I heard a great quote recently and it goes like this, “You should go to work for a company that has high expectations.” I like that, I like that a lot.

So, let’s turn it around. You should hire people who you have high expectations of and you should reinforce your expectations on a daily basis.

As a leader in your organization you are responsible for helping to raise the expectations of yourself and those around you.

If you accept a sales person selling 6 cars a month I’m thinking you’re gonna get a lot of 6 car sales people. What you are willing to accept has now become the standard.

If you accept the used car department selling 75 cars a month then that’s what you’re gonna get.

You might be wishing for 100 but everyone in the store knows your real expectation is 75, so you hover around 72 to 77 and that’s it. Everyone goes away happy. Sorta.

There is a direct relationship between expectations and the way people are treated. If they are treated well, they generally will perform well. Part of treating people well is educating and coaching them well.

Why do the workers at Chick-fil-A perform better than those at Burger King? Because management treats them better. They go to work at Chick-fil-A knowing full well what the expectations are.

The same at the Ritz, the same at Apple, the same at Starbucks, the list goes on and on.

Management’s error is that it often takes the approach of, “It is what it is; we are a victim of the market, so let’s just do the best we can.” Never let doing the best you can be your rev limiter.
People will stretch themselves to achieve the level of expectations that have been set. Every leader should seek to create and build high expectations to improve the performance of everyone in an organization.

People will respond when challenged in a positive way and rewarded with positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement includes training, praise, celebrating results and acknowledging individual and company successes.

It’s not enough to just raise your expectations and treat people well. You have to raise the level of education and coaching you give your staff in order to give them the tools they need to achieve the expectations you have placed on them. To do anything less is just plain stupid.

Don’t be stupid. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs