90 Percent is an A

Just as it’s impossible for friends and family to be GREAT all the time, the same goes for employees.

Here’s an example from our business:

My mother called me into her office one day and was really upset about a raise our vice president of human resources was giving to an employee. I was president of our consumer products business at the time, and we had more than 3,500 employees in the unit. My mother had run HR in the old days, and she still kept an eagle eye on our systems and frequently brought “stuff” to my attention (and drove me a little nuts—FAMILY BUSINESS!). She asked me if I thought the raise was right, and frankly, I looked over the data and said, “No. I think it is too high.” She smiled and told me to call in our vice president to change it. And I told her I wouldn’t do that. I would stick with the VP’s decision. I didn’t want to review 3,500 individuals—and as long as the VP and I agreed the vast majority of the time, it was okay and I would let it stand. Ninety percent is an A. Believe me, it is a whole lot less stressful to live your life without expecting perfection from everyone. Forgiveness is a pretty good tool too.