After all the planning, research, and saving Darcy has accomplished her life-long dream, she owns a coffee shop in a small town. In order to share the entrepreneurial experience with young people who might one day open their own business, she contacted high school counselors for potential employees.

At last, the staff was hired and trained, the coffee was ready and so was Darcy. Business was brisk and has continued that way.

Darcy has been noticing the different personalities among her employees. Two excel at customer service, they are her stars. They always go the extra mile, making certain every customer is well-served, comfortable and happy. They fill coffee cups without being asked and genuinely seem to love their jobs.

She has two employees she calls her bricks. They are responsible, committed and perform their duties well, but are not as personable as the customer-focused stars. They lack initiative. For example: If they weren’t explicitly told to clean up, they don’t, even if a mess is staring at them in the face. Darcy is working on improving their performance. She calls it “polishing her bricks”.

Sadly, she also has a slacker. Slackers are hard to spot. They may interview well, sound enthusiastic, and sport a great resume. It’s only after they have been on the job for a while that their true colors show: mediocre performance, untrustworthiness and only doing their share of the work when they know they are being watched. They want income with as little effort as they can get away with.

Darcy has gained new people skills; she’s learned to hold on to stars and identify slackers early on. She’s also learned that it’s easier to turn a brick into a star than it is to turn a slacker into a brick. And she’s definitely getting better at polishing bricks.

The road is easier together,

Linda Laitala, President
Raven Performance Group