Management Lessons Learned While Building A House In Seven Days
by Rick Olson, President, Rick Olson Seminars
I have only reached the halfway point of my life, but I have already decided which week of life will be my favorite when life is over: August 16-22, 1993. I have had a lot of great weeks, but that will always be my favorite.
And what was so magical about that week? That is the week that 300 of the finest people I have ever met volunteered their time and built a house in seven days to help the DARE program. Not only did they give their time, they donated everything to build the house except the windows.
As I stood outside the 'miracle' house in Elk River, MN on the last night, I told my kids, "Don't ever let anyone tell you it can't be done." If the cause is right, there is a way to do it. When the project was dreamed up, the goal was to raise $50,000 for DARE. The success of the project can only be described as a runaway freight train. By the time it was over, nearly $125,000 was given to the local DARE program.
Why did the project succeed? What principles can be used in managing people in the workplace? Can the success of it be duplicated in other ventures? Here are management dynamics from the "DARE To Build A House In Seven Days" project that can help you become a more effective manager.
Make No Small Plans
Bold plans have the ability to stir people's blood. Small plans do little more than bring about a yawn.
What if we had said we were going to build a house in four months? We would have struggled to complete it. Why did we get an overwhelming response? Because the plan was so bold that it captured everyone's imagination. We took the goal, devised a plan, and then shrunk the normal timeline down to one week. Everybody was buzzing about it. It created an air of excitement that nothing else could. We were fighting a deadline while the eyes of the entire state were on us. The energy that was released was fantastic.
• Do your plans capture people's attention?
• Do they cause people to take a second look?
• Are they bold and aggressive?
Build Heroes
Tom Peters stated, "Our number one failure in business is to not tap the creativity of our workers." Not only is there a lot of untapped creativity within our workers, there is a hero waiting to come out in each one of them.
When we decided to build the house in seven days, we felt that there were extraordinary talents locked up within many of the kind, quiet citizens of our community. All they lacked was an opportunity to showcase their abilities. The invitation to help with the DARE house was an opportunity to give themselves to something bigger than themselves. They dazzled us with their creativity, their networking, and their ability to solve complex problems that we faced.
Dan Rochel, Clint Corrow, Don Heinzman, Linda Fredrickson, and Charlie Houle. To the rest of the world they may be builders, landscapers, editors, marketing executives, and business owners, but to me, they will always be some of my greatest heroes. They devised a seven day plan, got over 200 companies to make donations, got the word out to the local, state, and national press, created energy and enthusiasm that kept the team on the same sheet of music, and saw that there were 21 donated meals at the job site for the volunteers. The creativity was there. It needed to be tapped.
When creativity is tapped, there is an opportunity for the hero within to emerge.
• What can you do to place people in a position to be a hero?
• How can you best tap their creativity?
• How can you turn loose the best possibilities within them?
People Support What They Create
If people create something, they have an emotional tie to it. If they are not involved in the birthing process of the idea, they have no investment in it.
From the beginning, the plan to build a house in seven days was laid out to the steering committee. But the process was not outlined. Every person on the steering committee carried out their responsibilities as they saw fit. We ended up with 12 adults and nearly the same number of high school students who served on the committee. They came up with very creative ideas to carry out their responsibilities. Each one of them used their sphere of influence to help bring in many other volunteer workers.
Had the plan been put together by just a few, there would not have been the groundswell of support we enjoyed. We had a buy in from scores of people across the community because so many key people had helped birth the idea.
• Would you like to tap into the creative energy of your employees?
• Would you like to see an increase in productivity?
Let them own the problem and the process to solve the problem. As they get their hands around the problem, they will amaze you with their ability to overcome hurdles and solve problems.
If You Feed Them, They Will Come
How do you get volunteers to come day after day to build a house? You feed them really well.
Several volunteers told me at the start of the project that they could give a few hours to help out. That was before they ate the free food. After tasting the steak, ribs, etc., they just kept coming back. There were 21 donated meals for the week and the food was outstanding. If you ever wondered, believe it, people will work for food.
For our hard working volunteers, it was quite a reward. It offered the chance to sit and discuss the progress of the house while enjoying great, free food.
Your workers will respond as well to the special things you do to show your appreciation for a job well done. According to Industry Magazine, job recognition is the number one reason employees stay loyal.
• Food is always a great motivator.
• Fun in the workplace promotes teamwork, increases productivity, and keeps moral high.
• There is something that employees want more than the quarterly plaque. They want personal recognition from you.
This article was used with permission of The Learning Curve , a publication written and distributed by the Michigan Credit Union League’s Education Department.
