Leslie Kwoh, WSJ, Mar 20, 2013, says some companies are making a concerted effort to get employees to take more risks.
Extended Stay America issues GET OUT OF JAIL FREE cards to employees to encourage them to forget about the recent bankruptcy and fear for their jobs and lash back into customer service. The workers, in some cases, shied away from needed repairs or comping unhappy customers.
With their cards in hand, employees cold-called to get customers and even appropriated some business cards left in the lobby to check for prospects.
Companies do have to be careful not to send mixed messages--a bold employee can be called a loose cannon all too easily.
One entrepreneur told his people to "fail fast"--if something is a loser, know it and move on.
His whole life, he said, had been a set of failures.
That's the spirit!
