By: Eric Chester
While Some Rules are Changing, ‘Coffee is for Closers’ is One that Won’t.
The phrase “Coffee is for Closers” resonates with anyone who’s seen the classic film, Glengarry Glen Ross. This 1992 movie stars six Hollywood A-list leading men as salesman who work for an unethical real estate outfit. The actors portray fast-talking hucksters who lie, exaggerate, and use a series of con games to goad unwitting prospects into signing on the dotted line for overpriced real estate. (If you haven’t seen the movie, and you have a high tolerance for foul language, here’s the scene that made the “Coffee is for Closers” catchphrase famous and earned Alec Baldwin an Oscar nomination.)
For a summer job while in college, I sold lawn treatment plans (fertilizer) to home owners. The office environment where I spent evening hours was strikingly similar to the high-pressure sales culture depicted in Glengarry Glen Ross.
My manager was an in-your-face bully who was every bit as intimidating, threatening, and foul-mouthed as Alec Baldwin’s character. I despised him and could not stand his ‘motivational’ techniques. However, I was pretty good at pitching the B.S. (fertilizer was not the only B.S. being pitched), and I made enough money to pay my tuition. So I put up with his degrading tactics for a few summer months.
Reflecting on this experience, I have to admit that it did cement within me the one fundamental principle I now realize applies to every business in America: CIFC (Coffee is for Closers). Although my manager never used those exact words, he burned into my brain that the company’s coffee (money) was reserved exclusively for closers (producers), and that if I wasn’t constantly producing a tangible value that was exponentially higher than the amount printed on my weekly paycheck, I would be terminated.
Commission-based salespeople may be the only ones who fully understand and wholeheartedly accept the CIFC principle, but they are not the only ones to whom it applies. Unless you’re in a government job, work for a non-profit organization, or are protected by a labor union, the CIFC principle applies for you. Even though I’m self-employed, it very much applies to me.
The CIFC Principle Hasn’t Failed, We’ve Just Failed to Relay the Principle
Because the CIFC principle can come off as harsh and negative, today’s parents and educators have neglected to alert their children and/or students that it is still the core of every business. They’ve instead chosen to advise them to “follow their dreams,” “find a job they love,” and “do only that which makes them happy.”
Thinking they’ve set young people on a journey towards career happiness, what these well-intending adults have actually done is send millions of young people into the workforce with the misguided perception that they are entitled to their “coffee” simply by virtue of getting hired and reporting to a job.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
What the emerging generation has not been told is that there ain’t no free lunch, and that includes free coffee.
Whether producing a sale, a product, a service, or some other kind of tangible result that has a measurable impact on bottom line profits, all workers are ultimately judged and compensated based on their production. Sooner or later, if the value of the results they produce do not far exceed the amount printed on their paychecks, they will be replaced.
You Don’t Have to Be an A-Hole to Get the Message Through
If you have people on your payroll who exasperate you by acting entitled to free coffee from your operation, you don’t have to go Alec Baldwin on them to alert them to the CIFC principle. There’s a better way.
1. Teach them your business. You know what it takes to make a profit and keep the lights on. But chances are most of your people don’t. They may understand how to make a widget, but that doesn’t mean they understand the complexities of a widget-making operation and what it takes from each person on the team to keep the business growing and the paychecks flowing. Educate them. Make certain that everyone in your operation understands the CIFC principle (whatever you choose to label it) and why it is in effect in your business.
2. Provide clear, measurable expectations. What exactly is ‘the standard’ for each job? How do people in each position exceed those expectations? How/when will they know if they fall short? Is there a daily, weekly, monthly measurement of each individual’s progress toward their stated objectives to enable them to self-evaluate? Metrics matter. Let them see how they are doing compared to what they are expected to be doing.
3. Make sure the coffee in the cups of your producers runneth over. Reserve the sweetest rewards for those who consistently produce above and beyond results. The quickest way to demotivate top producers is to give them the same rewards as those who produce less. Everyone should be treated fairly, but not everyone should be treated the same.
With massive changes in healthcare and labor policies, the workplace will continue to undergo an extreme makeover in the coming year. To survive, sustain, and to succeed in the midst of this turbulence, it’s imperative that you inform your emerging workforce (and remind those who may have forgotten) that throughout every phase of your organization — regardless of how harsh it may sound — one core principle remains intact: coffee is for closers.
Eric Chester is an award-winning keynote speaker and the author of Employing Generation Why and Getting Them to Give a Damn. His latest book Reviving Work Ethic is the only book available on the topic of developing work ethic in young employees. Eric can be reached at 303-239-9999 or www.EricChester.com. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_chester or at Facebook.com/RevivingWorkEthic.
Great post, Eric!
As a twenty year veteran of nonprofit work, I would remove nonprofits from your “exempt” list 🙂
Every nonprofit employee must provide value to the organization, the cause, or the clients…all the more so in resource-constrained conditions.
Providing excellent value increases the chance of funding – whether they are in nonprofit sales (fundraising) or another department. So even in nonprofits, CIFV: coffee is for value.
Back to your post: the steps you list are very practical and too often ignored. I’ve worked with many frustrated leaders who have never explained the actual business to their team and then wonder why people don’t ‘get it’.
Thanks for keeping it real!
David
Yo David!
I appreciate your feedback, brother. You’re damn right when you say providing excellent value increases the chances of getting funding! People are tired of throwing their money away on all the B.S. entitlement programs out there. They want to know that their taxes are being spent wisely. When those non-profits and government agencies start operating like legitimate businesses and begin to pay people based on their contribution rather than their seniority, we’ll see an incredible turnaround in our economy.
And yes, this is going to happen sooner or later. Tax payers are fed up and they are getting wide to the trickery, laziness, and sloth that has plagued their sectors for generations.
Hope to meet you one day.
e
Thanks. Great tips. I do think CIFC is important in government and non-profit work–this is for leaders to take on as I know these cultures well and most of the time the culture breeds mediocrity.
There is hope. CIFC is an important value. Thanks for highlighting some of its specifics.
You bet CIFC is important in government and non-profit jobs, Matthew! If those jobs were based on pay-for-performance metrics, we wouldn’t have multi-trillion dollar debts.
Thanks for chiming in!
Eric
Excellent insight. So many people do not view work as hard, they thing it is all social media playing. Any business depends on ROI and if an employee products negative ROI on a long enough time well, the coffee isnt for them.
GGGR is a fantastic movie that anyone in sales should watch. It real, it makes your skin crawl, the Baldwin scene is simply the best. Thanks for a through blog post.
I don’t think it has to be painful per se, which IS the association a lot of people, especially many generation has with it.
But, yeah, the days of “I can punch the clock and do the bare minimum on the job and not get fired” are over. That is what is really happening. You have to be good at what you do, change with the times, or it’s out on the street, as it was before we got too soft on people, and as it should be.
I agree with this article- those who provide value to the company should be rewarded, and those who do not get disciplined.
However, a lot of Gen Y and many of the Baby Boomers believe their job is their Daddy who provides them with comfort, and perks such as free healthcare and retirement planning as a give-in, not a reward.
The Baby Boomers got lazy, and most of my generation is far far worse.
Thanks, Sophie!
Anyone who’s even been in the trenches of a boiler-room sales floor knows that GGGR is a great movie because it’s 100% authentic. Sounds like you’ve been there, done that.
Rock on, Sophie!
Most of the rich, and parents who genuinely care that their children are able to be successful and happy adults, teach their children that you are rewarded or not in life based on the value you provide meeting the wants and needs of others.
This is the main reason some people make less then $20k a year and some make $20 million or more a year.
This is where a sizable chunk of the Baby Boom generation failed Gen Y. They didn’t pass this on, especially if they worked for the government or Union employers or even enjoyed job/business security due to favorable market conditions.
They were pampered, and didn’t have to do much to remain competitive. They just showed up, did enough work to avoid being fired, and cried about how evil their boss was if they were told to do their job, so they didn’t teach their children good values and discouraged learning them.
There are a lot of people who get a lot of power telling you that you are not responsible for your success and failure in life, and history teaches us that when enough people buy into that, good things do not happen.
America, especially Gen Y, needs to Grow a Pair.
You got that right, Thomas! I have seen the enemy and it is us. We (boomers) programmed entitlement into our young (millennials). Now we’re bitching about it.
We can fix this, tho. Gotta roll up our shirt sleeves and get back to work!
“If I wasn’t constantly producing a tangible value that was exponentially higher than the amount printed on my weekly paycheck, I would be terminated.”
This is exactly why I have zero pity for the “laid off worker” excuse. “The economy is bad! The job market is crowded! I was laid off! My company outsourced!”
The economy is bad? You need to make yourself more valuable. The job market is crowded? Make yourself a scarce resource. Don’t be just another body.
Why did the company outsource and lay you off? Because you didn’t make a substantial enough contribution to make that the least desirable course of action for your employer.
Coffee is for closers.
Jobs are for performers.
To quote The Bible (without the need to get religious.. it’s a simple metaphor, really)
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
In my organization, you bear good fruit or you’re cut down and thrown into the fire. That’s how the business world needs to be for success. Is it cut throat? Not at all! Those who perform are given the opportunity for great things. This, my friends, is capitalism. Also, regarding your third point, I can’t tell you how frequently, as a manager, I have to explain that Fair does not mean Equal.
Hey Eric
Liked the site. I’ll be totally honest here….I believe that I have a weak work ethic! But only in certain situations. I am a highly paid independent computer consultant, but I often do the minimum, just skating by. On the other hand, I volunteer in my children’s sports and schooling. I have put in countless, unpaid hours for the last 9 years as hockey coach, soccer coach, team manager and active in the school board. And I work very hard and care very deeply that I do a good job in that capacity. However, at work, I tend to be a procrastinator and do the least possible. I have been aware of this problem for years, and have tried to fix it. But my old habits just keep coming back. And I am frankly tired of feeling that I don’t do enough……it lowers my self esteeem. Some people might say that I am too hard on myself, but I see the effort my colleagues but in, and I know that I am cheating those that pay me (handsomely). Do you have any insight as to why in one area I can have a very strong worth ethic, and in others a very weak one?? Obviously money is not the motivating factor….so what could it be? And more importantly…how can I fix it? Thanks
Robert T – Plain and simple you are stealing from your employer. Look in the mirror every morning and ask yourself if you can continue stealing that day.
Put in an honest day’s work and you will feel better about yourself.
This hits the nail on the head. I give a $10 iTunes card to my top student each marking period. The ones who don’t EARN the iTunes card get soooo bent out of shape. They don’t think it fair. They didn’t know they got a reward for working hard. (Read the syllabus…) Now that they know, do you think the whiners will work any harder?
This principle is 100% true in business. Producers must be rewarded to provide optimal efficiency. If you believe this has any place in public policy, our government, or society you are misguided. Producers will disproportionately come from sectors of society with lower levels of poverty. As this is perpetuated through time large income gaps become prevalent and society is harmed. Let the producers produce in the business sector while the government creates more equality.