I recently took a road trip to visit my family. I am an early riser, so I often head to a coffee shop and get some work done before others wake up.
On this particular morning my preferred coffee shop wouldn’t be open for an hour, so I searched for another option. The place looked great from the outside. I ordered a coffee and sat down to write.
Within minutes I was itching to get out of there.
The place was a mess. What I am sure the owners saw as maximally quirky decor, I found to be sloppy, claustrophobic, unorganized and all together distracting. I simply couldn't focus.
As humans, we need order in order to do our best work.
As with this coffee shop, a company might look good from the outside, but inside it is claustrophobic, sloppy, and all together unorganized. Before long employees are itching to leave.
CLAUSTROPHOBIC: Micromanagement. Little autonomy.
SLOPPY: Poor communication and unaddressed issues.
UNORGANIZED: Unnecessary obstacles that keep people from doing their best work.
Discuss and address these issues with your team. If you do, you will find people lined up at your door, itching to join your company.