Fire up or Be fired

"If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm." - Vince Lombardi

This applies to both workers and managers.

If you are a worker, develop enthusiasm which you put in generous amounts into everything you do. Enthusiasm is infectious. If you are enthused and have an upbeat attitude, you help everyone around you. If you are able to see silver lining even when dark clouds are gathering, you will be well liked and followed by others. As a caution, do not try to sound too pollyanna. Do acknowledge the reality. But, stay positive even when things do not seem all that rosy.

"Fake it till you make it." "If you do not feel good, look good." are two good quotations to remember when we are not able to generate enthusiasm. It is hard to feel enthusiastic all the time. At those times, try to fake it. Soon you will really feel the enthusiasm.

For bosses, if you keep firing your people, soon you will be fired too. Instead of firing, fire your people up with enthusiasm. Very few bosses know how to get the best out of everyone including their bottom performers. It is not that you will be able to transform your bottom performers to super performers. But, you can get the most out of even such people if you fire them up. Easiest way to fire people up is to explain what you expect out of them clearly and then frequently following up. Your super performers may not need much explanation. If you give them broad outlines, they will read in between lines and deliver more than you expect. Average performers will need more explanation and if you spend time to do that, they also deliver more than they normally do. Your bottom performers may need step by step instructions. Don't blame them. Everyone performs in line with their capabilities. You have to play with the cards that have been dealt to you. So, if that's what is required, give them step by step instructions. They will also deliver. Only time you should consider firing people is when you start seeing that people's results differ too much from expectations. There also you have to examine yourself for effectiveness of your own communications.

Cheers!

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