You're not a CEO. Or a CMO, COO, CIO, CTO or any other C-Level title. You're not a GVP, AVP, MVP or VP.
You're not a Senior Director, Partner, Manager, Owner, etc.
You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.
Your primary role in your position is not to deliver on projects, motivate the team, present information, or hob-nob with the hoi-poloi.
You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.
You may ask:
"What is a Bonus Delivery Officer?" It's a person who delivers bonuses to their people — it's that simple.
The problem is most managers — from someone who only has one direct-report to the CEO — do not see themselves as Bonus Delivery Officers (or BDO).
A BDO is someone who ensures via financial planning and sheer determination to reward their staff. With MONEY. Not the phrase, "You're lucky you still have your job." They need to keep their eye on what I call "What's Left" or Revenue minus Costs.
Unfortunately, most companies and their executives are graded by a number of other measures which don't trickle down the MONEY. How many organizations in the past few years have delivered reductions in pay or flat payouts while upper management and major shareholders still receive outlandish payouts and bonuses?
Get where I'm going? What I've described is not a healthy enterprise. And sick enterprises easily control and keep their people during bad times (because there's nowhere else to go), but when times begin to turn around and improve — WATCH OUT.
You're going to see a tsunami of your best and hardest-working people leave to better-performing and better paying positions. And they will never look back.
Why am I so harsh? Because it's the responsibility of the people in the higher echelons to deliver profits — by planning, anticipating the market, understanding the consumer, and managing all the moving parts. But for many years, they have been caught with their pants down and their hand in the till — a "Whoops, sorry" attitude, a "We'll do better next year" attitude, or a "Sorry, I have to do this to YOU" attitude.
No more. The world is changing AGAIN. Get ready for the Tsunami.
The idea for this post came from a good friend and client — Thanks Lisa B!
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