Bending the Systems Cost Me Big

Last week my brand new General Manager, Terrance got into a wreck in a work truck. It was his fault. He ran a red light.

Did I fire him? No.

It was my fault.

Why? Because I bent the rules of the system. We have always had the policy that work trucks wouldn’t be allowed for personal use. Team members would ask to use the trucks for a weekend project, moving their apartment, etc and although I always want to say “YES” I know it can create a grey area… do you allow someone to take the truck to the mountain for the weekend camping trip?

I allowed my new General Manager to use the truck to drive back home because he just moved from Texas to take the job. He didn’t have a vehicle yet to transport to and from work. It all seemed logical. I gave him a moving allowance of $3000 as well. BUT then I advanced him $1000 from his next pay check for his apartment’s damage deposit.

Another bending of the rules.

I have NEVER allowed pay advances and opted for loose Paid Time Off restrictions (they can cash it out anytime).

If you want to see the wreck and exactly what happened next watch the video. We got it all on camera.

Long story short, systems are only useful if they are followed… bending them for ANY REASON (including a 30-day social media challenge) is a ticking time bomb and a recipe for disaster.

This has put as WAY BEHIND on the 30-day challenge to build a $300K business. I have just one week to hit the mark and doing it without one of the trucks is nearly impossible!

~Mike Andes