Category Archives: Accountability

Easier to Live With the Problem

“Things are getting tight,” Brett explained. “This market is a lot different from a year ago.”

“Yes,” I replied.

“The phone doesn’t ring anymore. We only prepare two or three bids a week, now instead of two or three a day. So, it’s no wonder that our sales are down, backlog dwindling.”

“It’s quite a problem. I am glad you are happy with it.”

Brett shifted in his chair. “Happy, I’m not happy about it.”

I smiled. “Sure you are. You know, it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Brett shifted again. “What do you mean? I just told you that our market has changed. Getting sales is tougher.”

“What would you have to do to maintain your sales volume, even if the phone doesn’t ring?” I asked.

Brett looked puzzled. “Well, we would have to get out of the office, go out and look for new customers, but we are already doing some of that. It’s just hard to do.”

“So, you are happy to have this problem. It’s a lot easier to live with the problem of lagging sales than it is to make the necessary changes that create sales in spite of the market.” -TF

Systematic Profit

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Derrick was still puzzled, but scrambled through some papers on his credenza. Finally, he produced an org chart, at least a version of it, with several scribbled notations.

“Will this do?” he asked.

I shook my head. “It’s a start.”

“So, what are you looking for?”

“Derrick, you offer a price to your customers for your services?”

“Well, they tell us what they want, or need, then we have to take it through our estimating department. It’s not that simple, takes a day or so to produce a price based on a set of specifications.”

“And in that estimate, have you marked up or included some specific amount that should be profit on the job? Either gross profit or net profit?”

“Of course. We want to build in 10 percent for overhead and 10 percent for profit in addition to the direct costs. At least that’s the theory,” he stated flatly, rolling his eyes.

“No, it’s not just theory. Your livelihood, your business success is tied to those numbers. This is not a game.” -TF

Question to think about. Where in your system, do you specifically determine how much profit (gross or net) should be made, either on a project or within a time frame?

The Misbehavior Conversation

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My thanks to Larry and CSA for their responses to yesterday’s question about undermining authority.
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Here’s my take.

Undermining authority comes in many flavors. It could be naive behavior, thinking that it is helpful. It could be meddling behavior, a supervisor with nothing more interesting to do. It could be something to prove, disagreement with vision or disagreement with methods. It could be malicious, absolutely intentional as retribution for a past oversight from authority.

Your question leaves out detail, but your next move is the same no matter how unintentional or down-right mean and nasty the motive.

Your next move is a conversation and the sooner, the better. This is the Misbehavior Conversation.

If you want to fire the guy, you don’t need my help, so I assume you want the behavior to improve. You will need a quiet place. Here are the elements and the time frames for each step.

Observation. Describe specifically, without judgment, what you have observed. Be a reporter, no emotion, no opinion, just the facts. (10 seconds).

Impact. Describe the impact this is having on the team, the department, the company, the customer. (10 seconds).

Your contribution to the problem. (Yes, you have to assume some responsibility in this problem). As his manager, it is likely you were not clear when you created the roles and responsibilities. You likely have seen this behavior for some time, but you haven’t said anything, hoping that the behavior would go away. If you’ve kept quiet, then you have given permission. (10 seconds).

What’s at stake. There are many stakeholders who have some skin in this game. It is not just this supervisor and one or two people. Your customer is the biggest stakeholder. (10 seconds).

Consequences if no change. Do not forget this step. If there are no consequences, then I don’t know why you are having this conversation. (10 seconds).

Your wish to resolve. Tell this supervisor that your intention is for things to improve. (5 seconds).

Ask for a plan to correct the behavior. (5 seconds). Don’t fall for the trap of telling this supervisor what must be done. The plan for improvement must come from his lips. So shut up and listen. (10 minutes).

Agreement on follow-up. This is an appointment to check on progress. Get your calendar and set a specific time, within seven days of this conversation.

This is not a long conversation. You will notice that you only get to talk for one minute compared to ten minutes for the other person. Note the solution to the problem must come from the other person. The most important skill is listening and asking questions. -TF

The Problem with Results

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“That’s the problem with our results based system,” Audrey explained. “As his manager, I have to sit around and wait for the results to come in. If they don’t, I am supposed to be quick and decisive. Chop phim off at the knees.”

“You sound like it doesn’t work out sometimes.”

“More than sometimes. There are almost always outside circumstances that impact results. I can have someone doing a great job, but some circumstance spoils the party. Even though they were doing a great job, they get a (2) on their performance appraisal.

“Or even worse,” Audrey continued. “I have a supervisor, who is really doing a lousy job, but they get lucky, the goal gets achieved, so they score a (5).”

“And?” I prodded.

“And, now my boss says we have to cut overhead, somebody has to go. I have to pick the lousy supervisor with the (5) and let go the good supervisor with a (2).”

Do You Believe It?

“When you evaluate his effectiveness, given his resources and his challenges, how does he stack up?” I asked.

Audrey was quick to reply. “No way. That’s the problem. We have a results based performance review system. He is obviously not getting the results we want, but there is always something, some circumstance that prevents him or his team from delivering the goal. And that something, that circumstance always seems to make sense.”

“You mean the excuse that gets him off the hook is the excuse that you believe.” -TF

The Problem is Not the Problem

“We call him, Teflon,” Audrey said. “Nothing sticks. Things go wrong in his department all the time, but he always has an explanation why one thing or another caused the problem. Always something out of his control. Not his fault.”

“Has he ever taken responsibility for some performance measure in his area?” I asked.

“No, he has never had to. You would think there is a worldwide conspiracy out to get him and foil all his plans. Even when I don’t buy his excuse, he has a backup excuse to replace it. Do you think he is just unlucky?”

“Audrey, sometimes the explanation for the problem tells you more about the explainer than it does about the problem.” -TF

Hands Off

“Muriel is a line worker, who reports to her supervisor, Vince, who reports to me. Muriel has been here for six months. I am certainly not her supervisor, but I am the Manager Once Removed for her team. Her team is a very important element of my system,” Sylvia explained.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“I was talking to Muriel, just asking how things are going, about how she has adjusted to working here. That’s when the fireworks started.”

Sylvia had my curiosity. “Tell me more,” I prompted.

“Her supervisor, Vince, remember that Vince reports to me. Vince walked by, interrupted us, began grilling me on our conversation. I tried to tactfully excuse Sylvia from the discussion, but she had a scared look on her face.”

“What did Vince say?”

“I pulled him into my office so we could talk in private. He said that I was undermining his authority, that if I had anything to say to one of his team members, I needed to go through him and he would deliver the message. Otherwise, he said, Hands Off.”

Is It Too Late?

Stella’s disbelief faded to reality. “You’re right. That’s what I did during my interview, here. I tried to steer the conversation to my best qualities. I mean, I answered their questions, truthfully, but, you know, they didn’t really ask that many. They spent most of the time describing the job, what they expected and how great the company was.”

“You probably got more out of the interview than they did,” I replied. “So, what can we do different?”

“Isn’t it a little late, we already hired the wrong person.”

A Hundred Reasons

“I just hope this delegation with Joe goes okay. We have a lot on our plate this week and a couple of serious issues,” Ruben hedged.

“Ruben, there are a hundred reasons why this delegation could fail. If it succeeds, it will not be because everything was right with the world. It will succeed in spite of everything going against it.” -TF

What is Necessary Today?

“Now that you understand the necessity of delegation, what is the specific outcome that is necessary this week?” I asked.

“I guess I need to delegate something,” Ruben replied.

“Ruben, this is not a guessing game. If you guess, you will be wrong. What specific outcome is necessary this week?”

Ruben paused. “I have a project I want to,” Ruben stopped. “I have a project that is necessary for Joe to complete by next Wednesday.”

“Good. Now, if Joe is to complete this project by next Wednesday, what is necessary for you to do today?” -TF