Outcomes or Methods?
I’m reading a
fascinating book by L. David Marquet who is credited with turning around one of
the lowest-performing submarines in the US Navy. For his full story, read his book “Turn The
Ship Around!”.
One of the related issues that Marquet explores is how things are done, focussing both on
methods and outcomes. He’s very clear in
his disapproval of processes (methods) becoming the “raison d’etre” of an
organisation, rather than working to serve users or customers.
Having worked in the financial services industry for a long
time, “process” was everything. Our
processes were designed to prevent errors (they didn’t), fraud (nope) and to
provide high-quality service (err…). We
were audited to make sure we were following the process and “written up” if we
didn't. In the “old days” there was no
questioning why people might not be
following the exact process laid down, or whether it was still relevant. You just weren’t following it. That was bad.
As you can see, my opinion of processes in the financial
services industry isn't high, and I suspect that the same holds true of other
industries as well. We need processes, yes,
but when one hides behind them as an excuse for poor service or sub-standard product
performance, we should be asking why
our process let us down – that’s not meant to happen, it’s meant to work...
A lot has been written about process management and
engineering (I even consult on it when called on), but we’re only just
beginning to question whether the traditional practice of implementing it
through the traditional “Leader/Follower” system works. This usually results in processes designed to
serve the user, not the customer.
As a result of processes imposed by “leadership” getting in
the way, we’re seeing the development of concepts such as “Total Quality
Management”, “Customer Experience”, “Process Management” and people who (like
me) make a living out of them. They
still, however, rely on “Commitment from the top”. The way you get commitment is from the bottom
up.
My question is, shouldn't we focus on outcomes, rather than how we achieve them? I’m not advocating that instruction manuals
be shredded (they’ll still be needed) but rather that we actually ask what the
end result is that our customers (and therefore, we) want and design things
around that.
No matter how “good” our procedures, if they don't deliver
what the customer wants, we’ll all be out of business.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:17
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