Dave hadn’t been evaluated in 25 years, and neither had the other employees of this multimillion-dollar business. Things had gotten very loose with the company. Production targets weren’t being met, there was poor accountability and responsibility, and employees were arriving late and not calling in when “sick,” to name just a few.

I met with the CEO and said one of the best ways to tighten up the organization quickly, make it run smoother, and make more money was to use something similar to an employee evaluation to teach and coach people to be more accountable. And because I think employee evaluations are the worst thing ever invented for improving performance, I created my own system, which I call a manager and employee development system.

Dave was the maintenance manager for this equipment-heavy organization, so I knew his department could benefit the most from this process. We informed him we’ld be doing an employee improvement plan with him. He responded with, “Is that like an employee evaluation?”

I said, “Yes, but mine are totally different, and you’ll actually enjoy it.”

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