Hired Guns Vs. Patriots

Basically Employees of today fall under two category viz: Hired Guns Vs.Patriots.

Hired Guns: Are one of the easiest employees to recruit and motivate who do what they do for cash rewards. They don't need nor desire recognition. Self motivated and looking for maximum compensation.

A patriot always go above and beyond their duties because they really believed in the company and it's ownership.

Long gone are the days when an employee remained with a company for 30 years before being rewarded with a gold watch and nice pension. The cornerstone of today's business model is agility. Things change in a quarter rendering well planned strategies obsolete and ineffective.

Your employer won't tell you that, though. Today's employer now more than ever will drain your personal talents for as little investment as possible. The code words are...

"We really need your help on this one...

"We know we can count on you to...

"We know it's a lot to ask but it would be great if...

Your response to any of these or similar request must be, "No problem, how much?"

Have no doubt, the moment your position becomes redundant or the business model changes you will hear, "Awfully sorry but..."

Most times your extra efforts will be to support a poorly developed project or initiative that will end in disaster.

Ask yourself this question, "Do I genuinely have a role to play in making the strategic decision that will affect my future here?"

If the answer is "No", then you should be paid for your extra efforts. If you choose to give up part of your life on someone else's whim then you are a patriot.

The company had expressed the need for you to tap additional personal resources why shouldn't they pay you for them?

Hired Guns are Easier to Work With

This may seem to be a counter intuitive statement. Most managers can't deal with a "take away" attitude frequently displayed by a hired gun. Hired guns will walk out on you for a better deal without remorse.

If management would view this attitude from the proper position it's really very simple. They are motivated by personal gain. Either their overhead cost is worth the revenue company generate or it isn't. If management feels they will gain more by making a change they have no hard feelings.

Turn the tables. If you had a seller who was under performing you would cut them and not lose a wink of sleep. Why is it wrong for an employee to fire you?

It's not a case of who need who more. It's a case of who need your business model in order to benefit and your business model needs whom in order to grow. They feel that they may be an employee but they are NEVER a subordinate.

A Hired Gun Will Tell You the Truth

Because the team members personal enrichment relies heavily on the decisions management makes they will be brutally honest and sure in their advice.

A patriot will sit at the conference table, eyes aglow with admiration hoping for another pat on the back and support your decision to drive off a cliff. Moreover, they will happily occupy one of the seats in the plummeting vehicle.

Rest assured, as soon as you have my resignation you are in trouble. Not because you are losing my resources but because the torpedoes they warned you are about to strike amidships and they'll be in the first lifeboat.

Patriots are Emotional Basket Cases

Hired Guns do'nt get into personal things they dO want to show up, do their job, count gold and leave. Their motivation is money so it all boils down to simple math. How do you calculate the emotional overhead required to keep a patriot happy? That's easy. The answer is "never enough".

From one perspective it may seem that these loyal followers may offer a less costly alternative to a hired killer. After all, an engraved shiny brass plaque or genuine acrylic trophy is much less expensive than a $10,000 bonus check.

Patriots are the need nancies which takes a managers psychological toll never accounted for. The constant need for recognition, understanding and reassurance is a which some managers would not like to carry.

Hired Gun's don't mind having lunch or the occasional cocktail but at the end of the day they find it so much easier when the relationship is based on a paycheck.

The "But" in Using Hired Guns

A hired gun will typically get the job done for you. But there are a few rules.

The first rule is that a hired gun will always use your rules against you. When you present a compensation plan to a hired gun there can be no deviations.

There can be no request for concessions. If the business is having a tough quarter because you made some poor business decisions that's on you. The answer is "No" so don't even ask.

Most good hired guns are pretty smart. If you are sandbagging commissions or using fuzzy accounting methods to calculate commissions we'll figure it out.

The deal is very simple. I kill the bear and you pay the bounty. Should I fail to deliver revenue you have an obligation to sever our relationship. Likewise, if the bounty paid or the hunting ground is less than advertised I, too have an obligation to sever the relationship.

If all you have to offer are hugs hired guns will not have much to discuss.

Well these are the two extremes - which are easy to deal with, but the real difficulty to to deal with the people in the middle...who keep shifting boats - It's difficult to assess them.