This past weekend I toured the world’s largest strip mine operation. I continually heard the word “produce” repeated over and over again. I was told how much ore is “produced” each day at the mine (150,000 tons). I learned about the stages of refining to “produce” ore that is 98% pure. This particular mine touts that they have “produced” more copper ore than any other mine in history (18.1 million tons). The word “produce” was repeatedly continually began to resonate with me.
The word “Produce” is derived from the Latin word pro (forward) + ducere (to lead – more at tow [or to draw, to pull]). If you look at the dictionary, produce is defined as:
- To bring forth
- To yield
- To bear
- To draw out
- To cause to happen
Producers vs. Non-Producers
Whether you work in a mine, department, or a small team, there is a critical need to yield, to bring forth, to bear results. In other words, to produce results.
In business today, there is a need to differentiate the producers from the non-producers. It is not about digging up a bunch of HR disciplinary and performance issues and staff changes, but like a mine measuring the volume of ore per truck load, people also need a measurement of effectiveness to determine if they are being effective producers. If they’re not producing, they need identify what efforts they need to shift or determine what measurements will assist them in identifying what “producing” is for them.
Organizations everywhere spend significant amounts of time and effort on the wrong things, such as tactical meetings. That’s not to say these items shouldn’t be done, but this significant amount of time and effort doesn’t produce value added results.
The mine is a successful operation because the people understand they must produce results. If individuals don’t understand how to maximize the value they bring, it is imperative for management to sit down and help them discover and identify how to measure what they are producing. You must have a results based leadership mindset.
Why We Need to Make Non-Producers Produce:
We all know what happens to non-producers. At an organization level, you are killed by the competition, stock price drops, companies go bankrupt and are sold off, or become a target for corporate raiders. Regardless of the outcome, it’s not good. However, if a culture of “producing” can be established in an organization, it will have a direct and quantifiable impact on the bottom line.
Start improving your bottom line and overall success today by asking yourself and your employee, “are we producing results?”
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