Ignorance or Negligence……

I understand the title of this blog post may seem negative and may be controversial. But hang with me, please.

For about 30 years I was an HR professional for two very large companies. In my last position, I was head of HR over a major division. Frankly, I’m not sure how I got there but I woke up one day and all of a sudden I had all this responsibility. 🤷

I loved my job. I loved working with PEOPLE and supporting my organization by making sure that PEOPLE had the necessary tools at their disposal to do their job properly. I didn’t see my job as a typical HR person might see their job as enforcing policy, but rather I saw my job as addressing distractions in the workplace so that people could do their jobs more easily.

Like most major organizations, we had a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) in place. Now for a lot of organizations, Performance Improvement is a fancy way of saying you’re about to write someone up.

I did not like this perception nor did I like the idea of writing people up before having a discussion and seeking to understand the perspective of the employee. Oh, many people needed to be written-up, don’t get me wrong. But I discovered that if you listen and understand, or at least seek to understand, a write-up may not be necessary.

So, under our PIP, we developed a two-pronged approach. The first approach was Coaching and the second approach was a Documented Discussion (write-up) with 3-4 levels before severe action (termination of employment). But why coaching? Well, let me explain.

Oftentimes when a person was about to be disciplined in some way, it was discovered by having a conversation with the employee. Usually, they had no idea what they were doing was impacting the company in a negative way even though to me and others it might have seemed obvious.  In our discussions we might have discovered this individual did not have the experience or knowledge about the impact of their actions. Shame on us as leaders if we did not communicate reasonable expectations and requirements to our employees, even when we think they are obvious.

Here’s where coaching comes in play. After it was discovered and we verified the employee did not know what they were doing had an adverse impact on the organization, we provided training and follow up with no write-up. Now the key is if the person did not know. If they did know, we would move on to a more formal performance discussion which was a documented write-up and place it in their file.

From the perspective of the employee, that might seem harsh. But if done correctly I believe that it is actually a gift.

OK, now you’ve lost your mind Ernie! Are you actually saying that a write-up placed in someone’s employee file is a gift? Yes, it can be if communicated in the correct manner.

Without a reasonable and legal Performance Improvement Plan in place, and without accountability, someone could actually do damage to the company in a severe way. So, a responsible leader has the obligation to remind the employee in a way that they will not forget. And guess what, most people don’t forget being written-up.

So here is how it is a gift.

Let’s look at the alternative to the write-up. The alternative is if the action that the employee did was severe enough, or the employee had made the infraction multiple times, we could terminate their employment based on the laws and rules of the state we were working in. But in this instance, we chose not to. We gave them another opportunity by following a constructive Performance Improvement Plan by receiving a write-up.

We understood how hard it was to get an employee and how expensive it was to train and develop an individual to do their job. And more importantly, how critical it was for that employee to receive an income that supported their needs while supporting the company’s initiatives. Why would we want terminate employment when we could remind them that what they were doing was inappropriate. That’s why it’s a gift. It’s the reminder and not a separation.

Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes an immediate termination needed to take place and I’m not here to talk about that behavior. I simply want to emphasize that in the absence of coaching, automatically writing someone up may be inappropriate, in my opinion.

And dare I say there have been occasions where I have decided not to write the individual up (even thought they were previously coached) simply because I listened to their side of the story. There are countless times when I’ve had a conversation with an employee and realized they were in a situation that could be reasonably addressed. We could come to some sort of mutual arrangement where the company was not in jeopardy and the employee felt that they were heard.

Again, I’m not advocating that a company does not follow policy and procedure and not hold people accountable for inappropriate behavior. I’m simply stating that I think it is beneficial to coach someone before we discipline, if it’s appropriate.

This may not work for every HR professional and for every company. I understand that and I am not here to judge or to think my way is better than others. I am just stating that from my 30 years of experience, the approach of coaching first had many benefits.

I could go on, but my point is not to educate how to handle your business. My point is to show how listening and having a conversation may actually benefit all parties involved.

So, what does this have to do with running an online business? Well, I’m glad you asked!

When you’re building an online business, you’re often in the role of both the leader and the employee. You set the strategy, do the work, evaluate the results, and make the adjustments.

But just like the employees in my HR story, sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. That’s not ignorance in a negative sense, it’s simply a lack of experience in a specific area. The danger comes when we slip into negligence by refusing to acknowledge our blind spots or by brushing aside opportunities to learn.

That’s where coaching comes in. In business, coaching isn’t about punishment or “writing yourself up.” It’s about giving yourself the gift of perspective, accountability, and growth. A good coach will shine a light on areas you can’t see, help you avoid costly mistakes, and hold you accountable to the goals you set for yourself.

The real question isn’t whether you need coaching. It’s whether you’re humble and determined enough to embrace it when it’s offered.

If you think about it, avoiding coaching is a form of negligence. Why? Because building a business is too important to your future, your finances, and your family to risk stumbling alone. You don’t want to look back in a year and realize that pride or stubbornness kept you from seeking the help that could have accelerated your growth. Instead, choose to see coaching for what it really is; a reminder, a guide, and yes, a gift.

Here are 5 reasons why you should be open to coaching and seek it out when needed:

1. Fresh Perspective – A coach sees things you can’t because they’re not standing in the middle of your situation. They bring clarity where you may only see confusion.
2. Accountability – Left on our own, it’s easy to drift or procrastinate. A coach helps keep you on track and pushes you to follow through on your commitments.
3. Experience & Expertise – Why learn the hard way when you can leverage the lessons someone else has already paid for in time, money, and effort?
4. Confidence Building – Sometimes the difference between success and failure is belief. A coach can help you recognize your progress and build confidence in your ability to move forward.
5. Avoiding Negligence – Coaching forces you to confront blind spots and bad habits before they grow into serious problems that could damage your business.

But here’s the key. Coaching only works if you act on it. It’s not enough to nod your head and take notes. You must apply what you learn.  Be coachable, but also be courageous enough to follow through, even when it stretches you out of your comfort zone.

So, let me challenge you today. Are you coachable? Are you willing to humble yourself enough to seek guidance, accept feedback, and take action on what you learn? If the answer is yes, then you’ve already set yourself apart from many who try to “go it alone” and stall out.

I challenge you to find someone you can learn from, whether it’s a mentor, a mastermind group, or a professional coach. Don’t wait until frustration or burnout sets in. Be proactive, be teachable, and then be relentless in applying the lessons you gain. That’s how you move from simply running a business to truly building one that lasts.

At the end of the day, remember this fact. Seeking out coaching is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of wisdom. Ignorance can be addressed. Negligence is a choice. Choose to be coachable, choose to grow, and choose to act. Your future business and future self will thank you.

It’s dinner time and my wife is coaching me to get downstairs and eat or else I will have cold and unpleasant meal. She really is the best coach!

“A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.” — Tom Landry

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

And of course, a few VERY BAD Dad jokes:

My coach said I should visualize success… so now I dream of pizza.

My business coach told me to “think outside the box.” So I canceled my Amazon Prime subscription.

Until next time, STAY FRESH, Friends!

 

 

 

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