Don't Fire Them, Fire Them Up!

I recently heard of a company who decided to cut their costs by firing their entire outside sales team. Is that like trying to increase sales by locking the doors, or what? If your company lives by sales (like which don't?), this is a questionable strategy to say the least. Sounds to me like we need a new general manager--someone with a real vision.

I ran across the book Don't Fire Them, Fire Them Up: Motivate Yourself and Your Team by Frank Pacetta a few years ago and I must have given away 25 copies to other managers. It is a great read right now in this business climate. It holds a lot of wisdom, ideas to change gears, and strategies to build teams--all for under $11. What a deal. You can read it in one day if you wanted to, or two tops. Don't fire your team, fire them up! And, you don't do that by talking about the problems, but showing them solutions and leading. Go for it!