Chronic Enthusiasm

In my youth I was highly engaged in amateur car racing. One of the many challenges of this endeavor was the management of the unpaid volunteers who were helping to prepare the cars. Later, as a manager of professionals I came to realize that a person’s best work is always voluntary. Being paid does not automatically compel one to deliver excellence. Creating and maintaining a company culture where individuals ‘volunteer’ their best work is one of the major activities of leadership. How are you inspiring your ‘volunteers’ to deliver excellence in your organization?

Mediocre large companies often try to replace the need for excellent people with ‘process’.  In successful startups excellent people are the ‘process’.