As a manager, you may find that you’re accidentally being manipulated by common marketing propaganda from your own team members.
Here’s what I mean…
Products and services can be classified as either vitamins or painkillers. A painkiller is something that resolves an immediate pain, while a vitamin supports long-term health with no apparent results in the short-term. Marketers who position their wares as painkillers have a much easier time selling than those who represent products or services positioned as vitamins.
As you look at your team members and how they interact with each other, with the engineering processes, and with the product or service your team offers, you can see a similar distinction. Some team members shine when they get to resolve a problem, while others silently work to prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
It’s easy to notice the painkillers. It’s harder to recognize the vitamins.
And yet, as the old adage says, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
When you look at your interactions with your team, are you rewarding the vitamins at least as much as you reward the painkillers? If you’d like to explore ways to find a better balance, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk to start the conversation.
Leave a Reply