Being a boss isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I really like it for the most part, but sometimes I think I’m not very good at it. I’m kind of lazy at times, I tend to put things off and I hate to make hard decisions. And I’m not much of a jerk.
Backslash is a really fun place to work. We have a great time and get along like a family – sometimes TOO much like a family. We work well together but have a tendancy to argue about small issues at times. But, for the most part, we have a lot of fun.
I like to have fun, too, and that part of my personality insists that I avoid conflict. I have a hard time dealing with critism and conflict almost always involves somebody telling somebody else that they are wrong. So, rather than treating my job as owner of the company like I probably should, I act like a friend to everyone. I laugh and joke and waste time with everybody – often times, I am the distraction.
This is the tough part: How do I get everyone to switch gears when necessary? When I need to get something done, I quit playing around, but not everyone else does. I have a hard time “disciplining” anyone because, chances are, I started the whole thing in the first place. I know that I have the “right” to “yell” at people as the owner. But it’s wrong to do when I’m goofing off, too.
I guess I expect others to pick up on the fact that I have switched to working mode and change as well. That doesn’t always work, though. People still play around and laugh loudly and joke and…. Then I send out a Twitter message wondering aloud why I’m paying people to goof off. Things get quiet, and I feel terrible.
Do I need to be a jerk? Do I need to tell the employees to “get to work” more often? If so, do I need to stop sitting around, talking and encouraging the behavior in the first place? The last thing I want to do is make Backslash a “normal” (read: boring) job. I would miss all of the good times we have and the relaxed atmosphere. But I know we miss out on a lot of money due to our laid-back company culture.
That last point isn’t always obvious. When things are going well, and the money is flowing in the right direction, it’s easy to “celebrate” a little by having fun. But when things are tight – like now – I am quicker to get annoyed with the distractions. I may be the one that’s CAUSING the distraction, but I – VERY UNFAIRLY, I honestly believe – expect others to get back on track right away when it’s time to work.
I hope that the answer is somewhere in between. I want to continue to have a great work environment where everyone feels it’s okay to have fun while getting paid. But I need to be a “business owner”, too, and look at the bottom line. I just hope everyone understands that and I don’t have to be a jerk.
