Surface Ripples

Big Picture Thinking

 I’ve been in numerous situations where an ability to ‘see the big picture’ (or ‘see the wood despite the trees’) would have avoided potential damage to a business’ interests and reputation.

In all cases, a member of the team was just ‘doing their job’ (as they saw it).  A small issue was spotted and the transaction held up for what (in the client’s eyes) seemed to be a petty reason that had little/no bearing or impact on the underlying issue or execution of the deal.  

I’ve seen banks develop poor reputations for over-zealous checking, heard stories about travellers or applications being delayed because a form wasn’t completed in black ink (most people write in blue), or a minor ‘typo’ was highlighted.

In the case of blue vs black ink, I gather that blue ink doesn’t scan/photocopy as well as black.  Whether this is sufficient in all cases to hold up the transaction is debatable.   With our much-vaunted ‘advanced technology’, surely we’re capable of developing systems, scanners and copiers that can scan/copy blue ink?  We already have colour photocopiers and printers, so the ability is there.

There is seldom anything more irritating than to have minor issues with little to no impact on the transaction at large being used as an excuse to delay.  At times, the reason may be because managers further up the line may be ‘picky’.  They need to be educated as well.  It takes very little for a customer to shift their business to another organisation (governments excepted) that doesn’t make an issue of it.

There will be times, of course, when the issue isn’t so ‘minor’ and could well have legal or medical ramifications.  We don’t want a decimal point in the wrong place, or transposed figures for a dosage of medication being passed through – this could kill someone.  Equally, putting the decimal point in the wrong place or adding an extra ‘zero’ to a financial transaction by mistake could also spell disaster (that’s why banks, and hospitals have additional checks) as the results would be serious enough that absolute accuracy and precision are required.

Where I believe allowances can and should be made are the cases where lives, businesses and reputations are not at stake.  Pettiness for the sake of scoring a point has no place in an advancing world.  

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience 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, Risk, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 09:36