Revenue Journal®

I have a psychic can opener in my briefcase. I use it every day to figure out what's motivating people - customers, partners, managers, business owners, and employees. I figure out what they need and want; what drives them; what drives them crazy; what they love to do and what they avoid doing whenever they can; what freaks them out and what makes them tick. It's the "people" part of the work I do on systems, processes, and people to increase revenue for my clients.

Every now and then, I run across someone who has an emotional problem that is seriously affecting their work performance. My first step is to make absolutely sure that the emotional problem really exists - because it may not. Someone else may be misjudging the situation, slandering the person, or provoking the person.

If the individual does have a legitimate problem, the second step is to sit the person down and kindly explain how their behavior is counterproductive, then see what happens. If the person takes it well, and is actually willing to work on the problem, progress can be made. If the person goes into denial or gets upset, I'll still do what I can, but the writing will be on the wall. Sooner or later the person and the company will part.

Usually the emotional problems occur because someone is unhappy. They really don't want to be there, but they feel trapped - so they shift into passive/aggressive mode. They pretend everything is fine, when in fact they are miserable. They hate coming to work every day, they hate themselves for not doing anything to change it, and they project that hate onto their managers. They accuse their managers of forcing them to do things they don't want to do or can't do well.

I consider insanity to be a denial of reality. The schizophrenic who walks down the street yelling at imaginary enemies is not operating in the real world. He has created his own universe. In that universe, he is the victim being preyed upon by all sorts of jerks. Ironically, in reality, he is exactly the person he imagines his enemies to be. He makes life miserable for others and is incapable of helping others. He obsesses about his own safety and well-being, to the point where he has blocked out everything else. Even when someone tries to help him, he lashes out. He is suspicious of everyone.

The screaming schizophrenic typifies the insane end of the sanity spectrum. Who is at the other end - the sane end? Someone who sees people and situations for what they really are. This is the first requirement of sanity. But there is something more, an intangible spirit of hope and good will, that is common to people who are well-adjusted. Instead of a "me against the world" perspective, this person has a "me in the world, seeing it for what it is, and doing whatever I can to contribute."

Note that this person doesn't consider himself a "savior" - as in, "the only person smart enough to know what the world needs; me saving the world." People who think this way are in the same camp as the schizophrenics. Both the perpetual victim and the perpetual savior are operating in a universe of their own making, and they are the center of that universe. Of course, this is not reality. No one person is the center of the universe.

While one person can make a difference - we have evidence of this all around us - a savior mentality causes people to make bad decisions and to ultimately hurt others. And while all of us are victims of some sort at some point in our lives, none of us needs to be a perpetual victim. Only the greatly disturbed person sees himself as a perpetual victim.

Everyone lives somewhere on the spectrum between maladjusted and well-adjusted, between insane and sane.

In my experience, the most damaging situations occur in business when someone on the insane end of the spectrum manages to climb the ranks into management. I have come to think of this person as a psycho manager. Yes, it's a negative term, and justifiably so. These folks do incredible damage to everyone in the organization and everyone associated with the organization.

Before we talk about the psycho manager, I need to point out that there are very few truly crazy business owners. Yes, many business owners are "characters," and anyone who starts and succeeds as a business owner is going to be a very strong individual who has strong opinions about all sorts of things. But, for the most part, people who start businesses are realistic. They must be. No one wants to do business with a crazy, unrealistic person, and no one wants to work for a crazy, unrealistic person. And crazy unrealistic people can't manage their resources, so they quickly run out of operating funds. If a business has survived for a while, the owner can't be too far off his rocker. It's only in the movies that business owners are completely insane.

"But - I've known crazy CEOs!" you might be thinking. Yes, but my question back to you would be, "How did they get there?" Did they actually start the company, or did they get hired or promoted into that position?

There's something about the corporate environment that allows a psycho manager to rise to the top.

Proper corporate behavior has its own language, its own social mores. People use carefully crafted language to communicate. Professional managers don't say, "You're fired because you lied and cheated! Get the hell out!" They say, "It has come to our attention that you engaged in deceptive behavior, on numerous occasions, many of which are documented in this dismissal letter. You are now officially terminated from your position."

This "soft," legally acceptable language provides wiggle room for the slick psycho manager. He can say all the right things at the right time, to his bosses, and even to his subordinates. Everyone, above and below him, will feel that he is "listening" and that he "cares," when in fact he may be doing things that are completely contrary to the beliefs he has persuaded them to have about him.

Some managers are so good at presenting themselves favorably to their superiors that their superiors cannot believe anything is wrong - even though employees who work for that manager are doing everything they dare to inform those superiors that there is a problem. These managers, who "kiss up an piss down" (sorry - still can't think of a straight-laced replacement for that phrase!), are "outed" more quickly than the type I'll describe in a minute. Employees get so frustrated, and have so many verifiable examples of mistreatment, that the message finally gets through to the managers above the psycho manager, and the psycho manager is canned. This can still take an incredibly long time, however, because the psycho manager always has an excuse when confronted with the disgruntled employee's complaints. "Oh, they always say that. You know those salespeople. They complain no matter what. I had to be a little tough on them, and they're sulking about it."

The most damaging psycho manager is the one who kisses up and kisses down - but never serves the interests of either group. In other words, it's all about him. He listens to the employees as they make requests, lodge complaints, and make suggestions. He leads them to believe that he is taking those requests, complaints and suggestions to top management. But when he meets with top managers, he never says a word about those requests, complaints, and suggestions. He may even refer to his employees as "complainers," as if they are just perpetually disgruntled and nothing can be done about it. Upper management gets the impression that the psycho manager is taking care of business, when in fact the manager is doing nothing of the sort.

The psycho manager then goes back to the employees and either infers or states that he took their requests, complaints, and suggestions to top management, but top management wouldn't let him do the right thing. In fact, he leads them to believe that top management refused to consider their input.

This can go on for months or years. The employees get more and more frustrated, because nothing ever gets better. But they never blame the psycho manager, because they think he's "doing his best," and it's just that the top managers are "clueless" or "jerks" or downright crazy.

Hmmm. Sounds like that crazy guy walking down the street, accusing everyone else of being a jerk, when he was the one being the jerk. But, the psycho manager is so much smoother. After the truth finally comes out - one situation is all it takes - you can look back and realize that there were signs. A facial tic. Sweaty palms. Averting your gaze. Periods of absolute silence in meetings, punctuated every so often by an angry, emotional outburst. Continued frustration in the employee ranks.

Employee frustration is the biggest clue. Any top manager whose employees are always unhappy, no matter what he does, has not been hiring good middle managers. Good, sane managers are a delight to work for. Things run smoothly. If there's a problem, everyone knows about it. There's no hiding or secrets, no conspiratorial blame. The good manager just states the problem, and sets to work fixing it. Employees working for a good, sane manager get calmer over time, not more frustrated. They appreciate the good manager. Again, employee frustration is the biggest clue.

That's why David Packard's "management by walking around" method was so effective. If the boss just happens to stop by and ask you how it's going, you may be careful about how you say it, but it gives you an opportunity to state a concern. The top boss who follows up on that telling piece of data will find confirming or denying evidence, and will be able to determine if he has hired a sane manager or a psycho manager. And, the misbehaving psycho manager will find less room to maneuver when the boss just shows up, unannounced, and starts asking employees questions.

What does all this have to do with revenue? A lot. Frustrated employees are no where near as productive as they could be. They have trouble being courteous to customers because they're miserable. They feel trapped. Companies whose employees feel angry will never be as productive as companies whose employees are working for sane managers.

If there is an area of your company where the employees seem frustrated, start poking around. Ask questions until you get to the bottom of it. And then do whatever you have to do to replace the insanity with a happy, smooth-working organization. Not only will you increase your revenue, everyone - including you - will start having more fun.