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last update: April 2007

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Teach, Preach, Coach and Counsel


Albert Black, CEO/founder, On Target Supplies & Logistics, Dallas

Transcript for this Segment

HATTIE: Once you've hired a person, what should happen next? Albert Black says we need to do four things: teach, preach, coach and counsel.

ALBERT BLACK: I think you need to start with listening. And have that become a learning experience. To teach is to come from the intellectual side, for me. Preach is to be emotional. We need emotion in business. Coach is to be able to control and direct. Counsel is to be able to be empathetic to people and give them some sort of advice and direction as they move forward with their careers.

HATTIE: Tell me what my field of dreams is. What am I walking into if I come to work for On Target?

ALBERT: On Target Supplies and Logistics promises people three things. We promise people an educational income. If you come to work with us, you will know how to run a business. We have absolute open-book accounting. You would know every expense in this business. You will know every revenue stream. You will know all the cost of sales. You will know how to run a business in a couple of years. That's the educational income. We'll also pay you a psychological income. We want you to feel good about what you're doing at On Target Supplies and Logistics. Just coming in with that spirit de corps, that attitude that says, `Together we can climb mountains and win battles'--that's what we offer people, that psychological income of making a contribution every day that makes a difference.

The last thing, and the most important thing for some, the least important for me, is the financial income. We will pay you above market. We do not want you to think that coming to work for On Target Supplies and Logistics means that you've got to give up the opportunity to earn maximum salary. We like to bring people in and, over the course of their career here, get them above the industry average and then so above the industry average that their desire to leave is based on the first two, psychological and educational, and not financial.

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WATCH TELEVISION THAT TEACHES

Key Idea #10 of this episode

1.		Hire Attitude Not Skill
2.		Hire People Who Can Read People
3.		Hire People Others May Overlook
4.		Hire Nice People With Energy
5.		Offer A Career Track With Good Pay and Benefits
6.		Create An Intern Program
7.		Promote From Within
8.		Put What You Want In Writing
9.		Interview and Audition
10.		Teach, Preach, Coach and Counsel
11.		Provide real Training
12.		Train Everyone, Not Just Sales
13.		Listen To All Ideas
14.		Offer A Job For Life

The Case Study Guide

Key Idea #10: Teach, Preach, Coach and Counsel

Albert Black hires people from the poor neighborhood in which he grew up. They have little or no business experience, so he has to spend time teaching not just how to do a specific job, but how business works.

Topic for discussion: What is the difference between teaching, preaching, coaching and counseling?

Answer: He said teaching comes from the intellectual side while preaching reaches the emotions. Coaching is directing and controlling performance while counseling is being empathetic and offering advice. Albert is explaining in a nutshell how complex it can be to build a great team of employees. All of this sounds easy but it is extremely difficult.

At On Target learning is a priority and it isn't just learning how to do a specific job for which a person has been hired. It is about every employee improving their lives. Albert is the role model. Even after his company was enjoying great success, he got his MBA through SMU's (Southern Methodist University) weekend program. It took three years attending class most week-ends while working spending at least 60 hours a week at On Target.

Topic for discussion: Can a small business afford to fund employee education?

Answer: Albert says yes and explains, "We work with people on education. If you don't have a bachelor's degree, if you don't have a high school diploma, we'll send you back to school and we'll pay for it. Some employees have gone during working hours and we've paid them for that time. It's that important to us. I don't remember a situation where we've invested in education that I didn't feel like the company got more than a fair return."

In addition to funding higher education, Albert teaches employees how to spend and manage the money they are earning and how to earn more money. Ninety-five percent of the employees are enrolled in the company 401(k) plan. Albert's goal is for every employee to become part of the "affluent class." Each Friday morning he serves a hot breakfast and offers a training class on a variety of topics but all focused on personal growth and wealth accumulation. He says, "people are becoming members of the free enterprise system, they're saving, they're investing, they are building trust and for the first time in their lives are earning more money than they need to spend. "

You think about it: Do you teach, preach, coach and counsel? If not, do you think you should start? Which of the four activities is the easiest for you and which is the hardest? Who could mentor you where you are weak?

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