Management. Everything is always your fault.

Following sixteen years of operations- and branch management at three of the largest pest control companies in Europe and the United States, the author ran his own company in the U. S. for fourteen years. During those thirty years he was surprised to see the difference in customer service offered - and accepted by the customers - in the two cultures. Due to a more competitive industry in the United States, the service level offered was consistently higher. The author found that the difference was rooted in the lack of optimal performance at the most critical point - face to face with the customers. The key to this lack of performance seemed easy to determine: Lack of good management. In Europe, management gave the impression of an exercise in personal power, disbursing responsibility and problems down the corporate chain. Management is the total opposite. It is to inspire your human resources to optimal performance. Through communication and support you create a culture of confidence and knowledge - you make your team thrive. This requires one specific key chain of events: To take immediate and personal responsibility for everything that is - or goes - wrong, never to blame your team and always turn negative events in to positive learning experiences.