The $2,000 dare

The first time I read it I had to re-read it. The second time I read it I laughed. Soon after I saw the brilliance.

Imagine approaching a new employee during training and offering them money to quit if they are not fully committed to your business? I didn't think so.

When you bring in the right employees who will commit to your mission you will have fewer problems providing high level customer service. If you have a workforce loaded with people "collecting a paycheck"...you will. It's great to be customer focused, it's better to be employee focused.

Tony Hsieh at Zappos.com is a genius. He took the time to calculate the financial hit as well as the customer service cost involved in bringing in the wrong people. He realized that offering $2,000 plus wages earned during his four week training program was less costly than the alternative. Shocking!

Ask your friend who owns a business how much it costs to hire a new employee. It goes far beyond the salary. Ask them to calculate the cost if the employee leaves in the first 90 days. It's staggering.

Tony Hsieh's policy was hard to fathom at first. My hope is that it inspires you to think differently about how you run your business.