Chad Gono

Employers: “Employees aren’t loyal anymore.”

These same employers: “Sorry, you don’t have anymore PTO, figure it out.”

You want your employees to be loyal?

How about showing them some damn compassion.

We have no clue what our people are going through at home.

Life is not always up and to the right.

There are peaks. There are valleys.

Loved ones get a bad diagnosis. Kids get sick. Cars break down. Anxiety attacks happen.

It’s called being human.

And when we are down in that valley, drowning, feeling like we can’t get up for air.

It’s nice to have a boss that understands.

Instead of berating us for not getting that damn report in on time.

Here’s the thing.

Great bosses understand that to get our best they must be kind through our worst.

They give give their people the benefit of the doubt…because they have been there before.

Empathy.

“I feel what you’re going through. I get it. Go home. Take the time that you need. And when you get back, we’ll be so excited to see you.”

“It’s okay, it happens to everyone.”

Bosses, deploy this attitude.

And you get your damn loyalty.

😘

Years back we had this vendor we were spending about $2mil a year with. Everything was fantastic until their top 2 performers wanted a raise. 😬

This vendor was dynamite. 🧨

Customer service was always tip top. Prompt. Friendly. Personal. As good as it gets.

Operationally sound. Supply was always on time. Always accurate. Quality was incredible.

The two employees responsible…

Well, eventually they needed a raise (don’t we all)

So they asked for one.

$40,000 between the two of them.

Leadership said no.

So, as great employees do when they’re not paid their worth….

They left.

And over time, our customer service started to deteriotate.

Less friendly. Less prompt. Less focused.

Leads times dragged. Quality issues arose.

And eventually our patience wore thin.

The following year we spent $400k with them.

From $2,000,000 to $400,000.

A $1,600,000 hit.

All because leadership refused to give out $40,000 in raises.

The lesson here:

Pay people what they are worth.

Or it’ll cost you.

Big time.

In this case, exactly $1.6 million dollars. 😘

A healthy company cultures drives performance more than anything. Here are 3 things we did & 3 things we do to prioritize our people 🔽🔽🔽

5 years ago we decided that the best way to run a business, for the people and the profits, was to prioritize the people.

Since then we have added $30,000,000 to the top line. Our net income in May alone was 7x more than it was in the entire year of 2014.

3 things we did:

✅We doubled pay per person
✅We doubled vacation days
✅We tripled paid holidays off

Your people need to make good money. If you want to attract the best talent, you need to pay them.

After you pay them, you need to give them time away from work. Because they effing grind and just like elite athletes, they need time to recover.

We’ve learned that more time off doesn’t hurt the numbers, it actually increases them. Your people come back energized and motivated to blow through walls.

So pay them damn well, and give them time off.

Don’t do this and you have no chance.

3 things we do:

1️⃣We prioritize teamwork

No one is better. We all just play different positions.

All of our branches are decentralized, with the branch manager as the CEO. They have their own leadership team. They create their own goals. They determine their strategy. Most of them profit share.

We share all the numbers. We share all the metrics. There’s nothing that I know that our people don’t. Everything is out in the open.

2️⃣No ego bosses

Nothing kills employee happiness like a bad boss.

And there’s nothing worse than a big ego boss.

We don’t hire people with big egos. If we accidentally do, we work on them or we get them out fast.

If you want your employees to be happy, create a culture where big egos are disgusted. 🤮🤮🤮

3️⃣Quarterly Conversations

All our employees have a 2 hour sit down every quarter with their boss.

Off site.

It’s not a damn performance review. There’s no pre made form.

It’s just a hang out session to talk about:
- what’s working
- what’s not working

How are you? How’s the family? Where’s your head at these days?

These hang outs are probably the most important thing we do.

Our employees go through crap. We all do.

We must prioritize time to sit with them and see where there head is at and where they are mentally.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It’s so obvious when you walk into an organization where the employees actually want to be there. It’s inspiring! And it makes you want to spend even more money and support the biz!

We all know a business like that.

Well, it doesn’t just happen randomly.

It happens because the leaders have a genuine love for their people.

They’ve figured out that the soft stuff matters.

Compassion. Humility. Teamwork.

This stuff matters.

Master it, and not only will work not suck, but work will be a place your employees actually want to be!

In my last job I had a great boss. He encouraged me to suggest ideas. He loved it when I raised concerns or asked questions. He didn’t care if I made a mistake.

And because of that I was passionate and outspoken.

We all were.

The business flourished.

Then one day my boss left the company.

The new boss was different.

He didn’t care about my opinions.

He knew all the answers.

When I made a mistake he made me feel like an idiot.

“This is the way we do it” was the answer when I raised concerns.

So, over time…..

I stopped being outspoken.

My passion dwindled.

And eventually I stopped caring.

I left the company soon after that.

Many of us did.

And that company no longer exists today.

The lesson here is this:

Being concerned, asking questions, and suggesting ideas ARE GREAT THINGS!!!!!!

They are a sign of a very healthy culture.

Our people speaking up IS POWERFUL.

So cherish it, encourage it, and listen when they do.

Because when they stop speaking up, it’s a sign that we’ve got some VERY big problems.

😘

Googles five-year study on highly productive teams, Project Aristotle, found that psychological safety was “far and away” the most important of the five dynamics that set successful teams apart

Psychological safety…what is it?

✅Your people are able to give tough feedback and have difficult conversations without having to tiptoe around the truth.

✅Your people believe they can make mistakes without fear others will penalize or think less of them for it.

✅Your people believe others won’t resent or humiliate them when they ask for help or information.

✅Your people trust and respect each other….they have confidence the group won’t embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up.

Overall it feels safe.

Safe they won’t get blown up for asking a question or admitting a mistake.

Safe they won’t be laughed at for throwing out a crazy idea.

This is not soft stuff. This is not easy. Nor is it simplistic.

Having the vulnerability to open up and be real instead of “managing” your own image in front of the people who also evaluate your performance…

IS HARD.

But once we are all being real, raw, and vulnerable with one another - that’s when the magic happens….

So leaders, let’s get real.

So we can all just focus on exceptional work.

Employees don’t ask for a raise bc they want a new Mercedes.

Typically something is going on in their life.

A parent needs full time care.
They have two children now.

Or the car that was paid off went thud and now they have a car payment.

Or maybe that employee is attempting to reach a new personal goal.

Maybe they want to move into their very first house. Or maybe their child is going to college for the very first time.

The point is this:

When an good employee comes to you for a raise….

Pay them!

Here’s the thing about running a successful business….

You absolutely CANNOT lose great people.

Lose great people and you’re dead.

Your people are entire reason for the companies success.

I hear about managers negotiating pay raises all the time.

An employee asks for a $6k raise and their boss is negotiating it to $3,500.

🤦🏻‍♂️

Like dude you’re really trying to save $2,500?

That’s like $208 a month.

You’re thinking WAY to small, and even if that employee agrees, you’re just demotivating them.

The point is this.

Employees don’t ask for raises out of greed. It’s because they need it. It’s because circumstances in their life have changed.

Every single time this has happened in my career I’ve said yes.

An automatic yes.

What do you want? Whatever it is, the answer is yes.

It has ALWAYS worked out.

The company just continued to grow because that person brought incredible value.

So bosses, my advice to you today is this:

Pay them!!

It WORKS, for everyone!! 😘

2nd month at Regal. It’s March 2013 and I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I was so confused. Life. Work. All of it.

I graduated A&M in 2006, and got hired by my two best friends from high school.

Their uncle had started this big retail chain called “Entertainmart”. 40,000 sq ft. glorified pawn shops. All pre-owned. Used DVDs, CDs, and video games.

Our staff was mostly high school kids or kids that just graduated high school. Trying to figure it all out. We all were. Lol.

Managing these stores. I was so confused, and I was absolutely the worst leader.

I lead by fear. Intimidating staff. Throwing sh*t. Firing kids on the spot. Hardcore. Narcissist. I was Disgusting. 🤮 🤮

In Jan 2013 it was time to move back home. I was a Dallas kid and I was homesick.

I called my parents, begged for a job and they said yes of course, I was their only son.

And boom. There I am. Pic below. Confused. Newly married. Worst leader ever.

Honestly, I was a pretty awful human being. All I did was take from the world. I def wasn’t filling it with any love. I was just kinda a piece of sh*t.

A year later I was writing $100k a month in sales and fell head first into luck when I met my first and biggest mentor Mark Connelly.

He challenged me. I’ll never forget the words.

“Chad, you have got to stop thinking in terms of addition, start thinking multiplication.”

I was worried about pulling OUT of the biz to stark working ON the biz.

I took his advice. Did it. And it was the biggest decision of my life, and still to this day the best decision I ever made.

I started working on the people.

Getting the wrong people off the bus and getting the right people on the bus.

All I did was recruit for the next 4 years.

Looking for people with an awesome attitude. People that were enthusiastic about life. People that saw the glass half full. People filled with ❤️

I hired THOSE people and got rid of all the bad attitudes.

And now our company and my life will never be the same.

Here’s the lesson:

You are what you eat.

The second I got these people in my life, I started to change. I started to become a better version of me. Slowly. Very slowly. But surely.

These incredible people challenged me. They were honest, bold, and good hearted. They sent me so much hard love.

In a time where I was completely off the rails they got me back on track - to being the person I always wanted to be.

I owe them my life. Because without their hard love I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

So to anyone out there building a team.

Fill it with these kinds of people. Big hearted, I want to make the world a better place type people. The humble, vulnerable type. The open minded type. The clear eyes, full hearts type.

Work most def doesn’t have to suck. It can be a place where you become your true self. Your best self.

But you can’t do it alone. You need friends to help you along the way. 😘