How "Unwritten Ground Rules" Could Wreck Your Business

Date: 01/03/2011

Are your aware of the UGRs - unwritten ground rules - that operate in your business? Your staff will know what they are, and if they're negative, you've got problems.

In most businesses, says Steve Simpson of Keystone Management Services, employees operate according to a series of UGRs - unwritten ground rules - a sort of folklore about how the business operates and how things get done. All too often, he says, they're negative, and work at cross-purposes to what management is trying to achieve. But, also too often, business leaders and senior managers aren't aware they exist, and consequently have a rose-tinted view of the company's culture. The UGRs will be formed by staff observing managers' words and actions, and whether they live up to the precepts they've laid down. For the business to succeed, it's important to change those negative UGRs into positive ones, which the whole team can endorse and work by.