Why I Hate the Holidays

Wait wait wait - I don't ACTUALLY hate the holidays. In fact, I used to be very fond of them - when I was in school. I suppose I would like them a lot more if I had a normal job as well - after all, days off of school or a routine job are a welcome relief and an excuse to unplug from the stress and rigor of every day life. Something changes when you're an entrepreneur - holidays become less of a welcome escape and more of a stressful, guilt-ridden time of reflection. A time to think about all of the things that you should be getting done instead of gorging yourself with mom's turkey and pumpkin pie. And let's not forget the inevitable spiked eggnog over-indulgence.

The toughest part of the holidays is keeping your team focused and motivated before and after their days off. In bigger companies (from my limited experience), the 'mailing it in' phenomenon often begins at least a week before the holidays begin. Water cooler conversations become longer, workdays shorter, and all the while productivity takes a back seat to holiday hoopla. When you can't afford to lose a single second this type of situation is very threatening.

So what do you do? We had a situation today where the members of our development and technical team were hoping to take off the the two days between boxing day and the following weekend. Perfectly reasonable request - but when you're tying up the loose ends of your final V1 beta release things aren't so simple. We needed to launch yesterday, and as new competitors emerge and release dates come and go the urgency increases by the second.

We need them to work those days. Well that's easy you say - just tell them they have to work or they can find a new job. Well, not quite. We need our workers to not only show up to work, but to put their hearts into it. There's no use having an empty ass pushing down a seat cushion. On top of that I want them to have the time off - we've been working them hard and everyone needs time with family and friends.

So how do you get a group of people to come to work with smiles on their faces and motivation in their minds in the middle of cruise control season? I don't know - but I can tell you what we did. believe the key to motivation is vision. It is your job as a leader to ensure that your people share your vision, that they believe in what they're doing and that they see that you are willing to make any sacrifice needed in order to attain that vision. If you're asking them to give up two days of holiday pie, you'd better damn well be ready to do that and more.

I did something simple, I wrote them a letter. First I thanked them. Then I asked them to help me. Last, I explained why they want to help me in light of our vision, our goal and the forces and situations that shape our current position. Never underestimate the power of shared goals coupled with an understanding of why things are done the way they are. The day you assume that your underlings are beneath the 'need to know' threshold is the day you lose the shared goals that make you special.

Like I say, I don't know yet if they're on board. All I can do is wait and hope with faith. This year it appears I'll be doubling my helpings of guilt - thus is the life of the entrepreneur.