[ALE-jobs] Linux System Administrator
Chris Fowler
linxdev at gmail.com
Tue Mar 19 16:27:08 EDT 2013
On 03/19/2013 03:42 PM, Brian W. Neu wrote:
> but it would present a huge cash flow issue for them if everyone started
> hiring 1099's instead of employees.
correct and this has a lot to do with unemployment insurance premiums.
At least once per year my business partner and I get into this argument.
For him it is either money or complexity. My argument is that my blue
collar father, who has a successful machine shop business, can even do a
W-2. So my dad, high school graduate, can deal with a W-2 where a MBA
can not...
Now then the argument goes on to "I'd like to be able to do this, but we
do not have the money".
My response is to change the plan. If the business plan does not allow
one to do the right things then the plan needs modification. If it is
required to exploit the employee then the plan needs changing.
I look at plans like buying a house. We invest in a house, pay that
cash, and we own it. The problem is that it requires maintenance. Over
the last 2 weeks I've been doing painting work I've neglected for years
do to having small kids that touch walls. I'm also having to fix issues
that builders cause to cut corners. After having this place for 12
years I'm investing again to keep it up. I think many people in
business do not understand that about their plan. They make a huge
investment upfront, but have no clue that their plan (not the business)
needs maintenance and mods. That maintenance is in the form of changing
the plan, investing capital for equipment to support changes, etc. They
expect to make an investment 20 years ago and it be just as good toady
as it was then.
I think why my dad is so successful where the MBA (my business partner)
fails is because my dad has no clue about "business". His goal is to
provide a superior product with zero defects. Even if it means he loses
money on a job he may have misquoted or made a mistake. This level has
service has lined him up with customers that mostly come to him via
referral.
I think when it comes to treatment of employees I see things a bit
differently than the MBA. If an employee has health, money, or home
issues then those issues will cut into performance at work. Providing
support for the employee will provide greater returns. It is possible
the MBA sees the 8-N job as their time and the employee will perform,
but we know what humans are and they are not robots. I was tired of
being tired so I embarked on a plan to get in shape. My goal was to be
able to do things at work that did not tire me. I work from home and I
had noticed that when I drove to Alpharetta and back I was exhausted.
After spending almost a year getting in shape I notice this is no longer
the case. Seeing the effects in what I was/am able to get done I
pressed the MBA to invest in a $20/mon stipend for each employee to get
a membership to Anytime Fitness. I had a plan where AF would check them
each month and report to us (vaguely, for privacy reasons) if they were
meeting the target. If so, they would get reimbursed. The MBA saw this
as an expense and not an investment that would create return. If an
employee drives an hour to work the last thing the employer needs is for
that person to be exhausted before even starting their day. I guess I
see things more as cause and effect. Making small investments can have
a huge effect.
I expend more energy thinking about motivating people than I do thinking
about numbers...
Chris
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