To increase your money making opportunity you may use employees' suggestions. You may well believe you have a better one, but keep your goal in mind. You want to encourage risk taking as well as solving money making problems. The path employees choose to reach the goal may be different from the one you would select - however, if their money making method solves the problem, let them try in their way. Work together to foresee the possible results if the money making idea is put into action. Share some standards for what you consider a good money making idea.
Insist that employees contribute their money making ideas. If your employees respond with shuffling feet, averted eyes and a mumbled "I do not know", let them know that you are really want their help. Make them believe this is the case by not answering your own question, even if the silence gets uncomfortable.
Agree on the money making business. Ask your employees what they will do that will be different next time. When employees make choices, they select the option they see as the best at the time. Your job as coach is to help them see other money making alternatives.
Follow up the results. After employees have had time to put money making solution in place, follow up to see how it's going. You want to follow up to make sure things are going the way you want them to go. If they are not, you need further money making problem solving. When employees put forth the effort to solve money making problem, they are changing their behaviors and may be even their habits. By noticing that money making problem has been resolved through employees' efforts, you help them keep that change in place. Without follow-up employees reason that you probably don't care whether the situation changes or not. Just notice and say something to the effect of, "I see you are working on changing - I appreciate the effort. Keep up the good work."
Change doesn't happen in quantum leaps. It starts small and grows as employees get used to operating differently. Help them to make the complete change by recognizing their money making efforts along the way.
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