Posted April 28, 2017
I’m enjoying a new experience; two weeks of intensive training by way of induction into a large, established organisation who have gone from a government quango to enjoying charity status. As a cultural ‘fire-fighter’ it has been eye-opening to see how they operate. I have resisted the urge to draw block and flow charts and have enjoyed being trained rather than being the trainer. I thought this would be a change from working in the Arts given their history and size but in fact, operationally it seems to be an all too similar story. Whilst absorbing the past two weeks I have been reminded of the following six quotes an thought this might be a suitable poetry antidote ;0)).
You might be able to guess the originators of the quotes…
- If you want to milk the cow, give it good grass
- Take off your management shoes and regularly walk in your customers shoes
- Take off your management shoes and regularly walk in your staffs’ shoes
- Never say goodbye, always ‘see you again’
- Don’t build a brand, build a community.
- Flow. Be the river not the rock.
If you have a major seller (product or outlet) are your senior management spending enough time with it - to value it, nurture it and keep it healthy? If not why not — no excuses. The heart of your business is your cash cow, everything flows from it’s centre. If you aren’t giving it one to one TLC or if you are managing from a distance and thinking it’s running itself, you are heading for a fall.
Do you know what it feels like to be your own customer this month? Make time. You can have all the best ideas in the world and employ all the best secret shoppers in the universe but they will never equate to the reality of standing in line amongst your own customers or working the tills alongside your own staff for the shortest and most valuable way to ensure your organisation is providing the best service/product and that your staff have got the best tools and processes to provide that service/product. You are never too important to let your feet touch the ground.
If you aren’t aiming for repeat business, then you shouldn’t be in business. If you know that customer’s don’t return then you are either lacking in ambition or your business is failing, eventually your organization will become inward looking and dinosaur thinking will take hold. Look forward, growth isn’t always about expanding in volume or size. It is also about growing your relationships with people - even in the largest of organizations. You believe in your organisation don’t you? So make it possible for others outside of it to do the same. Don’t build a brand, build a community.
As an organisation, aiming to be a solid, reliable ‘rock’ is admirable but time passes and change happens; being impervious to it, or worn down by it is not so admirable. Rather be like the river, make sure the structure and processes of your organisation have ‘flow’ and are full of desire routes. If you have obstacles within your organisation, they will be easier to spot. If you have challenges ahead as an organisation, a fluid approach will enable your organisation to flow around them rather than be hindered by them.