Throwing curveballs to the team

Although I wasn’t trained as a hands-on machinist, I understand the profession after having been in the biz for 20 years. Even so, I still depend on my team for advice about whether certain jobs should be pursued or not. Because they’re performing the actual work, it’s obviously logical to rely on their insight and wisdom.

However, as a good reader of attitudes and emotions, there are occasions when I don’t listen to their advice. If I did, numerous prospects would never have been added to our customer list. That’s because when the shop is busy, the team’s desire to swing at new pitches isn’t so great. Some shop workers may even try to avoid bringing in new work by padding quote run times to make the job appear inordinately costly or overdramatize what’s involved.

As an owner or manager, you have the authority to challenge your team—whether they understand it or not. Due to my network of business associates, companies contact me seeking machining and fabrication services. I evaluate whether it’s a worthwhile pursuit and, if so, ask my engineering and machining staff to quote accordingly. The quote is sometimes unrealistic simply because they don’t want to deal with a curveball being thrown at them.

When appropriate, astute managers will override these kinds of recommendations because they have intimate knowledge of the job that employees don’t. This situation also creates an opportunity to test the employees and see what they’re capable of accomplishing when tackling the unfamiliar. But it’s human nature to follow the safe route and doing so doesn’t mean they’re not good employees.