Every Friday night, we go to our neighborhood Chinese restaurant for dinner.  There are a few reasons why we go there – yes, it’s convenient to our house but more important, the food is outstanding.  Another reason is we have gotten to know the owner and the wait staff well.  Often during the course of our dinner, the owner of the restaurant will sit with us and catch up on the week’s happenings. 

Last Friday night, as we finished our dinner, we had a chance to talk with our favorite waitress.  It’s quite interesting to hear how people from different parts of the world view life differently.  Our waitress actually comes from China so we get a first hand view of what a former citizen of the country thinks about life in her homeland.  The conversation Friday night was especially interesting because it turned to the Beijing Olympics.  She pointed out that around the world, nations other than the United States count only the gold medals as to which country had the most winning medals.  But here in the United States the emphasis in on total or overall number of medals won including gold, silver and bronze.  So if you count how many gold medals were won China is in first place.  If you count how many overall medals were won then the United States is in first place. 

The waitress was most distressed (in fact it was the topic of discussion at the wait staff’s dinner table as they gathered round for their evening family-style meal) that one of China’s star athletes expected to win the gold had injured himself and wasn’t able to finish the race.  But as she talked you could see the pride in her face for the worldwide recognition the Olympics had brought her home country of China. 

We went on to talk about where she would rather be, living in her homeland of China or here in the United States.  Though she misses China, she chose the United States because she said that it is just not as hard living here.  She went on to explain… There are so many people living in China that people don’t dare talk back to the boss or be lax in their work for fear of being fired because there are so many people waiting in line for their job.  Even the most educated people, with master’s degrees or PhD’s, are always trying to learn more so they can continue to be a valuable asset to their employer and lessen the worry about losing their job.

Look at the contrast to what we have in this country.  If quitting time is 5, most employees are out the door at 5:01.  Working weekends or doing something extra is almost unheard of.  People in China and other Asian countries are becoming an economic force because their people have the work ethic that people in the United States use to have 50-100 years ago.  Now this isn’t an indictment of all employees.  There are employees who are a powerhouse full of ideas, energy and hard work.  Unfortunately, there are just as many who have to be pushed, prodded and pulled to get their job done. 

So who’s fault is all this?  Is it the employees fault or is it management’s fault?  I believe in most cases, it’s management.  It starts with hiring the right employees, training the employees in the right way, setting goals and expectations that are realistic. 

As business gets more competitive, it’s important to lead your employees, show your employees how it can be done and thank them for a job well done.