Whose “Monkey” Is It?
In management speak you may have heard the expression “to put the monkey on someone’s back”. This refers to the process whereby one person transfers responsibility for solving their problem to another. Sometimes, this is correct (e.g. when the first doesn't have the experience, technical skills or authority). At other times, it’s due to more devious reasons.
The ability to distinguish between when the monkey should be on your back as opposed to on someone else’s is a key skill for managers. Look at the following two examples and decide whether “A” or “B” should be carrying the monkey.
Case 1
A: Boss, there’s a customer with a problem who wants to see you.
B: What’s the problem?
A: I don't know, but they asked to see you.
Case 2:
A: Boss, there’s a customer with a problem who wants to see you. After finding out what it was, I can see that I don't have the authority to approve the refund of the charges we took, so wonder if you could see them.
B: OK.
In the first case, “A” should have found out what the problem was before speaking to his/her manager. It could have been a problem that they could have handled on their own without involving them. Of course, if the customer demands to “see the manager”, it can be difficult to refuse without making the situation worse, but simply passing the proverbial buck without trying to find out if we can help isn’t the way.
In the second case, “A”, checked what the problem was and realised that he/she wouldn’t be unable to bring it to a complete close. He/she was right to refer at this time.
Now take a third example:
Case 3:
A: Boss, there’s a customer with a problem who wanted to see you. After finding out what it was, I realised that I could [insert suitable action here] to sort it out. I also suggested that they checked back in a week’s time to make sure things were still working and, if not, that we could look at giving them a refund. As I don't have the authority to approve the refund of the charges we took, I’d need your support on that.
B: OK.
Here, the team member has diagnosed the problem, suggested a solution and worked out a backup in case it doesn't work out.
In an ideal world, this is the level to which we want to train our team. For this, they need:
- Technical knowledge;
- Experience;
- Problem diagnosing and solving skills;
- Limits of authority.
If any of these elements are lacking, they can’t do the job we need them to. The monkey has to climb onto our backs. It’s amazing how often one sees exactly these circumstances, with managers complaining that their people “can’t cope” and “pass all the decision-making to me”.
It all starts with selecting the “right” people (and paying them appropriately). We’ve all heard the classic saying “You get what you pay for” – it applies across the board. If we want good problem-solvers who really can take some of the strain, we need to pay them and then train them. Equally, if someone isn't measuring up, we need to train them more or move them.
We can only put the monkey on someone else’s back if they’re trained (and authorised) to carry it.
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 websiteprovides 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, Teamwork
Mistakes Are Good
I imagine that anyone reading this must be wondering if I’ve finally taken leave of my senses. I haven’t and feel that we can learn from mistakes.
When we’re young, we learn by making mistakes. Watch any child playing a computer game and they will master it far faster, simply because they don’t mind making mistakes to learn how to progress in the game. Their goal is to learn to play better, not to avoid mistakes.
As we grow older and start going to school, society teaches us that “mistakes are bad” and that it’s better to avoid them. In some cases, we can learn not to make mistakes by learning the correct mathematical formula for calculating the answer to something (although we may make mistakes in applying it – that’s why we’re told to “show our workings” in the exam paper).
Mistakes are good because we learn from them. How many times have parents, teachers, relatives or friends quoted “learn from your mistakes” at us? A mistake is often the best way to reinforce why we do, or don’t do, something in a particular way. We remember the embarrassment, pain (perhaps) and/or financial cost of a mistake and we learn not to repeat it. We can say to a child “Don't put your hand on the hot stove, it’ll hurt you.” It’s only when they see (or feel) this for themselves that they learn that it’s a mistake to touch a hot stove with one’s bare hand. Knowledge, as Hyrum Smith said, is one thing, but wisdom is knowledge correctly applied.
The first step is to analyse what the mistake was; the next, what caused it to happen. Next, we ask ourselves whether anything could have been done to avoid it (or can be done in the future). Finally, we put in place the processes, rules, training or equipment to make sure the chances of a recurrence are minimised, if not eliminated.
I used to do a lot of acting. I found that the Dress Rehearsal, where we went through the entire performance with lights, sound, and all the people and support crew involved, showed us where mistakes could be made so that we could learn from them and fix them before our first public performance.
Yes, it’s bad if we make the same mistake again and again. Making it once is forgivable. Sometimes, though, we have to fail short-term to succeed long-term.
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 websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Career, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
Ideas Can Come from Anyone…
One of the main points Dr Songip makes is that ideas come from the people who deliver and use our products or services. Customer Experience and Market Research are about tapping into these ideas, but the “usual” way of going about them sometimes leads organisations up the wrong path, mainly because they fail to listen to what’s being said. It was this that led to the undoing of the Ford Motor Company as America’s top carmaker from 1931 onwards, and Tony Fernandes’(still haven’t looked him up?) ability to tap into what others say that has propelled him and his business to the top slot in his particular niche.
The ability to understand the true state of our organisation, for Dr Songip, is the starting point in moving forward. Failing to understand results in changes not being achieved. What, he asks, are your “pain points” and where do they impact the value chain?
If our organisational culture discourages honest discussion on what’s wrong, is likely to result in a plan that in neither appropriate nor effective, based on management assumptions and wistful thinking.
Added to this is the “silo” or “functional” division of organisations into areas of expertise, but which, often, have conflicting objectives which impede smooth service. Silos can (and indeed will) be necessary for the reasons I’ve already mentioned, but to really move an organisation to the next level, they all need to understand how their individual activities impact the whole product or service delivery. Silos make it easy to distribute goals and orders down the chain of command “top -down management”), but more than ever, exceptional customer experience requires a “bottom-up” approach.
Our question as managers is how we instil this process without destroying the value already embedded in the organisation.
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, Selling, Strategy
Service vs Expectations
I was talking with a manager of one of the world’s airlines some weeks ago. In the past, this manager had worked for a Low-Cost Carrier (LCC), but was now working for a “regular” (i.e. non-LCC) airline. One of the comments the manager made was that the LCC’s customers seemed more prepared to accept delays and other incidents that we might consider “poor service”.
It made me realise: expectations are driven partly by cost. How many times have I seen comments on a product on Amazon where the reviewer said words to the effect of “I shouldn’t have expected too much, seeing as I didn’t pay much…”, or “For the price I paid, I would have expected better…”
In 2014, I wrote about
setting expectations, but never dreamt I’d come back to this four years later. Perhaps not much has changed. Price
does dictate how customers expect our product or service to turn out. The more we pay, the more we expect.
Getting back to our airline manager, this person had clearly seen this lesson in action. The expression "You get what you pay for” resonated with them and they were now working for an airline that had invested considerable time, effort and money into training, systems and the fleet of aircraft they had. Speaking recently with someone at their home, they commented that the cabin service on this airline was unexpectedly high. This was the result of that investment (and the higher prices that the airline was charging passengers as a result).
To say that people “aren't prepared to pay” for good service or products is to oversimplify the situation. None of us want to pay more than we have to, and we certainly don't want to pay for poor service or poor-quality products. The only conclusion I can draw is that, if we feel we’re getting valuethen the service or product provider has done what we asked.
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 websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy
