Rant: My best sales week ever was also my worst week as a boss

Last March I had a week where we brought in 38 grand in new contracts, which was a record for my little landscaping company in Spokane. But three of my crew guys quit on Wednesday because they said I was pushing them too hard on those long spring cleanups. I had to personally go finish a mulching job at a big house on the south hill, and I was out there until 9pm in the rain. The money felt good when I looked at the books, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd traded my team's trust for a fat paycheck. Has anyone else hit a big number and then realized it cost you something real with your people?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.noah25d ago

Honestly, it's just business. They're workers, not your family.

sammoore25d ago

Wait, has that ever ACTUALLY worked for you? Business or not, people remember how you treat them.

grant.sam25d ago

You're saying "it's just business" like that makes it ok to treat people like numbers on a spreadsheet. I've seen that attitude sink more companies than bad products. People talk, and if you burn someone on their way out, that story gets told at networking events, in interviews, to clients. I've landed deals purely because someone remembered I didn't screw them over when I had the chance. That "it's just business" line is usually just an excuse to be cheap or lazy.