Newsletter - June 2004

WORK PREFERENCES AND YOUR TEAM - PART 3

Do you work with someone who is passionate about certain issues even to the extreme where they will not be swayed by logic or reasoning? You may be working with someone who uses Beliefs as their preference when making decisions at work.

This month we will examine the third of four work preferences which form part of the Team Management Profile, “How You Make Decisions”. Margerison and McCann in their research of work preferences identified that there are two kinds of work preference in this area. These two preferences are situated along a continuum so some people may be very strong in their preference and be situated at one end, while others may be more even in their preference and be based more toward the middle of the continuum.

Some people have an “Analytical“ preference whilst others have a “Beliefs” preference. People with an Analytical work preference prefer to Make their decisions based on an objective decision making criteria. Using such methods can sometimes make them appear to be a little too clinical or detached though they will always negotiate decisions based on the evidence and rules binding them. These people like to analyse issues and are very task oriented.

People with a Beliefs preference for making decisions use a more personal subjective decision making criteria. These people make decisions based on what they believe is good for the team or the world. If it is right for them it is right for the team. They can become very committed to their point of view and will argue based on the principle of the matter or the right and wrong of the issue. If you hold the same values as they do life will be harmonious, if you differ expect a rough ride.

IN THE TEAM

In a finance and administration team in the power generation industry I found one person who had a strong beliefs based decision making process. She managed to brow beat many of the men in the team stating bluntly, “It’s the principle that matters here!” The rest of the team tried to argue using logic and reasoning and got no where fast.

COACHING TIPS FOR ANALYTICAL AND BELIEFS PEOPLE

In this group the beliefs based person was offended that the rest of the team should challenge her strongly held opinion. The rest of the team couldn’t understand how she could hold such an opinion when it was clear that the rules and evidence suggested otherwise. I suggested that the Analytical people examine her values and principles and suggested that the Beliefs person make some allowances for the accepted rules and evidence of the case at hand.

NEXT MONTH

Next month I will examine how you like to organise yourself and others.

TWO EASY STEPS TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEM

No matter what you do for a living people spend a lot of time at work and in their personal life solving problems. Some problems are small and some a lot larger, but they all need to be solved.

PROBLEMS DEFINED?

1. A problem is an opportunity for improvement.
2. A problem is the difference between where you are now and where you want to be.
3. A problem results from the realisation that your current situation is not perfect and the realisation that there is a better alternative.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CLEAR GOAL

It’s important to have a clear idea of the outcome you seek when you aim to solve a problem. By setting a goal you have a clear indication of the outcome and can clearly identify when the problem is solved.

SOLUTIONS DEFINED?

• A solution is often regarded as complete when the problem no longer exists
• Unfortunately not all problems can be eradicated

 TWO EASY STEPS TO SOLVING PROBLEMS

1. STOP IT – The focus is on attacking the cause of the problem
2. MOP IT – The focus is on attacking the symptoms of the problem.

Each of these steps has three sub steps.

STOP IT

The Stop It approach strives to eradicate the problem so that it no longer exists.

The three sub steps

• Prevention
• Elimination
• Reduction

PREVENT IT.

This approach requires some foresight and may be a more costly option. It does however save a reactive approach.

ELIMINATE IT.

Eliminating a problem is the best solution in every problem solving situation. These strategies can be expensive, unpopular and are not always feasible.

REDUCE IT.

Reducing a problem is sometimes the only solution as some problems can never be eliminated. A good example in the world today is rubbish. It will never go away, but to reduce the volume is a good compromise.

MOP IT

The Mop It approach often focuses on the side effects of the problem. If for example you have a leaking storage container a mop it approach is simply to clean up the leakage.

The three sub steps

• Treat It
• Tolerate It
• Redirect It

TREAT IT.

A treat it solution is not usually as effective as a stop it solution and quite often is used prior to a stop it solution. In the leaking container example, you might mop up the leakage (treat it) and then plug the hole in the drum (stop it).

TOLERATE IT.

This approach involves putting up with the problem and devising a method to do that. The leaking container could be placed in a tray to collect the leakage.

REDIRECT IT.

A redirect it solution could simply mean the problem is redefined and treated as a known given. The leaking container is too expensive to fix and a tray to contain the leakage is a cheaper easier option.

investigate the possibility of implementing a stop-it solution before you focus on mop-it ones. There is a temptation to focus on symptomatic treatments for our problems when we should be looking for treatments of the underlying causes.

NEXT MONTH

Next month I will examine other ways to solve problems.

THE 3 PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

How many times have you heard the old adage “The customer is always right?” This adage implies that we must focus on the customer but it does not mean that we must give the customer everything! It does mean that we must strive to identify our customer needs and meet them, in a way that is profitable for us!

To achieve you must subscribe to the three principles of customer orientation:

1. Your customers are you greatest asset. You will not survive without them and building and conserving this asset is your central task in business.
2. To do this, you must understand your customers’ needs better than your competitors. You must in particular understand their relationship needs and meet these identified needs better than any of your competitors.
3. You will only be able to understand and meet your customer needs if you put your customers first. This means managing your day to day processes to deliver the best results to your customers. Remember customers do not belong to you, they deal with you only as a result of your customer focused work.

In business today lack of customer orientation is common. Many companies have an inward focused policies and procedures designed to service the supplier need rather than the customer.

CASE STUDY

A safety supplies company in Queensland retails a range of safety equipment to businesses across Australia . They purchase gloves from a multi national company based in Victoria . Sales in this line had been growing and they had been purchasing around an average of $230,000 worth of gloves each month. A representative from the glove supplier rang one month to talk about their sales being over $200,000 each month.

The owner of the safety equipment retailer was excited and said “yes it’s great, we hope to continue to grow sales to around $250,000 to $300,000 each month”. The representative from the multi national said something like “This has to stop. The terms of credit for partnerships are $200,000 credit per month, as you are a partnership; you have operated outside our terms of agreement. If you continue to exceed $200,000 sales per month we will cut off your credit”.

Next month the safety equipment retailer ordered $230,000 of gloves again and true to his word the multi national supplier cut off their credit, which caused the safety retailer to fall behind in supplying his customers. The safety equipment retailer looked around and found seven other wholesale suppliers who were capable of supplying gloves.

He approached them all and asked for quotes to supply gloves at the same volume as he had been purchasing from the multi national. One supplier came back with a similar quality glove at 80 cents cheaper per glove than he had been paying from the multi national.

Three months later the representative from the multi national called personally at the warehouse of the safety equipment retailer to ask why they had stopped purchasing gloves from the multi national. As he asked the question he gazed around the warehouse and asked “Why have you got all these pallets of gloves from our opposition here?”

The multi national had failed to observe the three principles of customer orientation.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY?

Make sure you focus on your customer, make it easy for them to do business with you.