So many people preach “passion” in business today. Hire passionate people. Promote passionate people. Be passionate people! I disagree. Passion is an emotion, and we should all know by now that emotions change — and change frequently. Circumstances internally and externally effect our emotions positively as well as negatively.
So what happens when you hire a person to manage your accounts and six months into the position your largest three clients leave the company? Your new sales manager is now faced with a mighty big challenge in the midst of high pressure. His emotion of excitement might not be the same. You can expect he might come in and say that he is no longer “passionate” about what he is doing.
Passion fades…
If we are not hiring passion, what should we hire? Hire commitment! What we want are people who are committed. Commitment supersedes passion, commitment doesn’t change with emotions. Commitment is a decision, not an emotion. People who are committed can rise above their emotions and navigate difficult situations, because they are driven to achieve an end goal.
What do committed people look like? I recently had a young intern who played four years of college football and never got into a single game until his final one. His commitment to the team superseded his passion for playing football. I would rather hire him than the star quarterback.
When we moved our manufacturing facility from San Louis to Tecate, Mexico I had to make a decision about who would be the plant production manager. At our first facility we had several engineers on staff. We had a woman with about 15 years of experience who was an effective manager. We also had two engineers, one who aspired to be the plant manager and the other who aspired to do a great job. His name was Noe, and was in his late twenties.
I had noticed during our first year of working together that he had a propensity to learn and do better. When moving the plant to Mexico initially Noe was involved in problem solving all the production issues and assisting in setting up the production lines.
One day Noe and I went out to Taco Chello to get some lunch. We drove the back streets of San Luis in his early 90’s Impala. Taco Chello was a favorite lunch spot for much of our management team. It was on the corner of a quiet street, a humble building probably only seating about 20 people. The walls were oak, with simple décor. There was a grill and cash register at one end, benches resembling church pews were stuffed into the floor space. Nobody spoke English which left me dependant on Noe for ordering. We always got the same things, five tacos each, served on a wooden plate with a handle, and of course a coke to wash it down.
As we drove toward Taco Chello I asked Noe how he had learned to speak English. He told me he taught himself by watching cartoons in English when he was a child. This spoke volumes about his internal commitment to accomplishing goals and from that I knew he would make a great plant manager.
His commitment surfaced as we faced challenges with personnel, systems and processes. The senior engineer and the plant manager were more concerned with the politics and jockeying for position. Noe had his head down and was committed to getting the company to reach the outlined goals.
When the plant went on strike it was Noe’s house that I visited on Sunday, in a plea to discuss with him what was in the best interest of the company, and therefore its people. He understood this concept and regardless of great pressure was willing to look at the situation objectively. He was committed to resolving the situation.
When we moved the plant to Tecate I used Noe to help hire and train the staff. He orchestrated the leadership and transfer of many workers who came with us. Initially Noe did not carry the title but he was the plant manager. I knew I could call him at 2 a.m. and we could discuss an issue because he slept with his phone.
His commitment overrode many emotions and situations. I chose the man with the least experience, but the highest commitment. I believe it paid off. His experience level increased rapidly because his commitment and pliability kept him in a position to learn.
All businesses face difficult challenges, the worst of which come when an organization is in negative cash flow. Difficult periods last as long as it takes the management to find the problem and implement solutions that bring positive change. However, it must be executed in a highly emotional environment where extreme pressure may be present.
People that can operate within those difficult environments are required to get through difficult challenges. People equipped to work well under stress dramatically shorten the time an organization spends in difficult environments. If you surround yourself with people who are passionate, they will run for cover when the heat comes, if you find people who are committed, the heat isn’t so bad.