A reader asks:

I run a small business that supplies a product to major companies. To keep the details anonymous, let’s say that we supply garments to a few mid-tier clothing retailers that you can buy in the mall. The problem is that one of my employees two levels down (he reports to someone who reports to me), Dave, behaves as though we’re making clothing for Gucci or Prada. This causes enormous production headaches. It means everything moves much more slowly through his department, because he is extremely conscientious about quality.

That is admirable, but it results in things like being short with our subcontractors because they have not produced the products to his standard, even though they have produced them to industry standards. We’ve lost freelance designers because they’re being asked to make Prada-level clothing for Old Navy-type wages.

© Fast Company