Don’t let your stars become shooting stars

Motivation image by Michael GiuffridaIn most small businesses, there are a handful of people outside of the business owners who become key to the success of the business.  You can picture these people who are always going above and beyond, making sure the customers are happy, and treating it like their own business even if they don’t own a single share of stock.  As a business owner, it is comforting to know that you can always go to these people to get something done right, regardless of whether or not it is in their job description.  This gives you the ability to focus on the businesses other challenges, including employees who are not as responsible and productive.

However, with all of these other business distractions it can be easy to lose focus of how much your star employees do for you.  We have all heard the saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” and that is what happens in many businesses leaving the truly important people largely unrecognized.  If you are a star employee, this lack of attention can lead to resentment, decrease in effort and ultimately out looking for a place where their hard work will be appreciated.  While it can get old to be publicly congratulating these employees day after day, be sure to simply spend some time one on one with them recognizing their efforts and making sure they know how much you appreciate them.  For many of these people, its not even as much about getting big raises and bonuses as it is the satisfaction of knowing that they did a good job and that they have contributed to the success of the business.

So to avoid having your stars become shooting stars, be sure to point your telescope at them regularly instead of simply watching for the next oncoming meteor.


Michael Giuffrida from Southington CT has been operating businesses since 1997.  He is an experienced entrepreneur in business management, profitable growth, business valuation, mergers and acquisitions, and information technology managed services.

4 thoughts on “Don’t let your stars become shooting stars

  • That’s so true about high performing employees not necessarily being motivated by money. That has definitely been my experience when managing people — the folks who are key contributors achieve that status because they are motivated by doing a job well, not necessarily because of the possibility of a raise or promotion.

  • This advice is so true. You can’t build a successful business with a constant turnover of employees. People need to know they are appreciated and doing a good job. A little “honey” goes a long way to spreading self esteem and satisfaction.

  • Great reminder! It’s too easy to focus on negative issues only. It’s refreshing for the employee and employer to recognize good work too!

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