Common Sense Managing TIPS

Tips - Articles - Presentations

Click and/or scroll through the 10 Sections of Common Sense Tips!

Vision: If You’re Not Customer Driven, Best Stay Off The Highway

Planning: If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You’re Likely To End Up Somewhere Else

Controlling: If You’re Not Measuring It, You’re Not Managing It

Accountability: In Matters Of Importance, It’s Accountability That Counts

Motivation: Call Off The Search, We Already Have The Holy Grail

Customer Service 101: If You Don’t Know The Steps, You Can’t Do The Dance

Customer Satisfaction 102: The Operation Was A Success, But The Patient Died

Problem Solving: Fixing The Problem, Not The Blame

Meetings: Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them

Training: Training That Produces No Change Is As Effective As A Parachute That Opens On The First Bounce

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Tips from the Vision section of Common Sense Managing:

CUSTOMER DRIVEN VISIONS: The Golden Rule of Management 228 words By the ‘90’s the most successful companies were including their customers in the quality formula. They evolved from doing things right [quality] to doing the right things right [customer defined quality]. Using their customers’ definition of quality, they implemented plans and strategies to ensure that their customers would select them over any competition. These companies range from amusement parks [Disney Theme Parks], to computers [Motorola], to hotels [Marriott Hotels], to banking [MBNA], to retail [Nordstrom]. Their success stories are told, retold, and analyzed in trade and professional literature. These winners’ stories contain many variables. However, they all have one common factor in their DNA. They are all customer driven. They are all survivors who follow The Golden Rule of Management: He who has the gold makes the rules. These winners all follow this rule with a passion. They recognize that their customers have the gold and therefore, make the rules. Survival in the increasingly competitive world requires businesses to perform, not just produce. These winners focus their performance on what their customers want. What does your organization do to ensure that it is "doing the right things right"? What ongoing actions do you take to obtain your customers’ definition of success? Do you treat you employees as customers? [Dissatisfied employees &Mac173; satisfied customers] What do you do to demonstrate this? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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CUSTOMERS’ PERCEPTIONS High customer perception of quality equals high profits. The Profit Impact of Market Strategy [PIMS] project revealed that companies achieved pretax returns on investment of 32 percent a year when customers' perception of their quality ranked them in the top fifth of their industry. Those perceived in the bottom 40 percent averaged 14 percent less. High profits correlated better with customer perceived quality than with market share or any other variable. This makes sense. Quality driven companies focus on constantly improving effectiveness in the most efficient manner. By using their customers' definition of quality these companies are able to optimize their quality efforts. They concentrate on exactly what their customers want and benefit from the resulting efficiency. What are your customers' expectations? When's the last time you asked? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Customer Driven Vision – The Only Way To Go Survival, success, and satisfaction are three reasons for being customer driven. Common Sense Managers know that there is simply no other way to lead an organization. Establishing a customer driven organization is a sacrosanct goal. Everyone seems to know this, yet many organizations don’t reach for this primary goal. Developing and maintaining a customer driven vision is the leader's first critical step. The vision describes the mission, or destination, of the organization and all of its resources. "Vision is a statement of what your customers tell you your organization must be." James Belasco & Ralph Stayer, Flight Of The Buffaloes What are your customers telling you they want? When’s the last time you asked them? Do you ask on a continuous basis? NOTE: Gauging your organization’s success based on customer complaints does not provide an accurate read on customer satisfaction. Some customer’s complain more than others, some very little, and some of the most dissatisfied may have already found another vender. Customer complements and complaints are important. However, they represent the extremes and may not reflect what eighty percent of your customers are experiencing. Does your vision [or mission] statement reflect your customers’ wants? What are you doing to insure that your products and services are congruent with your customers’ wants? What else can you be doing? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Vision Statement Your vision statement should be very ambitious, attainable, and based on the needs of customers. It clearly and simply describes the desired future. It is a statement of what your organization must do to survive -- starting now. The vision provides stimulation, direction, and guidance at all levels of the organization, from the board room to the receptionist. This implies that everyone in the company knows, understands, and accepts the vision. This breathes life into your organization’s vision. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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COMMUNICATING THE VISION 218 words Communicating the company vision is as important as having one. Having the people know and understand the vision is only the beginning. Employees must see the vision as a living entity - a stimulus and guide to their daily actions and decisions. The best way to insure that the people know, understand, and accept the vision is to include them directly in the process of forming the vision. Common Sense Managers communicate the vision through their daily actions. People throughout the organization listen to what their leaders say, but they respond to what those leaders do. The old adage "action speaks louder than words" could have been written about corporate visions. If asked to explain their department’s and organization’s vision, what would your people say? If asked to demonstrate their department’s and organization’s vision, how would your people behave? NOTE: These two questions can easily be turned into an exercise at you next staff meeting? Ask the participants to simultaneously write their understanding of the vision. After discussing the results, provide them with several hypothetical situations and ask them to explain how they would handle each one. What do you and your managers do to model the vision on a daily basis? Ask your people how they think you and your managers model the vision. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Planning section of Common Sense Managing

Planning Your Budget Allocations [267 words] When budgeting, the Common Sense Manager first determines the people, equipment, and facilities needed for each time scenario of the plan. Now the Common Sense Manager can begin assigning costs to the variables within each scenario. Determining all the elements before addressing their cost makes sense. Attempting to address costs before clarifying the elements will result in unproductive YEAH - BUT meetings. Identifying the elements first keeps the process focused. The last resource allocation step is to deal with the reality of not having enough money. Resolving this can be very simple. First, divide the list of needed resources into those which are only DESIRED versus those that are absolute NECESSITIES. If there is still not enough money to acquire all the absolute necessities, the Common Sense Manager then prioritizes the absolute necessities list from a highest priority category of "Can't sustain life without" to a lowest priority category of "It'll be tough to get along without". If there is not enough money to cover the "Can't sustain life without" resources then restart the entire planning process. Going forward without the resources necessary to sustain the project's life is the working definition of planning to fail. Have you identified the people, equipment, and facilities you'll need to succeed? Have you conservatively estimated how much each will cost? If there are insufficient funds available: Which are in the "Can't sustain life without." category? Which are in the "It'll be tough to get along without." category? Is your current budget sufficient for you to accomplish your goals? If not, what do you planning to do? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

LEADERSHIP’S DESTINATION Clear leadership starts by defining the destination of the organization. To be effective and successful, all people within the organization need to know the answers to the following basic questions: Why does this organization exist? Where are we going? When will we get there? How will we know when we get there? Do you have a clear answer to the four questions? Could your staff answer these questions? When's the last time you asked them or discussed this with them? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Obstacles are the speed bumps and pot holes along the planning highway. No journey is without them. Obstacles present themselves as people and organizational problems. People problems manifest themselves as bad attitudes, lack of positive motivation, poor communications, and uninspired teamwork. Organizational problems are caused by deficient processes, systems, and structures. Typically managers focus on people problems since they are the most obvious. After all, processes don't call in sick, people do. Systems don't get bad attitudes, people do. Structures don't send nasty e-mails, people do. However, most often, people problems merely represent the symptoms, not the core problem. Common Sense Managers recognize that 85 percent of problems are a result of organizational deficiencies. Therefore, they concentrate on identifying and eliminating organizational obstacles by working with the people to design, enhance, and implement improved processes, systems, and structures. By significantly involving the people in identifying and resolving problems, the Common Sense Manager benefits from having hundreds of people watching the road for obstacles to their destination, their route, their resources, their solution, and their success. Are you focusing on organizational issues or people issues? How do you involve your people in identifying and resolving organizational process, procedural, and structural issues? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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THE BRIDGE, THE TRUCK, & THE DERRICK The company decided to build a new plant across the river. They loaded up a truck with eight tons of construction materials and sent it over a bridge which only held five tons. The bridge collapsed and the truck fell into the river. A committee was formed to figure out what to do. They decided to rent a derrick, pull the truck out of the river, and repair the bridge. Which they did. Then they loaded up the truck again with eight tons of materials and sent it over the bridge, which still held only five tons. The bridge collapsed. So again they rented a derrick to pull the truck out of the water and repair the bridge. Then they loaded up the truck with eight tons of materials, etc. This went on for quite a while, until the controller noticed something amiss. "What are all these bills for derrick rentals?" he asked. "Hell, if we're spending that much money on a derrick, we ought to buy one!" There must be a moral here somewhere. Is your organization buying derricks? If so, what are examples of derricks are you buying? What needs to be done to ‘build your new plant’? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Planning To Succeed Some managers fail to plan. Others plan to fail. Common Sense Managers succeed by clearly identifying their destination, the routes needed to get there, and the required resources. Their vision, mission, or purpose statement describes the destination. Goals, objectives, and action plans portray the routes. Before turning the key and putting their organization in gear, Common Sense Managers know exactly where they are going, how to get there, and what resources are needed to get there efficiently. Paraphrasing the hilarious Casey Stengel: 'If you don't know where you're going, you're likely to end up somewhere else.' And getting there will be fraught with frustration and waste. Lack of a clear organizational destination absolutely guarantees chaos. Is your organization's Vision [Mission or Purpose] clear, understood, and accepted by everyone? Are your goals stated in clear concise words? If you accomplish each of your goals will you fulfill your Vision? If not, what additional goals need to be developed? Does each goal have one or more measurable objective[s]? If the objectives are met will the specific goal they define be accomplished? If not, what additional objectives need to be developed? Do each of the objectives have an action plan? If so, will completion of the action plan[s] satisfy the designated objective? If not, what additional action plans need to be developed? EXTRA PLANNING TIP: When planning, start from the front [Vision] and work to the end [Action Plans]. Then audit your plan by starting at the end and working back asking yourself: If we accomplish these Action Plans will we fulfill this specific Objective? If we accomplish these Objectives will we fulfill this specific Goal? If we accomplish these Goals will we fulfill our Vision? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Controlling section of Common Sense Managing

If You're Not Measuring It, You're Not Managing It Imagine you're at a basketball game between two undefeated teams. Giant athletes tip the ball into play. The pass goes to the blue team's forward. His arching shot swishes through the net. The red team brings the ball down court and swiftly lays it up for another basket. As the game progresses at a frantic pace you look at the score board. You discover there is no score board! Nobody keeps score. That's why each team is undefeated. While they've never lost a game - they never won one either. The above would be pure fantasy were it not for the number of organizations currently playing their game without essential score keeping. Just like the above teams, they don't know whether they are winning or losing. If You're Not Measuring It, You're Not Managing It How do you keep 'score'? Do your people know the 'score'? Their position or role in the game? Your expectations? How they're doing? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Keeping score counts Keeping score on current processes, procedures, and people provides vital information. Equally important is analyzing the scores of improvement efforts. This enables the manager to answer the first three questions: How am I doing? How are my people doing? How is my organization doing? Score keeping and analysis provide a passive measurement of what has already happened. They are critical requisite steps toward making something happen - the true purpose of measurement. The data becomes valuable only when it addresses the fourth and most essential question: How can we improve each of the above? What information do you use to determine how you’re doing? Is it accurate? Timely? Congruent with your personal and managerial goals and objectives? What information do you use to determine how your people are doing? Accurate? Timely? Congruent? How do you share this information with them? Timely manner? What kind of scores do you use to determine how your organization is performing? Are these measurements accurate and timely? Do they include current and objective customer satisfaction measurements? What could you do right now to improve your answers to the above questions? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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How Well Are You Doing? No one can tell you the exact measurements you should be using since what you measure is unique to your organization. However, any organization striving to be customer driven needs to assess customer satisfaction. Common Sense Managers have identified the following samples of appropriate customer measurements: * Identifying and monitoring customer wants and expectations. * Determining changes in customer purchasing decision variables - why they buy and come back. * Determining customer value - contribution to profits * Benchmarking customer satisfaction with competition - especially your best competition * Monitoring customer satisfaction with existing and new products and services. Do you consider your organization to be customer driven? If so, how many of the above five measurements are you using? Is your data timely [weekly, monthly, quarterly] or once every year or so? What other primary measurements are you using? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT While every aspect of your operation may seem important, benchmark only what you intend to improve. This reduces the potential of raising unfulfilled expectations. It also produces cost efficiencies. Common sense suggests that there is no point in wasting time and resources measuring something that you don't intend to improve. If it's worth doing, it's worth measuring. If you aren't measuring it, most likely it isn't worth doing. Caution - when you probe an issue, expectations of change or improvement arise. This is not a problem when you're measuring purpose is application driven. It can be a disaster when it is not. Dissatisfaction intensifies when customers suggest what needs to be improved and then no visible improvements occur. What are your most important 'expectations'? How do you measure them? How quickly do you respond? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Accountability section of Common Sense Managing

ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICIANS’ M.O. Organizational politicians use a style of management best described as MBE -- Management By Embezzlement. Instead of measurements, organizational politicians use persuasive arguments to declare success. Without the defined accountability that measurements insure, organizational politicians can't fail. Politicians are always successful. If you doubt that, just ask one. Unfortunately, the organizational politician's "style is everything" strategy has a significant flaw. It doesn't produce meaningful results for the organization. This strategy that disavows the use of measurements cannot succeed. Without such measurements as performance and quality standards, budgets, and dated deliverables there are no controls. Without the feedback and guidance that controls provide, the organizational politician's organization drowns in inefficiency. What essential measurements do you use to determine success? What essential measurements do the people in your organization have to determine their success? Do all of these measurements support your organizational vision? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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ACCOUNTABILITY: THE ANTIDOTE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICIANS 249 words Organizational politicians may look good based on flurries of activity, impressive reports, and majestic presentations. Common Sense Managers will actually do good based on measurable performance results. The key to ridding an organization of organizational politicians is to make them accountable for measured organizational results. Establishing accountability for measurable performance results sharply separates the two types of managers. Once exposed, political managers have the option of leaving or growing into accountable performance leaders. If Oscar Wilde joined the ranks of Common Sense Managers today he would revise his statement: In matters of importance, it's style that counts, changing it to: In matters of importance, it's accountability that counts. As you consider the following questions, remember that organizational politicians have many titles including Receptionist, Customer Service Representative, Field Service Engineer, Sales Manager, VP Operations, and President. Also consider that every one of these positions involves 'legitimate' politics. What are the primary measurable performance standards that you use to hold yourself accountable? Does each have an appropriate due date? What are the primary measurable performance standards that you use to hold your people accountable? Does each have an appropriate due date? NOTE: I did not ask for the standards you use to hold your bosses accountable. Other than yourself, you can only hold those who report directly and indirectly to you accountable. Attempting to hold you bosses accountable is like trying to teach a pig to sing - it wastes your time and annoys the pig. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Accountability Begins With You [266 words] Common Sense Managers already hold themselves accountable for time related goals, measurable objectives, and milestones. In any given time frame, Common Sense Managers can readily determine their degree of success. This enables them to celebrate successes, take corrective actions, adjust resource allocations, or take other appropriate timely actions. Common Sense Managers model accountability within their organizations by measuring and publishing performance data. Their employees receive timely, objective performance feedback which compares current performance against planned milestones and established standards. People working with Common Sense Managers need not wait months for a performance review to find out how good their performance was. They know how good their performance is on a daily basis. Performance feedback enables employees to enjoy their successes and correct mistakes in real time. Accountability, and the feedback from the measurements that accompany it, enables employees to take an active part in their own success. That’s empowerment! What measurements do you use to establish your personal accountability? Does they include time related goals? Measurable objectives? Meaningful milestones? What other determinants do you use to complete your personal definition of success? Do you know how you’ve done when you leave at the end of the day or week? Do your people know in measurable terms what work performance is expected of them? Does it include time related goals? Measurable objectives? Meaningful milestones? What other determinants do they use to complete their personal definition of success? Do they get performance feedback in a timely manner? Can they determine how they’ve done when they leave at the end of the day or week? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Motivation section of Common Sense Managing

RESPECT MAKES A DIFFERENCE I've studied and implemented Magar's, Maslow's, Herzberg's, McGregor's, Behavior Modification, Theory Z, and Pygmalion Effect approaches to motivation. None of them taught me more than what a group of freight handlers taught me in 90 days. Treat people with respect. Give them an opportunity to make a difference and they will! Tell them to perform and you will get only their bodies - and that will be minimal. Ask them to participate with their minds as well as their bodies and you will get both. "Motivation is job pride development. It's what we do to develop positive employee attitudes and morale. It is what we do to help make employees proud of their job, their department, their company. It's building people's confidence and self esteem to allow them to perform at higher levels. It's finding the passion button in each person and pushing it." John Rice, President of award winning Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort How will you demonstrate respect for your people today? How will your people get an opportunity to make a difference this week? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Because I’m Paying You, That’s Why! Engaging peoples’ minds as well as their bodies is a prerequisite to creating a motivating work environment. "Because I’m paying you to do it, that’s why!" is not an explanation that will capture peoples’ minds and spirits. Explaining Why we are asking for their help, in terms that are honest and significant to them, is crucial to work environment success. The following are several examples of Common Sense Managers’ Why explanations. Why are we doing this? Because, we need to: * Become customer driven rather than activity driven * Handle upset customers right on the spot * Do it right the first time * Design equipment so that field service routines are easy to perform * Make it easy to purchase our products Does your staff know WHY what they are doing is important? If you answered yes, is it because you told them or because they can see how their work ties directly to action plans that fulfill objectives which satisfy goals, and, ultimately, accomplish the vision? NOTE: If you answered no, start including your people in the planning process so they can see WHY what they’re being asked to do is important. When people understand and accept WHY what they’re doing is making a critical contribution the WHY explanations become personal drivers rather than just slogans. Look at the above five sample WHY explanations. Reflect on how powerful they are in a nicely typed and framed list posted on the wall. Now reflect on how powerful they could be if the people responsible for making them happen actually understood, accepted, and believed them. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Defining Success in Measurable Terms 166 words Establish individual and work group accountability. "Too many workers are attempting to succeed without a clear, or any, definition of success. Low performers love it [ambiguity]. Top performers leave because of it." Dee Trask, Operating Room Manager, award winning Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital * Establish performance measurements for all goals. * Establish a clear definition of success for individuals and work groups. * Concentrate on deliverable results rather than well meaning nonproductive activities. * Acknowledge the achievements. Do your people have clearly defined performance standards? Do these standards represent deliverable, observable, and measurable results or activities? How do you acknowledge their performance in a timely manner? Are these standards directly related to the organization’s goals? If all the goals are achieved, will your organization fulfill its vision? Do your people understand how their performance standards relate to the goals and organizational vision? Do they understand the importance of their contribution to the organization’s success? When’s the last time you checked? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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CREATING A MOTIVATING WORK ENVIRONMENT Common Sense Managers understand that motivation is NOT about turning people on. They accept that people are already turned on. Common Sense Managers create a motivating work environment that enables people to exercise their natural motivation. People perform best in a work environment in which they: Know what needs to be done and why it is important Have the essential tools to complete their work Are recognized and rewarded for the results they attain Does your work environment meet these standards? If you're not sure, ask your people. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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REWARDING EMPLOYEES Reward employees for their good work. * Use intrinsic rewards - respect, job pride, responsibility, personal growth, recognition, etc. * Use extrinsic rewards - bonuses, benefits, time off, prizes, etc. When in doubt regarding the best reward, go back to #1: Respect employees. Ask them how they wish to be recognized and rewarded. Common Sense Managers favor intrinsic over extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards have a much longer shelf life and don't have to be approved by a budget committee. How much does it cost to say thank you, ask another's opinion, or recognize and acknowledge successes? "Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality. As Napoleon observed, "No amount of money will induce someone to lay down their life, but they will gladly do so for a bit of yellow ribbon."" M. Michell Waldrop, Dee Hock on Management What specific things are you doing to: Demonstrate respect for your staff? 1. ___________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ Build job pride within your staff? 1. ___________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ Delegate responsibility to your people? 1. ___________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ Provide personal growth for your staff? 1. ___________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ Provide recognition for staff members? 1. ___________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ NOTE: If you can't come up with at least one answer for each category you've identified an opportunity for improving your working environment. Best place to start is to ask your people for their help. Feel free to call Bill at 541.386.1117 for other suggestions. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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COMMUNICATING THE VISION 218 words Communicating the company vision is as important as having one. Having the people know and understand the vision is only the beginning. Employees must see the vision as a living entity - a stimulus and guide to their daily actions and decisions. The best way to insure that the people know, understand, and accept the vision is to include them directly in the process of forming the vision. Common Sense Managers communicate the vision through their daily actions. People throughout the organization listen to what their leaders say, but they respond to what those leaders do. The old adage "action speaks louder than words" could have been written about corporate visions. If asked to explain their department's and organization's vision, what would your people say? If asked to demonstrate their department's and organization's vision, how would your people behave? NOTE: These two questions can easily be turned into an exercise at your next staff meeting? Ask the participants to simultaneously write their understanding of the vision. After discussing the results, provide them with several hypothetical situations and ask them to explain how they would handle each one. What do you and your managers do to model the vision on a daily basis? Ask your people how they think you and your managers model the vision. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Customer Service 101 section of Common Sense Managing

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6 STEPS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE On the Internet, www.amazon.com offers 11 pages of books and workshops on Customer Service. One-hundred-one books, workbooks, and workshops on how to satisfy customers! Some favorites aren’t even on their list. Four of the first five offerings on amazon’s list propose 120 Commandments, Ways, Ideas, and Steps for servicing customers. One-hundred-one solutions for only $41.01, plus shipping and handling! Wait, you want more? Include 301 Great Customer Service Ideas: From America’s Most Innovative Small Companies and you will add 301 additional Ideas. Then, for a mere total of $52.97, plus shipping and handling, you will own 421 Commandments, Ways, Steps, and Ideas for servicing customers. Upon completing all of the offerings on customer service, one discovers the following six basic steps recommended by all the authorities on the subject. These steps are: Developing a customer driven vision to satisfy and exceed your customers’ needs and expectations Identifying most valued customers’ needs and expectations. Another name for this is Market Research Developing an operational plan that fulfills your vision Hiring, developing, empowering, and rewarding the people who carry out the plan Measuring whether your products and services are meeting and exceeding your customers’ needs and expectations. Follow up as needed. Then re-measure and follow up or modify as needed. Then re-measure and follow up or modify as needed. Then . . . Repeating all of the above steps until you retire or expire Does your customer service vision strive to satisfy and exceed your customers’ expectations? Does your staff know, accept, and live the vision in their daily behaviors? How do you identify who your most valued customers are? What do you do to insure that your stay current with their needs and expectations? Do you have an operational plan to fulfill these customers’ needs and expectations? Does it include hiring, developing, empowering, and rewarding that is congruent with your vision and plan? What do you do on an ongoing basis to measure your degree of success and opportunities for improvement? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Driving With Your Customer Driven Vision Develop and maintain a living customer driven vision. Your customer driven vision is the lighthouse that guides your organizational ship. It provides direction. It guides decision making at every level. It inspires actions throughout the organization. It provides the framework for all leadership activities. It keeps your ship off the rocks. Your customer driven vision statement defines where you need to be, starting now. It is ambitious. It realistically allies with the products and services you offer or intend to sell. Like a lighthouse beacon, it continuously provides reliable guidance throughout your organization. Do the people in your organization know that the reason the organization exists is to satisfy the needs of customers [or the needs of people closer to the customer]? How is this communicated to them? How often is it communicated to them? If one of your people faced a difficult customer situation and you were available, would they make an intelligent decision that resolves the situation in favor of the customer? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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PRATO’S KEY CUSTOMERS All customers are equal . . . It's just that some may be more equal than others. Common Sense Managers optimize existing resources to ensure that the some of the customers who are satisfied all the time are the twenty percent who produce eighty percent of the profits. Knowing which external customers are currently contributing the most to your company's financial health is critical in all aspects of planning and execution. This information enables Common Sense Managers to establish practical priorities for utilizing the company's resources. In our world of down sizing, right sizing, reengineering, or whatever the latest 'ing' is, clearly we are working with fewer resources today and will continue to do so. Optimizing the use and effectiveness of these resources is paramount to success. Who are your top twenty percent profit producing customers? How do you measure and track this? What are you doing to insure that these people are receiving service that will maintain their loyalty? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMERS [147 words] We already know what our customers want. They want everything. However, while customers want everything, they only buy certain things. Knowing specifically what your desired customers need involves building a customer knowledge base that identifies the critical factors your target customers use in their purchase decisions. Seamless customer servicing focuses on the present. The customer knowledge base focuses on the future - what it will take to satisfy their needs and expectations. Knowing your customers needs is crucial to your organization’s survival. Establishing a customer knowledge base relies on objectively Asking, Listening, and Responding. While all customers are equal, some are more equal than others. Who are your most critical customers? What do they need and expect from your organization? Which factors are most critical to their purchasing decision? What actions do you take to obtain customer knowledge? How current is your customer knowledge? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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HIRING: Never Try To Teach A Pig To Sing. . . Hiring: Traditional hiring is a paper drill. The better the resume, the better the chance of being hired. How someone's qualifications look on paper isn't necessarily how they will perform on the job. Southwest Airlines, the only airline to earn a profit every year since 1973, hires for attitudes and fun. Southwest's Herb Kelleher says: "We look for attitudes; people with a sense of humor who don't take themselves too seriously. We'll train you on whatever it is you have to do, but the one thing Southwest cannot change in people is inherent attitudes." Perhaps he shared a flight with Paul Dickson who suggests: "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig." What are your hiring criteria? Are you hiring the "right" people for your organization? Is your organization "right" for these people? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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What You Stroke Is What You Get Developing: The initial training new hires receive is critical to their performance and success. Retailers have traditionally put floor people through three days of training. Two and one-half of those days are spent teaching them how to use the cash register. One-quarter day is spent on benefits and the remaining time on customer relations and communications. Small wonder that we find these people standing behind cash registers rather than assisting customers. They are doing what over 83 percent of their training taught them to do - cash registering. People want to succeed - or at the least avoid pain. Especially during their first days on the job when they are forming an impression of how to behave, and what’s important to their success [or survival]. They are seeking congruency between what the plaque on the wall says and how the organization actually operates. Successful Common Sense Managers share one-on-one time with all new hires during their first three days on the job. Whether you’re responsible for 25 or 1000 people, imagine the impression it makes on new people when they get to meet you on the first day and hear the vision directly from the BOSS. Meeting you says to them that THEY ARE IMPORTANT to the organization better than any ten training classes would. What is the first, and most meaningful, impression your new hires get? What’s the first thing your "teach" them? How to run a register, diagnose a software problem, trouble-shoot a piece of equipment, locate their locker? OR Who your customers are, why the customers are important, how the new hires job impacts our customers [directly or indirectly], why the new hire is important to the organization’s success? Who do your new hire meet on their first days? An HR administrator and a trainer to begin their development? OR The CEO, departments heads, and key people in all major departments? Is the way you treat new hires congruent with your organization’s Vision? NOTE: These two questions are referring to ALL new hires, not just executive hires. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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BUT, CAN WE TRUST THEM Empowering employees is filled with anxiety for many managers. It's like handing your car keys to your 16 year old for the first time. You sired them [hired them]. You raised them [trained them]. But, can you trust them? Common Sense Managers have learned that they can. For those still hesitant Common Sense Manager Wannabes we suggest the following mental exercise to ease you through this terror stricken period. Unless you prefer to be everywhere at once forever - i.e., on the concourse, in the plant, attending every engineering meeting, maintaining hands-on inventory control, chairing every executive session, reviewing every PR release, editing every statement an employee makes to a customer, policing the parking lot and the mail room, ... you must let go. The truly reluctant are now thinking: Yeah, that might work in a small organization, but it will lead to chaos in a large one. Actually, the larger the organization the more you have to let go, because it is virtually impossible to oversee every person's actions. So you might as well make the leap of faith by entrusting your people to do their job. Are your people free to apply their skills and knowledge to maximize their performance? What additional freedom will increase their performance? How do you hold them accountable? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Rewarding Results All rewards champion desired performance behaviors. Common Sense Managers insure that salary raises, bonuses, performance reviews, and recognition awards all resonate customer satisfaction results. Common Sense Managers use every opportunity to reward people for every success - a pat on the back, donuts at the next staff meeting, an e-mail, a balloon at each seat, a share of the savings or profit. The only limit to rewards is not your budget, but your imagination. If people expected to make millions of dollars they probably wouldn’t be working for you. While money is nice, most people just want appreciation - to be thanked for a job well done. The key is to reward the front line people who are doing the job of satisfying your customers. One major airline recently noticed that its on time arrivals were slipping. Management formed teams of front line people to identify and implement ways to improve this essential customer performance area. Within three months the employees had done such a great job that the airline rose to number one in on time departures. The reward? The executives awarded themselves $50,000 bonuses! The people didn’t even get a thank you. Is it any wonder that most major airlines run like flying buses operated by mechanical and disenfranchised people? What do you plan to do this week to reward your people for their customer satisfaction results? What non-monetary rewards do you use? What monetary rewards do you use? Which seems to be most appreciated by your people? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS ‘REALLY’ SATISFIED? So your customers are satisfied? Not necessarily. According to research done on service by A.T. Kearney, Ltd. of Toronto, Canada, managers like to believe that their companies satisfy customers, but most of their customers don’t agree. Kearney found that 8 in 10 customers aren’t getting the service they expect. A Wall Street Journal survey of 2,000 American consumers found that only 5 percent thought that business was listening to them and striving to do its best. Too many companies do not effectively manage customer satisfaction. Darts In The Dark: Companies basing their customer satisfaction measurement and tracking on the volume of complaints are truly playing darts in the dark. They only get feedback from a customer when they stick one with a dart and that customer yells. This only tells them where not to throw their next dart. At best, this customer feedback allows them to react to individual problems rather than be proactive to customer needs. At worst, customers may simply stop complaining because they have given up and are seeking a new supplier. Driving In A Fog: Companies that rely on market share and current order volume as indicators of customer satisfaction are driving in a fog. Both market share and current order volume are lagging indicators. By the time market share or order volume declines are reported, it may be too late to respond. Another problem with these indicators is that many other variables in addition to customer satisfaction may contaminate them. Consequently, a rise or drop in either indicator does not provide a clear direction for corrective action. Companies driving in a fog do not have a clear view of what is happening on the highway. When a problem presents itself they may not have enough time to respond and are not able to determine if it is a bus, train, or a plane coming at them. Are you playing ‘Darts in The Dark’ with you most valuable asset – your customers? Are you proactively identifying your customers’ needs? Are you aggressively measuring and monitoring your success? Is your organization ‘Driving in a Fog’ e.g. Business is good, so we must be doing things right! [Note: This is the same thought the head buffalo has just before leading the entire herd over the cliff.] Are you sales driven or customer driven? Can anyone name five maturing [over three years old] internet companies that are not having problems? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Customer Satisfaction 102 section of Common Sense Managing

Are You Putting Mints On Your Customer’s Pillows 253 words Seamless customer satisfaction companies consistently under-promise and over-deliver. They are always putting a mint on your pillow. The hotel promised a clean room with fresh towels and working appliances. The mint on the pillow means someone checked a second time to be sure that the promise is being kept. Then they over-delivered by turning down your bed and leaving the mint. The primary reason for failure is the inability to set and meet their customer’s expectations. Tell them what you will deliver, then deliver more. Norb Janiszewski, VP Operations, MAZAK What actions are you taking to insure that your organization and its people are under-promising and over-delivering? NOTE: One client had a service is 3-5 day sign posted in their showroom. They changed it immediately when they realized what quoting 3 to 5 day service really means. Tell ‘em 5 days and deliver in 4 and you’re a hero. Tell them 3 days and deliver in 4 and you’re a bum. Same service. Same commitment to quality. Very different result. Doesn’t it put a smile on your face when you return to your hotel room at the end of your busy day and find that they have added a flower, fresh fruit, or a mint on your pillow? What are you doing to put a mint on your customer’s pillows? What special thing are your customer service, field service, help desk, and staff representatives doing to put that extra little smile on your customer’s face? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Keeping YOUR Promises Seamless customer satisfaction companies promise only what they can deliver. They never make commitments that they do not keep. It starts with the telephone receptionist and carries through to the board room. The receptionist does not respond: "I'll have Ms. Rogers call you back." The receptionist commits: "I'll be sure that Ms. Rogers gets your message." That's a promise the receptionist can keep. Seamless customer satisfaction companies do not offer unrealistic sales bids. "You'll have it by Tuesday" means the next Tuesday, not some Tuesday. The sales people commit to what can be done and make certain that it gets done. PAC Industries' VP Operations, Frank Costabile, offers the following commitments he can make AND keep. I can work with the manufacturer to reduce production time from four weeks to one. Shipping from Carolina usually takes three days - I'll be sure it is expedited and track it for you. I'll call you with updates on the progress of your order. I'll let you know exactly when we receive it. I'll schedule the delivery and installation dates. I'll be at the installation . . . Does your organization over commit and under deliver? Do you? If so, what can you do right now to turn this around? Does your organization keep its promises? How do you know this is accurate? Do you keep your promises? What areas can be improved starting right now? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Follow The Bouncing . . . Puck 278 words Customers’ expectations are not static. Their needs and expectations are ever changing - at a faster and faster pace. The bar is always moving - up. Your organization’s success raises your customers’ expectations. Your customers’ needs are ever changing because their customers’ needs are ever changing. Ice hockey great, Wayne Gretzky, when asked why he excelled in scoring so many goals, responded that it wasn’t necessarily his skating ability, or speed, or stick skills, but rather because his focus was always to: Skate to where the puck is going. Seamless customer satisfaction is where the puck is going. How are you tracking your customers’ ever changing needs and expectations? How do you establish the priority of these needs and expectations? What actions are you taking to satisfy your customers’ needs and expectations? How are you measuring the effectiveness of these actions? Are you concentrating the above efforts on your best customers? NOTE: Best customers are not necessarily those that buy the most. Best customers are defined by how much they contribute to you bottom line profit. One client was selling $1 million of product per year to a valued customer. This went on for ten years until the new VP of Operations discovered it was actually costing the company $1.1 million to fulfill the orders. His organization lost $1 million serving the needs of this customer over a ten year period. Reminds me of the old adage of the guy in Times Square selling $1 bills for a quarter. When ask how’s business, he replied GREAT! When questioned about how he was going to make a profit, he replied: "On volume!" This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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KNOWING THE SCORE DURING THE GAME Real data in real time - Common Sense Managers keep score and let their people know what the score is during the game. Learning the score after the game is limiting. It is only useful in preparing for the next game - assuming you have another chance to play. Knowing the score during the game enables the people to change and improve immediately. Knowing how you're doing and that it counts is a tremendous motivator. Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort measures customer satisfaction weekly and publishes the data within three days. Employees receive customer feedback on how well they are performing every Friday of every week! Sierra's President, John Rice points out: "Not just the managers, but the entire staff needs to know NOW - especially with front line people. They are most likely the ones interacting directly with the customers. This enables us to tailor service to what customers want NOW, not next year. Real data in real time." Do you get timely feedback on your organization's performance? Do your people also receive timely feedback? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Everyone Believes In Customer Satisfaction, Some Actually Do It [271 words] John Rice, General Manager of Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort - rated Best Ski Value and Service in the West, notes that modeling is THE key to sustained customer driven success. "Without modeling at the top, not just the CEO, but all levels of management, customer satisfaction doesn’t stand a chance of survival. Without modeling, it is just lip service. The end result will NEVER happen. Customers’ satisfaction will be inconsistent, service will be unpredictable." "Without modeling, it is just lip service. The end result will NEVER happen." Profits come from loyal customers. Customer loyalty comes from happy empowered employees. Therefore, all management must keep service [of internal and external customers] at the top of their priorities. They must live and breathe service. Sierra-At-Tahoe backs their commitment to outstanding service with management evaluations that weigh customer service and employee treatment [internal customers] as fifty percent of the manager’s success. What actions do you take on a daily basis to model customer satisfaction? What do you do to ensure that your managers model customer satisfaction behaviors? How empowered are your front line people to take immediate action to resolve customer problems? What additional barriers could you remove that would enable them to quicken their responses to customers? NOTE: Every time one of your employees has to come to you for approval to take customer problem resolving action means that another already dissatisfied customer is on hold. Customers don’t expect us to be perfect. They do expect us to resolve their problems ASAP and with minimum hassles. Only empowered employees can deliver that level of service. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Who’s On Top Of Your Organizational Chart? In a top down organization, people focus on pleasing their bosses rather than the customers. Pleasing bosses means following the rules - staying within the written and assumed bureaucratic policies. Rules beget rules. Policies beget more policies. The more controls, the more violations. Therefore, the need for more rules and policies. Frank Bragg, VP Operations - Blue Diamond Almond Growers notes that in top down organizations: "Most people do their jobs well DESPITE management and its policies." Peter Drucker supports this with his view: "Most of what we call management today consists of getting in the way of the people doing the work." Turning the organizational chart customer side up refocuses everything on the purpose of the organization - to make a profit by gaining and retaining satisfied loyal customers. Are people in your organization focused on pleasing management or the customers? Who’s at the top of your organization chart, your CEO or your customers? What do you do to empower your people to meet customers’ immediate needs? What can you do this week to demonstrate your support for your staff’s customer driven decisions? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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WALKING THE TALK Every organization is a reflection of its leadership. When leaders do nothing more than talk about customer satisfaction, so do their people. When leaders demonstrate their commitment to satisfying customers through their daily actions, so will their people. It just makes sense - common sense. Betsy Sanders, former Nordstrom vice president and author of Fabled Service, observes: "Employees pay scant attention to what you say and keen attention to what you do. ... The real crisis occurs when leaders pontificate about what they want for their companies while undermining the visions through their own practices." "Ninety-five percent of American managers today say the right thing, five percent do it." John Huey What do you do on a daily basis to demonstrate your commitment to satisfying customers? What else could you be doing to demonstrate your commitment? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Problem Solving section of Common Sense Managing

ARE YOU PROBLEM SOLVING OR BLAMESTORMING? Beneath the scorching sun the settlers struggled to reach shelter. Within sight of their destination a wheel fell off their wagon. As they stood around the wagon, an exhausted Calvin Bragg asked: "Who was supposed to check the hub?" Ezra Hopkins queried: "Why didn't someone check it?" Ezekiel Smith demanded: "Yes, who was supposed to check?" Calvin immediately replied: "Not I!" This little known, but often repeated, historical event was never recorded. While they argued over why the wheel fell off and whose fault it was, hostiles fell upon them and erased their page in history. This situation continues to repeat itself despite what should have been learned from history. When a wheel falls off a contemporary wagon, Scott, Tina, and Bill immediately call a meeting and begin the process of attempting to discover why it fell off and who is responsible - while the competition creeps up on them. Today we have a name for this process: BLAMESTORMING! BLAMESTORMING: A time consuming, nonproductive, interactive group discussion of why a mistake was made and who made it. Have you participated in a Blamestorming session lately? When problems occur in your work environment, do your people go witch hunting or solution hunting? Do you focus on WHAT needs to be done to fix the situation? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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CHASING SYMPTOMS RATHER THEN CAUSES Some managers incorrectly think that by identifying, clarifying, and establishing what’s wrong they’re practicing TQM [Total Quality Management]. Actually they’re practicing VIS [Village Idiot Syndrome] - as in, "even the Village Idiot can tell you what’s wrong." The Village Idiot just can't tell you what must be done to fix what's wrong. Since most problems present themselves through people, VIs logically assume that people are causing the problems. Consequently, VIs pursuit of what’s wrong almost always ends up concentrating on what’s wrong - with people. This misdirected logic leads to inefficient solutions such as scheduling massive organization wide training, reorganizing departments, or some other new P.O.T.Y. [Program Of The Year]. The primary reason these ‘people solutions’ are inefficient is that they chase the symptom rather than the problem. While people are involved in most problem situations, they only cause 15% of them. 85% of organizational problems are caused by a system failure - the lack of clear procedures, measurable performance criteria, work processes. Is your organization fixing symptoms rather than the root problems? Do your people have clear procedures, measurable performance criteria, and solid work processes for the critical aspects of their jobs? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Finding The Solution Rather Than The Fault [282 words] Common Sense Managers manage problems by immediately seeking a solution. They save valuable time and resources by skipping what’s wrong, why it happened, and who caused it. They direct their resources toward determining what needs to be done to fix the situation. Customers don’t care: * Whose fault it was that their machine malfunctioned. * Why their order was shipped late. * What’s wrong with their supplier’s organization. Customers simply want to know that their product will arrive on time and in accordance with their quality and price specifications. Concentrating on what needs to be done to fix the situation and get back on track as quickly as possible is the most efficient way to resolve a problem. What do you do to overcome the natural tendency to identify whose fault it is rather than immediately seek a solution? What are you doing to insure that your people immediately focus on finding a solution [rather than the blame]? NOTE: Some individuals have great difficulty giving up fixing the blame rather than the problem. They want to explain to their customers WHY their expectation will not be fulfilled and WHOSE fault it is. Consider role playing with these people. Make them the customer who is under great pressure to get their order fulfilled. No matter what they request explain: Whose fault it is that their order hasn’t arrived on time, Why your organization is not to blame, and What’s wrong with materials handling today [their shipping department, US postal, UPS, etc.] Continue until the individual feels what useless responses these are. Then let them be the company representative who is seeking a solution for the customer. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Common Sense & Dead Horses NOTE: Any resemblance between the contents of this Tip and your current organization is purely intentional. Common sense horse trainers know what to do: If the horse you're riding dies, get off!" Organizations, unable to differentiate between a problem and a symptom, often ignore the above common sense advice and instead opt for one or more of the following alternatives: Alternatives Source Buy a stronger whip — Purchasing Try a new bit or bridle — Sales Switch riders 1st Line — Supervision Move the horse to a new location — Logistics Ride the horse for longer periods of time — Finance Repetitively state: "But this is the way we've always ridden this horse" — Union Appoint a committee to study the horse — Middle Management Visit other sites where they ride dead horses more efficiently — Production Increase the standards for riding dead horses — Quality Control Create a new test for measuring riding ability Human Resources Compare current riding with ten or twenty years ago — Board of Directors Complain about the state of horses these days — Staff Develop new riding styles — Engineering Sue the horse's parents - the problem is often in the breeding — Legal Tighten the cinch — Field Service Call a special Board meeting to review the entire matter — CEO Hire a "name" consulting firm to study the matter — Executive Committee Establish interdepartmental teams to develop appropriate action plans for riding dead horses — TQM Coordinator Paint the horse a different color — Marketing Get off the dead horse, assess the appropriateness of a horse to the organization's direction and goals, and, if appropriate, determine the cause of death while procuring a new horse — Common Sense Manager This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Meetings section of Common Sense Managing

ELIMINATING "GROUP READINGS" Common Sense Managers know that the primary reason for having a meeting is to encourage group interaction to resolve an issue. They don't schedule meetings to read reports or listen to presentations. Presentations of more than one page, or overhead slide, are best distributed two days before any meeting. This enables the potential attendees to read, review, and question the author before the meeting. The meeting is then used to clarify and discuss the content of the presentation. There is nothing inherently wrong with one-way communication - so long as we don't schedule a meeting to do it. Do you get your handouts out at least two days before a meeting? Are you getting the maximum use of your meeting time? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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ELIMINATING MEETING ‘SURPRISES’ Meeting leader’s responsibilities before Meetings: Follow-up on assignments for upcoming meetings. Distribute any reports or presentations of more than one page at least five days before the next meeting. This is especially important for issues containing extensive analysis or potential controversy. Prepare and distribute a written agenda at least two days before the meeting. If this is not possible, then reschedule the meeting. Review controversial issues with essential players before the meeting. Attempt to resolve, or at least de-tune, the issues. Controversy in front of an audience is usually nonproductive. Surprise public controversy is usually counterproductive. Eliminate such surprises by preparing for them. Do you receive and send all meeting reports and presentations at least five days before the meeting? {Yes, this includes power point presentations!] What can you do to insure that a written agenda is distributed at least two days before the meeting? NOTE: Do you hear yourself saying: "But, we don’t have time to do this days ahead of the meetings." If so, then you have a fantastic opportunity to save time. Cancel or postpone the meeting. What do you do to reduce or eliminate controversial surprises in your meetings? NOTE: When I facilitate an executive meeting I always interview the participants before to build an agenda and surface ALL controversial issues. The reason I can use the word ALL is that I tell each of the participants during the pre-meeting interviews that I will not allow new issues to be introduced at the meeting that haven’t surfaced before the meeting. This eliminates someone getting "sandbagged" in public during a meeting. After I enforce this once or twice it becomes the norm and meeting productivity dramatically improves. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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FACILITATING VERSUS FORCING MEETING RESULTS [216 words] During the Meeting: The meeting leader’s primary role is to help the group focus its energy on the task. Ideally the leader remains neutral and does not offer any personal comments. In reality, the leader will most often be an employee of the organization and therefore, may have to perform as a participating facilitator. As a participating facilitator you may contribute ideas. However, be careful to facilitate first and participate second. Think of yourself as a playing coach; no matter how well you play, you only win if your team wins. NOTE: Do not use a participating facilitator if meeting issues are controversial and the meeting leader is involved, or perceived to be involved, in the issues under discussion. Little gets resolved. The situation may even worsen. When in doubt, use a third party or consultant who will provide neutral, unbiased facilitation. Do you force or facilitate your meetings? What techniques do you use to draw out and include participation in your meetings? Open communications? Questions? Silence? Room and seating set up? Processes? Post –its? Nominal Group Process? Brainstorming? What do you do to prevent the ten dirty words from disrupting your meetings? The last two, BUT and RIGHT, can both disrupt and actually destroy communications. [See BUT & RIGHT below.] This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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Tips from the Training section of Common Sense Managing

Just-In-Time Training [136 words] The closer the learning experience is to the application the greater the usage. This just makes sense. Teach people how to conduct meetings [or any other skill or technique] just before they will be conducting a meeting, not six months before. The learning is fresh and the learner more motivated. This seems so elementary that I’m almost embarrassed to suggest. However, I observed many change efforts that start off with massive training efforts. The students are "taught" all the new skills and tools needed to complete the new program over the next nine months. Guess what happens to the "learning" when it is needed five months later? The adage "Use it or lose it" fits such situations. Remember that software training you received, didn’t use immediately, and then couldn’t remember when you did need it? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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MAKING SURE THEY "UNDERSTAND" [220 words] Measurable objectives & application — Productive training is measured at the end of the learning experience AND as it is applied. Quality training does not begin until measurable objectives are established for the learning experience. The training experience is not over until its effectiveness is measured in work applications. Both measurements are critical. The most important one is always the application. That is where the training provides a return on the investment. Both the trainer and the trainees are held accountable for results. This training principle applies to meetings and leadership. Read the above tip again and substitute the words meetings and then leadership for the words training and learning. Use your creativity on the verbs. Does your training [leadership, meeting] have measurable objectives? How do you apply them DURING the process? Do your people use measurable objectives in their training, meetings, and leadership? How do they apply them DURING the process? How are you measuring the ROI [Return On Investment] on your training and meeting efforts? What value are they adding to your organization? What can you do to improve the use of measurable objectives in your work environment? NOTE: Without measurable objectives you may resort to asking whether the people "understand" -- this is a risky process. See Part 4 of Ten Dirty Words below. This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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CHANGING VALUES WITH TRAINING Cultural change: A major airline needed to train 2,400 crew supervisors in 44 cities within 90 days or face a strike. The project manager designed five leadership modules and then provided train-the-trainers sessions for second level managers from each of the cities. The new trainers got the job done very effectively. The newly trained crew supervisors subsequently performed very successfully. The biggest impact was on the managers' personal values and leadership style. Many, for the first time, experienced their people as individuals who wanted to provide good service, rather than unthinking "grunts" who barely followed orders. This was most dramatic with the hard nosed managers [authoritative, Theory X, "because I said so" type leaders]. There is no management class that would have effected the change in their values and management style as this experience of teaching leadership did. This revolution in their values and leadership style was then reinforced as they felt the internal commitment to walk-the-talk they had presented in their training sessions. How directly are you involving your managers in the development of their people? Do they help in the needs analysis? Training design? Presentation/facilitation? Evaluation? Follow through? This tip of the week is from the executive desktop guide, Common Sense Managing: Simple Ideas That Produce Results. The book is immediately available at http://www.growthassociates.org or amazon.com.

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