Your Team Members Do Not Have To Be Perfect!
By Mike Marino, Jr.
I would like to say that, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. I believe everyone wants to constantly improve. I believe each one of us is created as perfection; however, the results we create are excellent, so there is lots of room for improvement in what we do.
The associates I hired in my bicycle and lawn mower shop like myself, were never perfect; however, they were excellent. Working with them as they improved taught me new ways to show forgiveness, understanding, and patience.
My first employee was in a wheelchair from an auto accident that happened when he was sixteen. I hired him to answer the telephone and talk to customers who came into the store. My second employee had one arm.
Word spread that I hired people with physical challenges. The placement officer at a local community college with a rehabilitation school called on my business about hiring people with physical and mental limitations.
One day the placement officer asked me to interview a young man who was having trouble finding a job. He told me that David was a little shy, did not talk much and was afraid to go on interviews. He requested that I grant David an interview just for practice. He plainly told David that I had no positions open at the time and the interview was just for practice.
When David came in for the interview, he hardly said a word. I told him what we do at the bicycle Shop and showed him around. When the interview was over I told him I would keep his application on file. Then I took a few minutes to coach David on how to apply for a job. I told David to keep showing up (figuratively) because the number one thing an employer wants in an associate is dependability.
David was very quiet (he was evaluated as a slow learner in school). Every ten days or so, for weeks after the interview, David walked into the bicycle shop and stood by the front door. He never said a word, just stood by the door. I would tell him kindly, "I really do not have any positions open at this time." I wished he would go away but he kept showing up!
The shop was a very labor-intensive place to work, with students unloading trucks, assembling bicycles and lawn mowers, making repairs and waiting on customers. I usually had seventeen employees at one time, mostly high school and college students.
David continued to keep coming by about every ten days. He never said a word.
One day, shortly before Christmas, a large tractor-trailer backed up to the shop, packed with 250 new, unassembled bicycles. It had to be unloaded right away or the driver would leave, and it might be a long time before I could get him back for the delivery.
It was raining. Some of my student workers (without physical limitations) chose not to brave the weather to get into work, so I was short handed. The place was crowded with shoppers. Frustrated customers were waiting to be served. A line formed at the counter.
It seemed everything was going wrong and on top of it, David came in the front door and just stood there.
Hmm... What would you do in this situation? Tell David to leave or get in here and help?
Let's find the answer and much more:
http://motivateus.com/stories/your-team.htm
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