Today's Question
What small-business owners think.
As John Grossmann writes in an article we have just published, Scott McGohan, chief executive of McGohan Brabender, a health insurance and benefits broker with 120 employees and annual revenue of more than $25 million, hired a salesman about seven years ago who lacked experience in benefits consulting. Even so, in a field with a tough learning curve, the new salesman thrived.
The salesman was a type of employee sometimes referred to as a destructive hero. “He was probably the best salesman in the history of the company,” said Mr. McGohan, whose company is based in Dayton, Ohio. “Honestly, we were kind of drunk on revenue, infatuated by the results. He was very successful at bringing business in the door — but very combative regarding how business moves through the organization.”
Sometimes, the salesman would tell prospective clients that he could get them a financial projection by the end of the week, even though it generally took the company’s research analysts three or four weeks. Work backed up. Employees in the hero’s wake grumbled. But because the salesman had received so many accolades, the employees did not complain to management, at least not right away. Even when they did, Mr. McGohan — who acknowledged that he, too, was once a destructive hero — found excuses to skirt the mounting issues.
Please read the article and tell us if you had experience with similar employees. What approaches did you try?