Ильдар Хусаинов – The power of freedom (страница 18)

In practice, effective marketing approaches are based on recognizing personal benefits: people choose services that demonstrate clear advantages for them. This management approach allows for the creation of sustainable systems that rely on fundamental values inherent in human nature. With this in mind, I always ask my employees about their motivations. In reality, a person's motivation often boils down to the opportunity to gain various benefits at different levels – material (which facilitate development or recognition), career-related (which provide security for the future), and so on. This is simply human nature, and it's perfectly normal. The key is to understand this and use it effectively to our advantage.

In effective management, it is crucial to build systems considering the unique characteristics and needs of each group of employees. There’s little point in striving for idealized expectations, as real-world conditions demand adaptive solutions. My strategy is to create management models that take into account both the strengths and weaknesses of each team in order to maximize their potential.

For example, in the real estate business, we implemented a system where an agent's income is directly tied to their performance: the more revenue they generate, the more they earn. This model not only motivates realtors but also attracts more qualified specialists to the team. While previously a realtor might earn around 100,000 rubles, top professionals can now earn significantly more.

We value that our partners work for themselves, and it is their personal drive for success that forms the basis of their motivation. Our task is to create conditions where everyone can express themselves and fulfill their ambitions. This leads to the creation of a system where individual benefits contribute to the growth of the entire company.

Entrepreneurial culture has its boundaries, determined not only by fundamental human values and societal laws but also by moral and legal standards. The freedom of action for some individuals is limited by the rights of others. Regulatory mechanisms are in place to maintain balance and prevent potential conflicts.

An entrepreneurial culture fosters sustainable development within the company, even if challenges arise along the way in the short term. In the long run, it strengthens the company by enabling leaders to anticipate changes and adapt accordingly. This culture effectively integrates information flows into the management system, allowing the company to respond swiftly to market changes.

Chapter 9. About the Development of Entrepreneurial Skills

I’ll begin my story about developing the entrepreneurial spirit in my colleagues with a vivid example. We have a senior partner who earns a specific margin from all his revenue. He doesn’t need to invest anything back into the business: the company generates revenue, and he receives his income – that’s the formula. At one point, we suggested to our senior partners, who are the leaders of their small firms, that they include HR specialists in their sub-franchise groups to speed up the recruitment of realtors for their teams. The partner I mentioned earlier responded, “I’m not going to invest my money; I’m already getting my percentage.”

In contrast, another leader with the same status as a senior partner in his mini-firm reacted to the same proposal by saying, “I need that kind of specialist; I’ll hire one with my own money. If revenue increases, my income will grow too. I’ve calculated it – all of this is profitable for me.” As a result, we gained someone in our system who understood that such a decision was worthwhile. His income increased fivefold and continues to grow. Many others followed his example. This story illustrates how we can cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit in employees by motivating them to make effective decisions and invest in their own future.

Is it even possible to develop a person's ability to maximize resources and create new value? I used to think it wasn’t. I was among those who believed that a person is either born with an entrepreneurial spirit or not. However, with experience, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t true. After 24 years of managing a company, my perspective has completely changed. Several factors play a crucial role in acquiring entrepreneurial skills. The first is the mindset developed during childhood and throughout life. A person with a growth mindset will always outperform someone with a fixed mindset. If I believe I can’t change, then I never will. I know many people who love to say, “Those born to crawl cannot fly.” But I am convinced that those born to crawl can learn not only to fly but also to swim – everything depends on the approach. As a result, I began allocating significant resources for the training and development of my employees and partners.

A person who considers themselves a poor manager, incapable of growth, will remain that way. If you think your employees can’t grow as managers, then they won’t. Back in 2015–2016, I realized the importance of sharing my knowledge with partners and providing them with information about my skills and approaches. How did I do this? I started giving lectures for my employees twice a week. Every Sunday, I spent three hours preparing for these talks. My wife said I was crazy. At that time, we were already doing well financially, earning about 2–3 million rubles a month, but I wanted to make my employees more effective. I felt it was important, and I saw the results.

1. Environment. The environment is shaped solely by the leader. They create an atmosphere where individuals begin to independently enhance their skills.

2. Success. When a person achieves success, they tackle new challenges with even greater enthusiasm and responsibility. In our company, we have a rule: we assign more complex tasks to the most successful employees. If someone successfully completes a task three times, I promote them because I believe they can handle higher-level responsibilities. As a result, we have employees who rise from assistant positions to department heads within two years, increasing their income from 30,000 to 500,000 rubles.

3. Observational Learning. Employees tend to copy the behavior of their colleagues. Therefore, it’s crucial to quickly remove weak performers from the system and set a personal example to minimize the number of people contributing to a negative culture. If an employee sees that 80% of their coworkers are performing well while 20% are underperforming, they will strive to meet the standard. Conversely, if the situation is reversed, weakness becomes the norm, and high achievers may be viewed as outliers.

When I was building the system in our company, I paid attention to all these aspects. I would enter a department and immediately gauge its effectiveness. If low productivity dominated and newcomers accepted it as normal, I had to take appropriate action. In strong structures where departments were effective, I made no changes. I would say, “If everything is going well, we won’t interfere. Request resources or salary increases – I’m open to it. Just keep working.”

In areas where problems existed, I conducted an analysis and sometimes had to dismiss entire departments. This happened only twice in all my time because the system was fundamentally flawed. These departments lacked an entrepreneurial culture and were instead characterized by rigid hierarchies. The chief deputy would demand things like bringing him some water – this was unacceptable. Some may wonder why an entire department was let go. Of course, we analyze the effectiveness of each individual. But I was surprised to discover that in a system where even a part of the leadership is strong, weakness at the top cannot exist. By weakness, I mean a lack of effectiveness. Weakness in business can only thrive when there is weakness all around – that's a certainty. This principle holds true at the first two levels of management. If an employee is unhappy with something, they will always signal it. Even if they seem to agree, their dissatisfaction will become clear in some way. It’s more complicated when dealing with management across multiple levels, but each level has its own boundaries. Therefore, I believe that as long as there is at least one strong element in the system, it won’t collapse. However, this only works if the majority of the system is effective.

4. Productivity. The culture of productivity heavily relies on metrics. It’s important to remember a simple rule: people always perform what management expects from them. All systems strive for high labor productivity; all employees want to work better, faster, and more efficiently. But what often happens in practice? To achieve high productivity, it’s essential to create corresponding systems, launch business processes, and implement innovations.

Compare the number of employees and the production costs of Toyota cars with those of a brand in a developing country. You might be surprised: with comparable quality, the difference can be two to three times greater. Toyota assembles its Corolla for $10,000, while in a developing country, a similar car might cost $20,000 to $25,000 to assemble, or they may not even be able to assemble it at all. Why is that? The key to Toyota's success lies in the desire of each employee to be a hero within their system. Each worker has the power to stop production and suggest innovations. Even those who do not recognize the strength of an individual acknowledge the power of the system and come to understand the significance of each employee for the company. Some might say, "If Toyota uses an automated assembly line, where is the human element?" But there is indeed a human designer behind it all – someone whose goal is to work without relying on people, who has the authority, passion, and influence over others. It’s hard to imagine how Toyota employees reacted when a machine replaced their supervisor. The management had the authority, and the process for dismissing employees was clearly organized.