Sometimes I have to hire laborers to do hard, physical work that I am not willing to do. The going rate is around $100 a day. Today, I felt unbelievably fortunate to hire a guy named Elbert Williams to cut down some huge, overgrown bushes, pull them up by the roots and move a lot of big rocks that were buried underneath the soil. Elbert was Hercules strong with an incredible attitude. He actually enjoyed working in the 100 degree heat. He did an eight hour job with no breaks in just four hours! He didn’t work the clock, he just got the job done with excellence. So, what does an employer do? Pay him $50? Absolutely not! I paid him $120 because he was worth it. E, as he is affectionately called, was a pure joy to watch. I would take his energy every day over someone who is “milking” a job just to get a check.
A pay scale that is attached to how many hours one works is wrong to me. I know in some situations that is an important metric. But in most cases, I prefer paying for terrific results. If you can do a great job in a fraction of the time – wonderful. Just do it! And if you are the boss, reward those people. Their energy and production are far more important than someone who is merely taking up space watching the clock tick until they get their paycheck.
