From my experience as a business owner and coach, I have learned some things about managing staff and how to bring out their potential. A first major premise is that if life suddenly becomes harder and requires more effort to achieve the same results, then it is because you have come into contact with a demotivating person and unconsciously formed a connection with them. That is to say, you are in contact with a person who limits your growth as an individual and as a professional.

The demotivating person has little respect for the property of others and thinks everything is due to them as their right. They therefore insist on being paid for jobs they haven’t done, or for working the bare minimum. They don’t care about your well-being or gain, only their own, and heaven help you if they find you lacking in some way.

The demotivating person is like a tape worm: first they consume the value of the company, then they begin to consume you too.

You have to root them out while there’s still time.

Now, getting back to us … If you ask people how to grow potential, most people will probably tell you things like “watch people: what is that person really good at? What could they be best in the world at? In what professional activity do they find great pleasure? Find what someone truly likes and they will begin to express the best of themselves.”

I don’t think this is wrong, but I also think there are other rules as well:

ABILITY: Each of us has the ability do everything, and when the opportunity presents itself we must not be afraid to use (though not exploit) the person available. For me there is no such thing as “I’m just not made for sales …” everyone can do everything, they just need to believe it. Competence is not knowledge. Competence is a psychological condition that is built through results rather than through education.

There are several ways to create competence. However, among them there is a method that, in my opinion, is most effective: achieving a result. I take a person and shadow them and insist with them until they get a result. When that person wins, then they acquire psychological competence. If you hire a salesperson, motivate them, trust them, and insist, possibly accompanying them until they achieve a result. Make a sale, even easy. You will find that with the enthusiasm that comes from this one success will give them the ability to deal more easily with subsequent challenges.

DISCIPLINE: Nobody grows in the absence of discipline. In the absence of discipline the worst of the person emerges. Discipline also means creating an environment in which one produces something useful that can be measured. You don’t have to set up an authoritarian environment, but use precise rules and methods of measuring results, because in the absence of these standards, potential cannot emerge. A salesperson, for example, must be measured by the value of sales. A marketing manager is measured by the number of information requests received from potential customers. An administrative figure is measured by payments recovered from customers. You cannot base your impression of people on “sporadic” judgments. You have to give each person one (or more) statistics and hold them accountable so that the statistic is always positive

THE ENVIRONMENT: A feeling of calm in the space around us is the first necessary condition to positively put things into action. It is difficult to free up your potential when you have the perception that there is a threat in your environment. It is therefore important to include people who are motivated and convey serenity. Motivating people have a real passion for what they are doing, they are cheerful and are more likely to agree than disagree. These are the people who light up when they are presented with a new business project. They support you and they see opportunities everywhere. Then over time maybe they will analyze the details and correct the direction, but they will always support you regardless.

How to attract motivational people:

– Like attracts like. Great people socialize with other great people. Positive people look for other positive people. “If you want to soar with eagles don’t hang out with turkeys.” This means that you yourself will have to face a personal growth path.

– You have to stop being critical and controversial, and raise your emotional tone.

– You can only attract motivational people in your life if you offer them an opportunity. The good guys look for projects that thrill them and give them opportunities for personal, economic, and professional growth.

It’s time to make the people at your side explode with potential! What are you waiting for?

Paolo Ruggeri