Mort

For the last month, we have been feasting on our backyard citrus crop.  Harvesting the abundant bounty got me to thinking about the ordeal I went through in early fall.  I had the burdensome task of pruning five citrus trees, all in various states of disrepair.  All of them had been pruned a year earlier, but in that short amount of time they had put on anywhere from three to five feet of new growth.  The trees certainly appeared much larger than when they had last been pruned, but their shapes had lost that nice rounded “pure Florida orange juice” logo on the carton look.  They more closely resembled a silhouette of Mort from the original Bazooka Joe comics.

What I was impressed with, though, other than the size and number of thorns on citrus trees, was the fact that, on all that new growth, there was no fruit to be found at all.  Oh, there was plenty of fruit on the trees, but it was all on the old growth.  Not only that, but the uncontrolled new growth made it much more difficult to get to the fruit.  While the new growth was what everyone saw when looking at the trees, most of the fruit was concealed behind the façade of productive branches.

That got me thinking about businesses I have seen.  Lots of growth, plenty of show, but no profit or cash to show for it.

• Has unproductive growth gotten out of hand in your business?
• Have you added new products, employees, and sales revenues only to see flat or declining profits?
• Are you busier than ever, but without an increase in cash flow to show for it?
• Is the productive core of your business being choked out by the new and greatest thing?

Perhaps it’s time to put on the gloves, the long-sleeved shirt, hat, and other protective gear, and get to pruning out the non-productive fluff.  You’ll have a better-looking business, more production, and profits that are much easier to reach.  Check out the “Seeing is Believing” blog to see how we can help.

I grew up in the country, where roads are “maintained” rather than “improved”, and where storm drainage can often be a challenge. So we were used to big rain storms (like last week) resulting in large puddles of water on either side of the road. We knew it was a big storm when the puddles met in the middle and stretched across the entire road (and as kids, it meant that some excellent “mud biking” was in store). A day or two after the rain had stopped, someone would notice the puddles and put up a warning sign like the picture above.

This always struck me as humorous. Everyone who lived on our road, or used it on a daily basis, had already been navigating the puddles for several days by the time these signs started showing up.  We already knew, or had learned the hard way, that caution was needed. So what was the point of the sign?

When is a warning sign most effective – before something dangerous or unwanted happens, or after it occurs?

What about your business – are you getting timely warnings before adjustments are needed, or just historical indicators telling you that something has occurred? What are the key performance indicators that drive your business? How do you get accurate and timely feedback about these key measurements, so that you can react when adjustments are necessary?

Think about your potential warning signs and put them up early.  Let people know what they mean and how to avoid the problems that could arise.  Prepare a plan to follow to get you around the potential pitfalls.

And please, drive safely this week!

How easy do you make it for your customers to do business with you?  Have your “upselling” efforts inadvertently resulted in lost opportunities or, worse yet, lost customers?  Do your processes enhance your customers’ experience?

These questions came to mind as I was standing in line at a national rental car agency.  (I won’t mention the company’s name, but I’ll bet you hate making one and the government hates sticking to one.)  My day started off by leaving our San Jose hotel at 4:30 a.m. where we caught an airplane to Washington D.C.  We arrived there at 4:30 p.m. after a long and tiring day of travel.  Worn out and drained, we caught the shuttle bus to the rental car center, ready to pick up our car and finish our day’s journey.

I had made an online reservation, answering all the questions about the options available, and so I expected my confirmation to be processed very quickly.  I first went to the express check-in area where I was told the car was reserved, but that I would have to go upstairs to check in.  I left my wife at the express area and told her I would be back in just a few minutes. When I got to the counter there were two agents waiting on people.  I was second in line and was thinking how fortunate I was that it wasn’t busy.  That feeling of euphoria soon ended.

UGLY POINT #1 – One agent (who, I later found out, was the manager) was helping a customer, while the other agent was beginning the review of the liability waiver.  You know the one, the one that says, “We tried to sell you additional insurance at a cost equivalent to $5,000 per year, but for some reason you didn’t see that as a good deal.”  As smart consumers, these women had already determined that they were covered by their personal auto insurance carrier.  However, doubt crept in to the woman who was the primary renter.  “If my friend is driving and has an accident, will the company go after her or me?” Shrug. The manager, who had just finished with his customer, was brought over.  “Yes, as the person on the contract, you will be liable.”  “OK, let’s add the insurance.  No, we’d better change the contract over to her (pointing at her friend).  We need you to re-write the agreement and show her as the renter.”  (My wife calls.  “Where are you?”  I tell her it will be just a few minutes now.)  The manager disappeared.  (I’m still waiting in line.)  Finally, after an interminably lengthy discussion, the women had their car and were off.

UGLY POINT #2 – At last, it was my turn.  I brought up my confirmation, knowing that this would be quick.  There was no apology for the long wait, no acknowledgment that I had even been there.  The agent keyed in my information and asked me how much luggage I had.  Then the barrage of questions (no, strike that… “recommendations”) started.

“We recommend that you get the full-size car instead of the standard-size.”  No, thank you.

“OK, do you accept the full-service package?”  What!?  I don’t understand what that is.

“It includes liability coverage.”  No, thank you.

“We recommend that you at least choose the insurance on the car.”  No, thank you.

“We recommend that you choose the fueling option so you don’t have to worry about bringing the car back with a full tank of gas.”  No, thank you.

“Finally,” I thought, “I’m done with these annoying questions.”  While these questions are always frustrating, after nine hours of travelling and 30 minutes standing in line, these questions were EXTREMELY irritating.  Another phone call from my wife.  “This is not going well and is REALLY frustrating!”, I said, intentionally within earshot of the agent.  No comment from the agent.

UGLY POINT #3 – No matter, I had gotten through the questions unscathed and the agent printed the contract.  My momentary jubilation quickly ended when the first point was reviewed.  “Here’s your total rate.”  ARGHHH!  The amount was $60 higher than the confirmation agreement I had given the agent.  The agent reviewed the confirmation, looked at her contract, looked at the computer screen, and hit a few keys.  No explanation could be found.  The manager was now brought over and he assumed the investigation.  Again, no apologies, no “Thank you for waiting”… nothing.  He spent the next several minutes hitting computer keys.  Finally, he just made an adjustment and gave me the revised amount.  It was $30 LESS than my confirmation!

“Oh, well,” he said, as he printed the contract.  But, there was one final problem.  The revised contract had no total.  When I asked about it, he just said that it was a modified agreement and showed me the adjustment.  I asked him for the total and manually wrote it on the agreement so I would have a record of it before I signed it.  Again, there were no apologies, no consideration at all for the extremely lengthy and annoying process.

Finally!  I was done and am on my way to get my car.  Total time from entering rental counter area… ONE HOUR!

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Does your performance management system reward the desired behavior?  While additional revenue per customer is a nice goal, the add-ons may be perceived as an additional pound of flesh from your customer.
2. Are your employees well-trained in your product or service?  Customers may ask very logical questions when presented with a sales request.  You r employees should be trained to anticipate such questions and have ready responses that make sense to the customers.
3. Do you have “the right people on the bus”?  Jim Collins, author of Good To Great, uses this term to describe employees who have the attitudes and attributes needed for your company.  He suggests hiring for attitude and training for aptitude.
4. Is your company easy to do business with?  When presented with a sales offer, the customers’ reasonable questions were met with a) no response, and b) a negative response. W hat seemed like a streamlined process via the online reservation system, turned into a nightmare when the system broke down.

With the best of intentions, businesses often begin to focus inward at their own processes and systems.  Instead, they should be looking outward, to their customers, and focusing on their needs and wants.  The ability to place the customer first and foremost, and then design the processes and systems to support that focus, is what sets good companies apart from mediocre ones.

Given the opportunity, your customers and employees are ready to tell you what to do.

“‘If… then’ rewards, the things around which we have built so many of our businesses, DON’T WORK!”  In fact, in those types of activities, tests showed that “higher incentives led to worse performance.”

While on vacation in Washington, D.C., I enjoyed two wonderful tours at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  What made these tours so great was not the magnificence of the buildings, nor the history associated with them; it was the passion displayed by the tour guides who led our groups 

Remarkably, these tour guides were unpaid docents who did their jobs out of a desire to share their love of their subject with others.  As I reflected on what made these tours so memorable, I realized that both of the docents were motivated by a passion to:

• Educate and inform – they provided a lot of information to make our experience worthwhile.
• Inspire us – they wanted to motivate us to have a perspective beyond ourselves.
• Encourage our personal involvement – they wanted to kindle a desire inside of us to take action.

A few days later, I was introduced to a presentation by Daniel Pink, the author of the soon-to-be-published book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

In the presentation, he makes the statement that was made at the beginning of this piece, i.e., that when it comes to complex or creative tasks, performance incentives don’t work.  He supports his assertion with several tests showing that, in fact, performance actually declines in certain types of tasks.  Yet, in business, we go on building performance initiative systems based on the belief (no… the KNOWLEDGE) that these rewards are effective at improving performance.  As Mr. Pink says:

“There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business does.”

Instead, science shows that workers in these complex or creative jobs are motivated by three things:

1. Autonomy – the urge to direct their own lives,
2. Mastery – the desire to get better and better at something that matters, and
3. Purpose – the yearning to do what they do in the service of something larger than themselves

This is not to say that money is unimportant; in fact, he begins with the premise that people receive a fair base pay.  However, these intrinsic motivations (satisfaction in the work itself) are far more critical than extrinsic motivations (rewards) when it comes to improving performance.

In survey after survey, employees in these types of jobs show that they want:

• Challenging work
• Meaningful work
• Involvement in the outcome
• Direction over their own work
• Feedback on their performance

In many ways, these are much more challenging to manage than assigning monetary rewards to outcomes.  It is the challenge of management, though, to create the type of environment that motivates people to work beyond even their own expectations.

Watch the video yourself to gain a better understanding of the science behind motivation.

It’s a cold and rainy day in our nation’s capital.  My wife and I have walked several blocks to the Newseum, an amazing 250,000 square foot museum devoted to the history of news.  We walk up to the door labeled “Group Entrance” and step inside.  I ask where the main entrance is, anticipating the response I know I’ll hear.

“It’s on the other side of the building,” the attendant says (I sigh), “but we can help you here.”

What refreshing words to hear!  We don’t have to go back outside and walk the two blocks to get to the front door.  Not only that, he calls for someone to come over and help us.  A friendly woman comes to greet us with her full personal attention.  She asks if we would like to check our coats (“Are you kidding!?”) and offers to escort us to the ticket counter.  I tell her that I already bought my tickets online, so she escorts us to the beginning of the exhibit area.

Nearly every Newseum employee we encountered had a similar attitude.  “How can I help you?” was a common question, accompanied by genuine interest in making sure we had a pleasant experience.

The team members at the Newseum all exhibited “customer-centric” attitudes.  To a person, the attitude was one of serving the customers’ needs rather than focusing on their prescribed systems and procedures.

How often have you heard these comments?

• “I’m sorry, that’s not my job.”
• “That’s our policy.”
• “You’ll have to talk to my manager.”
• “No, we can’t do that.”
• “If you’ll go over there, someone can help you.”

These phrases are all examples of an inward focus on systems and procedures (in the name of efficiency); instead, we should have an outward focus on meeting the needs and wants of our customers.  This may require an adjustment of attitudes and culture, and it must start with the leader’s actions and tone.  Standardized procedures are important, not because they help to keep costs down, but because they increase the likelihood that the customer receives an acceptable level of service.  Meetings and communications should include reports of service provided, customer feedback, examples of great service, and opportunities to improve.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does our strategic plan focus on our customers or on our products and services?
• What action steps have we implemented in the past year to improve service to our customers?
• What metrics do we use to measure customer service?
• Do our systems and procedures allow employees flexibility in serving our customers?
• Is there time set aside in our meetings to discuss customer service?

The next time you update your strategic plan, begin by focusing on how you can improve your customers’ experience with you.  Your discussions and, as a result, your plan, will take on a much more positive tone.  In the end, you will have better processes, happier customers, and a much more motivated team.

You’re in yet another planning retreat, wondering how anything fruitful is going to come out of it. “I’ve heard the same things for the past three years,” you think to yourself, “and nothing has changed at all.” You look around and notice that people are checking their watches, doodling on their notes, fiddling with their phones, reengineering their mechanical pencils… you get the point. Somewhere in the background, Charlie Brown’s teacher is rambling on, “Waah, wah, waah, wah, wah.”

The meeting ends, everyone nods in agreement (“What did we just decide?”), they walk out, check their inboxes, phones, and go back to what they were doing before the meeting. Did anything change? Better yet, WILL anything change as a result of the last eight hours?

With our structured “sticky wall” approach to brainstorming, we have facilitated many productive planning sessions that have led to successful decision-making and implementation.

Here are some tips for making your next planning retreat more meaningful:

• Make sure all of the key players are involved up front. If key people can’t attend, cancel the meeting. Don’t invite anyone who doesn’t need to be there.
• Hand out a sample agenda beforehand. Give people the expectations for the meeting so they have time to think about the discussion topics.
• Start and end the meeting on time. Show respect for those people who show up on time by starting promptly. Be ready to wrap things up on schedule by allowing time for decisions and follow-up actions.
• Review the group objectives, methods, and agenda at the beginning of the retreat. Let people know what to expect.
• Establish “rules of behavior”. While some conflict can be healthy, finger pointing and personal attacks are not. Focus the attention on the ideas and not on individuals.
• Use a structured approach to capture everyone’s input and to document decisions.
• Stay on track. Use a flip chart page designated as the “parking lot” to record miscellaneous or “off-topic” comments.
• Periodically check on the progress toward the desired goals of the meeting.
• Develop consensus on the meeting’s outcomes and ensure that everyone is clear on the decisions made, initiatives, responsibilities, due dates, and monitoring mechanisms.