Category Archives: Timespan

The Silence Began

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“I want to start the meeting by asking some questions about the project,” I continued. All eyes turned toward the two project leaders, but I started with Alicia, the Division Manager. “Alicia, what is your role, as Division Manager, related to the Phoenix Project?”

Alicia was a bit startled. She had expected the hot seats to be occupied by her two project leaders. “Well,” she took a deep breath. “My role is to put the team together, assign the leadership, make sure there is consensus and that the project stays on track.” Alicia stopped, hoping that was enough. She clearly wanted to shift the project delays to her project leaders.

“Okay,” I nodded. “Let’s hear from the two project leaders. Russ, you are from the engineering department, how do you understand your role?”

Russ was quick, prepared and in less than a minute outlined his role to make sure the customer’s technical requirements were followed. There were close to 150 design specifications that would be evaluated at the end of the project.

“And Corey, you represent the production department. How do you understand your role?”

Corey gave a brief overview of the strict time deadlines, including an example of how production decisions sometimes required substitution of materials or a change in sequence.

“And sometimes, there is a conflict in Russ’s Quality agenda and Corey’s Production agenda,” I stated flatly. “And that is what we are here to resolve, today, the conflict between Russ and Corey.”

And that is when the silence began. –TF

Predictable Shifting

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Eleven people sat around the table. Alicia, in her role as Division Manager, the two Project Leaders and the rest of the team. It was a big project.

“I want to thank you for inviting me to this team meeting,” I began. “I know most of you from other projects over the past few years. It’s good to see familiar faces.

“And I also want to thank each of you for your participation today. The Phoenix Project is important to this company and you are all well aware of its delays.

“The purpose of the meeting today is to resolve those delays caused by the project’s leadership.” I stopped to gauge the response. There was predictable shifting in the chairs. Everyone was very uncomfortable.

Whenever I see that much discomfort, I know we are dealing with a real issue. –TF

Not the Time to be a Superhero

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“You have two out of five manager positions in place on a daily basis, so when you have a problem, you think you are fixing it when you are NOT fixing it,” I offered.

“What do you mean?” Derrick asked.

“When you have a problem, you think you are fixing it. In fact, you have a supervisor in play to make sure the problem gets fixed.”

“So, the problem is fixed,” Derrick insisted.

“No, the problem is fixed, but the system is still broken. You are missing three of five Managers, so you are not paying proper attention to your systems.

“You see, Derrick, when you have a problem, everyone scrambles to fix the problem. Even experienced Managers put on their superhero cape and leap in front of their biggest customer to save the day.

“What they need to focus on,” I continued, “is not the problem. They need to focus on the system. Why didn’t the system prevent that problem? Or at least mitigate the damage from the problem? Their role is NOT to fix the problem, but to fix the system.” -TF

Two Out of Five

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We will be closing registration soon for our Online Leadership Program. For those who don’t get into this session, we will start a waiting list for next time.
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Derrick located a copy of the org chart. “A little out of date,” he remarked.

“It’s time stamped only three weeks ago,” I said.

“Yeah, well, it’s still out of date.”

“So, if I think you have a system problem, where should I look on the org chart?” I asked.

“All these people are the ones who are doing the work, and the supervisors make sure the work gets done. You have to be looking at our managers,” Derrick observed.

“Yes, and I see you have five manager positions. Those are the ones responsible for creating the systems inside your company.”

“That’s why it’s a little out of date. One manager got promoted to Vice President and we figured he could still cover his old position. This manager, here, got an offer from another company, and we decided that we might be able to do without for a while. And this manager, our controller, wanted to move to the northern part of the state. And with the internet, she does her work from home.”

“Let me get this straight. You have five manager positions, monitoring your systems, yet only two out of five actually show up for work here?” -TF

Predictability and System

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“I understand how we calculate profit, but what does that have to do with my organizational chart?” Derrick asked.

“You design a predictable profit into your price, but what is it that keeps your profit predictable when you actually deliver your product or service?” I replied.

Derrick was thinking. “It becomes predictable when we are able to do the same thing over and over, the same way, with the same methods, in the same amount of time, with the same amount of scrap.”

“And how do you make all that happen over and over?”

“Well, we have designed a system and we train everyone to work the system.”

“And so, if something is happening with the predictability of your profit, what’s wrong, where do you look?” I continued.

“Something has to be wrong with the system,” Derrick nodded.

“So, where do you look?” I insisted.

“We should try to find out what’s wrong with the system.”

“Remember, I said that your problem is seldom a what, almost always a who?”

Derrick grinned. “So, that’s why you want to look at the org chart.”

Systematic Profit

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We will be closing registrations for our online Leadership program next week. If you have an interest, please let us know.
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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?

It’s Not a What

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“The reason we called you in, is that we have a margin problem,” Derrick explained.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Easy! Revenue is up and profit is down.”

“How do you think that happened?”

Derrick took a moment. “We’re a bit stymied. Every time we think we found the problem, and think we have it fixed, at the end of the month, the numbers tell the same story. Revenues up. Profit down.”

“I tell you what I would like to see. Could you get me a copy of your org chart?”

“Our org chart?” Derrick looked at me like I was from Mars. “I said we have a margin problem, why do you want to see our org chart?”

“Derrick, you have looked all over the place trying to discover what is wrong. Your problem is not a what. Your problem is a who.” -TF

The Problem is Not the Problem

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“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

Importance of the MOR Conversation

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July 16 kicks off our summer Leadership program here in Fort Lauderdale. For registration information, please visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“So, the relationship between the supervisor and the line worker or the manager and the supervisor is all about the work. And that relationship is an accountability relationship,” I explained.

Sylvia nodded, so I continued, “What is the appropriate relationship between the manager and the line worker? What is the nature of the relationship for the Manager Once Removed?”

“It can’t also be an accountability relationship, because the line worker would then have two bosses. That’s a little schizophrenic.” Sylvia’s head turned. “But the conversation I was having with Muriel, our line worker, wasn’t about the work. I was interested in how she was doing as a person. I was interested in how she was adjusting, how she was finding things with the company.”

It was my turn to nod. Sylvia continued.

“As the Manager Once Removed, I think it is important to have those kinds of conversations. Her supervisor will talk with her about the work, making sure the work gets done. My role, as a Manager, is to create the system, monitor the system. It’s important for me to find out the condition of the system.”

“Is it also your responsibility to be grooming your next wave of supervisors?” I asked.

“Yes, and my next supervisors are going to come from my best team leaders. As the Manager Once Removed, I need to be having conversations about career paths and opportunities within the company.”

“And, as a Manager, do you also have an accountability relationship with the supervisor who reports to you?”

“Yes, and I can find out a lot about Vince’s performance as a supervisor by having a Manager Once Removed conversation with Muriel.”

Live With It?

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“You may have hired the wrong person,” I said, “but you haven’t figured out exactly what’s wrong. You have a decision to make, with three alternatives.

  • Live with the situation, and continue to complain about it.
  • Terminate or reassign the person to a different role.
  • Redefine the role within the capability of the person you hired.

“You know, I can’t live with it,” Stella replied. “I, personally, have to fill the gap for any underperformance. And I have my own responsibilities. Every minute I steal away to cover for my supervisor is a minute away from my own tasks. I don’t see any way around it. This job really requires someone with a nine month Time Span. My supervisor has only demonstrated capability at around two months. I cannot take him under my wing and hold his hand.”

“What are you going to do?” -TF