In 1982, George Kelling and James Wilson published an article entitled Broken Windows. The article argued that a crucial and necessary step to keep order in a dangerous neighborhood, was to fix broken and unrepaired windows. Kelling and Wilson state that if people in these neglected neighborhoods see a building with broken windows, that they will be tempted to break more windows (I suspect you may have even felt an inkling of desire to throw a rock at a building with broken windows yourself). And as more windows get broken, the temptation grows in the community to commit riskier and more damaging acts. It’s the snowball effect of neglect.

If your business is a sloppy space, it will promote more sloppiness in work. If your nature is to be confrontational with your employees, it will promote them to confront clients. What happens in one instance, will start to happen in all. Start fixing your businesses “broken windows.” And, for God’s sake, if you have an actual broken window… fix that first.