I saw this statement the other day on the y-Combinator site, and this did resonate with me as I have battled a few morale issues of my own over the last few months.
There is nothing that kills a business more when a staff member doesn’t believe in their company they work for, we are confronted with staff like that on a fairly regular basis as we go through a weekly lives and they are usually the ones that will stuff things up as they couldn’t care less about you or the company.
So what happens when your morale as the founder goes down, yep so does the companies morale and all its staff and the future is not bright, so what are you doing to protect your morale ? Who is on your side to barter better working conditions and better working hours ?
Take the time today to make sure the most important employee in your business is happy, can you buy something to make the work environment better ? Can you treat yourself by sleeping in tomorrow morning ? Maybe just be happy with what you have built ?
I would love to hear what people do to treat themselves.
Jul 29, 2010 @ 10:26:24
My morale booster/treat is fine booze. Not where I sit down and get sloshed mind you, but when I really enjoy something that tastes good and is usually quite pricey. Means I have to work towards it and then can enjoy it. Some people call me crazy for drinking beers that cost $50 a bottle, Rum at $140 or unusual eastern European liquors but I enjoy pontificating while tasting it and it lasts for a while so I can treat myself over many months.
I have been on the other end though, where in a startup we were using lots of beer to cope with low morale… it didn’t work and just formed a highly unhealthy lifestyle. Not that it was all bad, but certainly not sustainable like what I have now is.