Hey Artists! This weeks blog post is from a friend of the AuditionInside family! Barry Cain is an entrepreneur and entertainment technician at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. This article is extremely useful for not only captains, managers, and leads, but also for artists who want to better handle different “worker” types. Sit back and enjoy this intriguing and humorous comparison of workers and cereal!
I have taught and written articles before about leadership tips on managing people, so it’s not a new subject and maybe you have heard it before. I was with some friends one day and we were discussing this topic on the different types of people and their production or lack of, and somehow in that conversation we started to compare the different groups and giving them names of popular cereals. We were having one of those laughing sessions where it actually starts to hurt. So of course I had to take an old topic with a new twist and share it with you! I hope you enjoy it.
Almost every group, workforce, down-line, society or organization when you have a variety of people gathered together to accomplish a goal, you can separate those people into 3 basic groups. As a general rule, less than 10 percent of the people in that group will do about 90 percent of the workload. My father use to say, “Son, there are 3 types of people in this world. Those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that wonder what just happened.” I have found this to be absolutely the truth in every type of group I have been involved in. I like to refer to them as the Lucky Charms, the Frosted Flakes and the Fruit Loops.
Lucky Charms
The Lucky Charms are magically delicious, and someone is always after me lucky charms. These are the people that make things happen for you and your organization. These are the go getters, the helpers, the producers and the ones that are going to lock arms with you and help move your business forward. As a leader you should focus your energy on this group. Meet with them on a regular basis, and focus your time and energy on helping and developing them as leaders. Good people are hard to find, so there will be people going after these folks. Keep the vision of your organization in front of this group, assign tasks and people to coach or train and challenge them. If you keep growing as a leader they will stay motivated and grow with you. This is the small group that will do 90 percent of the workload, so you want to invest in this group.
Frosted Flakes
The Frosted Flakes have a nice sugar coating and look good at first, but they can be flakey and if you put a little milk on them they get soggy really quick. They are Grrrrrrrrrreat, and you are glad to have them, but they can require a little extra maintenance. They will produce when it’s convenient, but when the going gets tough they may get going. Use your Lucky Charms to influence this group. Again, keep the vision and direction in front of the group. Here is a little extra bonus for you. People will follow leaders and leaders will follow better leaders. That is why it is important for you to continue growing and develop your skills and encourage those around you to do the same.
Fruit Loops
The Fruit Loops are the ones that are constantly questioning everything, telling you why that idea won’t work, all while not lifting a finger to do anything. They are offended by something you said or didn’t say. They only contribute their negative energy to the group. The important thing to remember about this group is that they can influence your Frosted Flakes. If you put milk on Fruit Loops after a little while the milk starts to change color, the atmosphere is starting to change to the colors of the Fruit Loops. This is another reason to get your Lucky Charms involved with your Frosted Flakes so that the Fruit Loops don’t influence them in the wrong direction. This group will try to consume all of your time and energy. Let’s have a little heart to heart here, if you are a leader, trainer or coach, then it is in your nature to try and help people. You want to fix problems and issues and help everyone to succeed. It is important for you to understand that you are not going to be able to help everyone. You should not ignore or totally dismiss this group, but monitor the amount of time you are spending with them. If you let them take all of your time and energy then you are neglecting the Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes.
So here is your strategy, get your Lucky Charms organized and keep the vision in front of them. Get them involved with the Frosted Flakes and help mentor them. Do what you can for the Fruit Loops, but when you are not having success cut your losses and move on.
This article was originally posted on www.BarryDCain.com
About Barry Cain
Barry is a dedicated husband, father, musician and an entrepreneur in his spare time. He has directed choirs, bands, community theater and worked in recording studios. He is a Songwriter, Owner of “Got To Be Heard” Publishing and a member of Ascap and CCLI. Barry has been involved in various Multi-Level Marketing companies over the pas 20 plus years, and presently works full time as an Entertainment Technician.
