Monthly Archives: January 2007

Silly Policy?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I work for an insurance company as an IT administrator. I have difficulty getting anything done because the people lack interest. They do not realize how much the business hinges on IT. I have tried introducing standard policies like email, AUP, DRP, a disaster recovery plan, but they just have no interest despite the importance. These are business critical policies that need to be in place in any organization. I have tried all I can and put simply, I am annoyed and tired. What should I do? How can I make them see the importance of IT? How can I make them cooperate? Please advise.

Response:

This is a conundrum about any kind of policy or procedure, whether it is administrative, a manufacturing process or a safety procedure. Some people in the organization just don’t seem to care about your silly policy, when there are a ton of reasons why. I am going to give my readers a chance to respond before I jump on the bandwagon. -TF

So Simple, We Failed

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Marcus was already in the conference room when I arrived. He had some papers spread on the table. I could tell by the look on his face he already had the answer. We were drilling down on an installation project that was under water.

“I knew when you asked for the production reports,” he started, “that we would find the problem within 30 seconds.”

“And?” I queried.

“You don’t even have to read the reports. The first three weeks, things are very repetitive. So repetitive that, starting in the fourth week, you can tell someone just photocopied the reports from the week before. The only change is the date at the top of the page. Then starting in week six, the reports stop.”

“And what does that tell you?”

“Well,” Marcus grimaced, “the quality of these reports follows exactly the real production curve in the field. We were meeting targets for the first three weeks. Things began to slide in week four and by week six, things went to hell in a hand basket.

“This is a very repetitive job, and it is very apparent that the weekly planning process just stopped. Everyone figured they would just keep working instead of stepping back to check progress and adjust. It seemed so simple, they lost the discipline of planning.

“The managers probably saved three hours per week in planning and checking, but lost more than 180 man hours in productivity. And they didn’t even know it until it was too late.”

“What’s the lesson?” I asked.

“Don’t get lulled in by the appearance of simplicity. You still have to plan and check. In this case, the payoff would have been three hours to save 180 hours.” TF

What Happened?

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I don’t know what happened.” Marcus grimaced. “Sure we were working under some tight restraints,” he explained. “During the first part of the contract, things were going well, but by the end, the wheels were coming off.”

“What do you think happened?” I asked.

“The contract called for several thousand feet of installation. We hit it with enthusiasm, high energy, everything clicked. I don’t know, but midway, we began to fall behind. Because of the working conditions, we could only work eight hours each day. Maybe we got sloppy, in the end, trying to finish, our quality got so poor that we had to go back and re-work several sections. First our margins disappeared, then our budget went completely underwater.”

“What do you think caused the erosion?”

“I don’t know. It was like we ran out of gas. I mean, everyone knew what to do. Technically, everyone was trained. The daily punch out was identical from start to finish. In the beginning, it was easy. In the end it was impossible. We just couldn’t keep up the momentum.”

“So, it wasn’t a matter or know-how or training. It wasn’t a matter of external conditions. Was it a matter of incentive or motivation?”

“No, you could see it in the eyes of the crew. They were in it, they were with it. They just could not produce.”

“Tell you what,” I interrupted. “Let’s pull the production records of the crew for the past six months and see what we find.”

Marcus went silent. I could tell he had mentally stumbled upon the reason. Before he left the room, he said he would have the records by the next morning. -TF

Don’t Remain Vulnerable

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“So what do we do?” asked Andrew. “The deal is lost.”

“What was your termination period?” I asked.

“Thirty days,” Andrew replied.

“So, what do you think is the termination period for the next guy?” Andrew, in his mind, was becoming unstuck. He had been focusing on the contract that he had just lost. “And you have told me about this other company. How long will it be before they fail to deliver?”

“Not long. And sometimes poor service can be an annoyance, sometimes it can kill people.”

“So, you lost this contract because you did not see the changes that were occurring with your customer. How will you win it back?”

“By seeing the changes that they will experience going forward?” Andrew stated, as a question.

“Even more than that. Understanding will only get you halfway there. Preparedness is the other half. Preparedness for action. If you are not prepared to take action, if you are not prepared to deal with the new reality, you will not be successful. If it’s business as usual, you will remain vulnerable.” I paused for a moment.

“By the way, what has changed with your other customers? The ones you still have.” -TF

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Sucker Punched

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Andrew was still upset. The contract was lost and there was nothing he could do about it. He had lost his appeal with the purchasing agent, the procurement manager and the director of operations.

“We did everything by the book,” he said. “This is the way we have earned all of our major contracts. Our reputation is stellar. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“You got sucker-punched,” I observed.

“What?” Andrew replied.

“Sucker-punched,” I repeated. “We often think that our future success lies in the fact that we had one small string of successes in the past. We think that the curve in front of us continues upward without hesitation. We do not realize that, as we continue to do things the way we have always done, the world subtly changes. The nuances of the deal creep up, new players enter the game without detection, and suddenly we are on our ass.” Andrew’s face showed no emotion on the outside, but his eyes betrayed a growing realization.

“There is good news, though,” I continued. “This is not a game. This is life. In a game, there are few second chances. The final period has an ending, even overtime is sudden death.

“In life, in business, there are lots of second chances and the final period can be extended. But only if you stop thinking about your past success and start thinking about what has changed around you.” -TF

Control In Life

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Andrew was beside himself. “How could this happen?” he exclaimed. “We had that bid locked down. That was our contract. We have literally worked for 16 months to position ourselves. We built the infrastructure. We built the relationships with the customer at all the levels. Then one guy gets promoted and we get a form letter saying that our contract has been terminated, thirty days notice.”

“What do you think the problem is?” I asked.

“I don’t know, sometimes I think my whole team is incompetent. To let this slip through, when we worked so hard for it.”

“Do you really think your team is incompetent?” I followed up.

Andrew shook his head from side to side. “No. Heaven’s no. What am I thinking? To every person on the team, I wouldn’t trade a single one. They are all A players. I just don’t know what happened.”

It was my turn. “Sometimes, when we think about competence, we think it is our ability to control the parts of the world that cannot be controlled. Events of the world will occur in spite of us. So, what is competence?” Andrew was listening, but not sure if he liked what he heard. I continued.

“The Boy Scouts’ motto is Be Prepared. I believe competence has to do with preparedness. We often try to control those things in life that cannot be controlled. And we fail to control the one thing in life that can be controlled, ourselves, our preparedness, our own competence.” -TF

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Our next Sales program kicks off with a preview on January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com for more information.

Not How Much You Know

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I was still sitting with David, talking about a seemingly competent manager, who simply never accomplished anything. This manager had talked a good game, but never took any effective action, never made any significant progress.

“David, I often see this in my management program. Students come into the class thinking they will listen to a series of lectures, get the latest management techniques and life will be good. I talk about how education is often understanding certain technical information. I talk about how training is often motivational to make a person feel a certain way. But in my class, the focus is on action. Quite frankly, I don’t care how much you know. I don’t care how you feel. I care about what you do.

“Some students,” I continued, “are surprised to find themselves, no longer sitting comfortably in their chairs, but standing at the front of the class. I want them on their feet, out of their comfort zone. Leadership starts with thinking. Leadership is about who you are. But ultimately, leadership is all about what you do.” -TF

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You are invited to a Preview of our next Sales program, January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com for more information.

The Difference in Success

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David was not surprised, but his disappointment was strong. “I don’t understand,” he started, then abruptly changed his pitch. “Yes, I do understand. I hired this guy, Marty, for a management position. He interviewed well, had all the buzzwords, you know, teamwork, synergy. Hell, he even kept the book, Good to Great propped up on his desk the whole time he was here.”

“So, what was the problem?” I asked.

“The problem was, he never actually got anything done. We would meet, be on the same page, but the job never got done. The progress, during the time he was here, quite frankly stood still.”

A few seconds ticked by. David looked up. He continued.

“You asked about the difference? I think I know the answer, now. The difference is action. Words are fine, theories are fine, planning is fine, but the big difference in success is action.” -TF

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Most Are Too Busy

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“A leader is someone who gets things done,” Stephanie responded. “At my church, whenever there is a project that needs to get done, people scatter. They all have excuses. They don’t have enough time. They are too busy. They don’t know how. So, the same one or two people eventually get asked to run the project.

“But when I look at those people, they are busier than anyone else. They always have more on their plate than the next person, yet somehow, they always get the job done. And they seem to get it done with little effort, even though they probably have less time to devote to the project than anyone else.”

“So, what do you think is the difference?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I mean everyone seems to want to help out, but some people just do it. There is a big difference between wanting to get something done, and actually doing it.”

“My question is still on the table,” I said. “What is the difference? What are the factors that make it so?” -TF
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Our next Leadership Program kicks of January 22. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
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Download our 2007 Planning Template.

What’s the Difference?

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“So, what’s the difference?” I asked.

Stephanie was slow to respond. We were talking about people. “Well, it’s like my team, there are definitely some different personalities.”

“And what about you? What makes you different? As the leader of your team, what makes you different?”

“Is it personality?” Stephanie knew there was a difference, but she had never thought about it.

“Some people think personality has something to do with it, but there is no evidence that any personality type is more or less successful as a leader. It may look a little different, but personality doesn’t explain the difference.

“Look, the world is the same for everyone. We are all faced with challenges, crisis, learning and growth. Yet some people stand out as leaders. What do you notice about them?”

“Leaders seem more aware. They know what to do. They have more energy. When they speak, what they have to say is interesting. People listen to them.” Stephanie was beginning to see the difference.

“So, if we are all faced with the same circumstances, the difference lies in the way a leader thinks.”

Over the course of the next few days, we will explore what this thinking consists of. In the meantime, I would like your thoughts. How does a leader think differently? Post your comment.

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Our next Leadership Program kicks of January 22. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
Our next Sales Program kicks off January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com.
Download our 2007 Planning Template.