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Maximum Octane
The Power of Decentralization with Scott Brown
Ep. 7
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Although it takes a lot of work to align, having a decentralized business benefits both business owners and internal customers. Since our guest, Scott Brown, implemented that leadership style in his company, he got happier, more productive employees and more satisfied clients.
He gave his internal customers autonomy to decide and the right tools to make things happen; having someone worrying about inventory frees Scott from worrying about it.
Scott Brown is the Owner and Operator of Level 5 Solutions, a company equipped with the latest technology to perform calibrations on all makes and models of vehicles. He is also the owner of Cardinal Plaza Shell.
In this episode, Scott shared his unique point of view of leadership and team management. As he sees things, SOPs are useful when people don't know how to do the job, but once they master the craft, they can find new and faster ways to do the work. We also talked about the kind of people he looks to work with, the particular way he decided to conduct his business during the pandemic, the advantages of decentralization, and much more.
Tune in to episode 7 of Maximum Octane and know a different and highly effective way of leading a productive and unified team.
Some Questions I Ask:
- You say you don't need SOPs, and you don't want job descriptions; could you talk a bit about that? (4:07)
- What was your team's reaction when you said, we're going to cut your workweek in half, but we'll maintain your current pay schedules? (20:14)
- Part of your success, I think, is that there's trust and respect, and everything is transparent. Do you do feel the same? (25:30)
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- Make our clients' lives easier. The customer comes first, the team second, and the individual third. Be grateful for everything and entitled to nothing (6:52)
- What kind of autonomy do Scott's employees have when it comes to refunds and making decisions to make an unsatisfied client happy (9:30)
- Defaults vs. standards. Why Scott believes SOPs are useless at some point (12:10)
- The five vs. four days working week situation (17:43)
- About the Permanent Temporary Emergency Standard and other measures to make internal customers lives easier (26:31)
Resources:
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