book: How to Manage Us" some time ago which had similar ideas but was more anecdotal. The Peon Book is a funny, informative look at management from the viewpoint of those being managed, the Peons. I'll be reading the "The Enthusiastic Employee" as well since we incorporate new ideas in the form of heuristics into Ideascape so that it is easier to use.

I think the days of hood-winking new hires and current employees is over. There is just too much information available on the net for b.s. to fly. I'm loving this transparency!