So the long drawn-out “phony war” is over, the Rotten Parliament is at an end and we in the UK are locked into the election process for the next month. Regardless of your political leanings, we can expect to see all parties obfuscating and being economical with the truth while at the same time slagging off the “other lot” for exactly the same failings! If the Psalms were written today, number 146 would read “Do not put your trust in politicians ….”
With all the negativity and posturing that seems to surround this particular election it was interesting to read a short item on a completely different subject. The CEO of Unilever was quoted as having a revolutionary idea – look after the customers and the shareholders will benefit.
It is a powerful argument for long-term thinking rather than focusing on short-term measures. It used to pervade the thinking of many businesses, as evidenced by the concepts of brand recognition, building customer loyalty and trust, and being focused on retention rather than constant churning of “new” customers.
Investments were made with an eye to the long term, not simply for the next month’s or quarter’s figures. Rewards were similarly aligned: executives were paid on sustained and sustainable value; shareholders benefited from stable and growing income as well as slower but steady capital appreciation. Many new ideas have permeated both academia and the business world, but many have equally never been truly tested over time in real life.
This rush for instant results and gratification pervades all areas from financial institutions offering eye-catching bonus rates that soon plummet, through all manner of signing on bonuses to the churn of institutional shareholders and computerized trading on miniscule market movements.
These same pressures often filter directly through to service providers. We are pressurized to implement a solution with ever tightening deadlines, with immediate and significant benefits accruing to the organization. But really, life isn’t like that – unless there are truly monumental basic failings in the structure and processes of your organization that can be remedied quickly and painlessly. Even this scenario is fanciful.
The reality is that service improvement usually takes time, effort and money. It is never simply about implementing new processes, installing a new tool set or engaging a new outsourcing partner. Invariably it is about changing people’s ways of working (in addition to any or all of the previous aspects).
Everyone in the entire organization needs to develop a new mindset; one that absolutely focuses on the customer and long-term sustainable value. This starts at the very top and the appropriate ethos and corporate values must be cascaded and practiced by all at every level of the organization. Any short-term objectives must be couched within the framework of longer term objectives and should never contradict or subvert these. Nor should anyone be incentivized or threatened with penalties for success or failure that isn’t commensurate with the long term objectives. Yet that is unfortunately often what happens: realistic targets and budgets are set only to be shortened and pared without full consideration of the impact of a rushed project or cheap solution. One manager’s success may well mean another’s failure, and the compromising of corporate goals.
Getting people to change their attitudes and work practices is difficult – particularly the former! Desired skill-sets need to be worked out carefully and continuing education programmes put in place to ensure that each individual fully understands their role in the overall scheme and has the requisite competence to both perform their current duties and have aspirational progression paths.
Even entrepreneurial start ups reach a point where it is no longer enough to keep innovating for innovation’s sake (witness the tech bubble and burst!). Long lasting business success stories come from organizations that understand their customers, satisfy their current demands well, anticipate their future demands, keep their focus, invest in their people and align all stakeholders’ interests. Trouble always arises when the interests of one or more stakeholder groups override those of other groups.
It isn’t fashionable to say so, but achieving any factor (speed, low cost, etc) simply for its own sake is rarely the answer. There are no magic bullets; no one else can solve YOUR issues.
And just as businesses need to focus on their customers, so politicians need to focus on what the electorate really wants. In many ways it is easier for a business because they can focus on one or more segments of a market and ignore those in which it isn’t interested in. Once in power, a political party has to represent the needs of the whole community – and that means balancing the interests of different groups. It certainly shouldn’t mean that the politicians put their interests, personal or ideological, ahead of those of the country as a whole.
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How can something be 'new and improved'? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it.
Any feedback and comments are always welcome!!
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