News You Can Use

Please choose to review:

• Doing More vs. Just Knowing
• Doing vs. Just Knowing: Getting It Closer
• The Most Urgent Need in Business
• The Second Most Urgent Need in Business
• Planning For The New Year
• Significant Trends in Law

Doing More vs. Just Knowing

We’ve talked about "The Knowing-Doing Gap" as outlined in the book by Pfeffer and Sutton. You may remember that they found 5 main problems that contribute to this "gap."

1. When talk substitutes for action.
2. When past experience substitutes for fresh thinking.
3. When fear prevents acting on knowledge (I would add "pride of authorship" to this).
4. When measuring things vs. people obstructs good judgement.
5. When internal competition turns friends into enemies.

Employee productivity, and retention, is at stake here. Implementing well and consistently has always been the name of the game for successful organizations.

Earlier we spoke about 3 things you can do to close the gap: using simple language, simple concepts and common sense (even when knowledge is complex or difficult), treating failure to act as the only failure, and involving people democratically in decisions that affect them day by day.

To add to these 3, here’s a few more selected gems:

1. Always ask why (have simple goals) before how – can your employees recite your mission and basic core values by heart?
2. Action counts more than revising and debating the plan (goals) to death.
3. Drop all past decisions that don’t work, no matter whose idea it was.
4. Acting decisively on your simple goals actually is the best source of knowing.
5. Invest at least twice as much in your people as you do for your projects.
6. Internal competition is lethal, so mutual cooperation and shared winning is the key.
7. Reward people for new, bold action that ties directly to the mission and core values, even if they fail.
8. Keep asking your people what they’re thinking, and why, at least every 30 days.

Let us know if we can help. go to top

Doing vs. Just Knowing: Getting It Closer

Employee productivity is a big, big issue these days all the way from the boardroom to the boulevard. Knowing the right things to do is essential, but doing them consistently well, or implementing, is where the rubber meets the road. It’s the ball game.

In the organizations we primarily work with throughout Florida and the eastern US, we often see their initial emphasis mainly on knowing more and more. Later on, doing more consistently works out much better for them.

An interesting book that has studied this issue is, "The Knowing-Doing Gap: How smart companies turn knowledge into action." In it, the authors Pfeffer and Sutton recap the why’s and how’s. They found 5 main problems that contribute to this "gap."

1. When talk substitutes for action.
2. When past experience substitutes for fresh thinking.
3. When fear prevents acting on knowledge (I would add "pride of authorship" to this).
4. When measuring things vs. people obstructs good judgement.
5. When internal competition turns friends into enemies.

There’re others I might add, but these 5 are a good start. One reason for each of these 5 is:

1. Talking a lot being mistaken for doing a lot.
2. Pressures to continue with past decisions.
3. Avoiding mistakes at all costs due to fear.
4. Projects are seen as profitable, not people.
5. Success of one person at the expense of another in the same organization.

Here are 3 things you can do right now to help produce more action:

1. Use simple language, simple concepts and common sense with your people, even when knowledge is complex or difficult.
2. Treat failure to act as the only failure, plus talk up and celebrate what’s learned by the mistakes made, especially by managers.
3. Involve people democratically in the decisions with the processes they must live with day by day.

Consistently doing and knowing can be successfully brought together. Next time we’ll look at more ways of doing. go to top

The Most Urgent Need in Business

Our last Newsletter talked about the second most urgent need: doing a customer/client Survey Assessment. How 85%+ of respondents in our Assessments can’t name anything that’s distinct and separate about their vendor. Finding out who’s loyal, and who’s leaving. Both deal with your peace of mind. But as vital as this is, this Assessment is not #1.

The most urgent need is getting people to perform more consistently and effectively, and because they want to. Doing what they should do excellently, and with the right attitude.

We have become persuaded of this based on our work with clients over the last 20 years or so. And this most urgent need is escalating each year in most organizations.

How did we get here?

Certainly some are model employees, and we’re thankful for them. But by and large, most agree the trend is becoming more difficult. People are resistant to progress and change, distrustful, affected by past failures both individually and by the organization, downsizing, influenced by a national welfare mentality causing greater self-centeredness, and increasing family problems, etc.

Why should we be concerned about this?

Positive morale, proactive attitudes, and better skill levels lead to increases in revenue, customer service, internal harmony, etc. = greater cash flow. A great incentive reward.

If ignored, we’ll be reminded like the mechanic in the old Fram oil filter TV commercial: "You can pay now, or you can pay later."

How can we make it even better?

1. Ask the staff what your strengths, weaknesses, and their commitment levels are now. Let them respond anonymously.
2. Do all planning as a democracy. Implement as a dictatorship. Most organizations do the exact opposite. People won’t execute well what they didn’t help create.

Based on client requests, we’ve begun sharing our strategies in a new in-house workshop entitled: "Taking Your Staff to The Next Level of Performance." go to top

The Second Most Urgent Need in Business

"We provide quality and service. All we need to do is do good work." Sound familiar? Heard this in your organization? Is that enough for your customers/clients? Which ones today are loyal…and which aren’t? Why do they stay? Why are they leaving? This is the second most urgent need is business: knowing for certain were they stand...and why. A Survey Assessment works best.

Ask yourself the following: "Do I want to continue the risk of not knowing if all my major customers/clients are loyal to me, no matter what? How difficult would it be for my organization to replace within the next 12 months the 15-20%+ revenues at risk that a typical survey reveals?"

Is Anything Distinct & Separate?

Our firm’s Survey Assessments also reveal that typically 85%+ of those contacts responding can’t name anything that’s truly distinct and separate about their vendor (the client we’re working for). That doesn’t bode well for those organizations that desire to not be considered a commodity in their markets. A common commodity is always price driven. Being distinct and separate raises value, and price levels.

What to do about it?

Survey your top customer/client contacts. They’ll reveal what’s good, what’s not, which of your people are outstanding, and those not so. Recognize and reward deserving people.

How to do it?

An internal effort normally sugarcoats the results, and downplays needed progress to grow your organization. It’s best to have a professional, third party customize the survey. Have them assure your customer/client that all negative comments are welcome, and will be detailed anonymously. This will help them speak openly and freely.

Why do it?

Again, ask yourself: "What’s my cost to replace our lost client revenue, 2X; 3X; 4X vs. retaining the current revenue of our existing customers/clients?" Only a 10% increase in customer/client retention (vs. adding new ones) can change as much as 100% in profitability. go to top

Planning For The New Year

Let’s begin with the new year. Are you ready? Is your Business Plan "doable?"

Recently, I was asked by a large business association to help create and lead a workshop series on more effective Business Planning for their members.

"Doable" planning is a big task. However, there are some benchmark areas:

1. Your Client/Customer

Assess them: what are they saying about you? Who’s loyal? Who’s leaving (or has left)? Action: survey 15-20 service attributes about your organization. How much sugarcoating is going on if it’s done in-house?

2. Your Team

Ask them anonymously: what do they say are the strengths and weaknesses? Action: pick one issue they say needs to progress or be minimized starting in January.

I met the first time with a successful group this past month. The senior officer complained to me they hadn’t much success implementing in the past few years. Why? They guessed that they asked their team to change too much too soon.

3. Implementing The Right Tactics

All success and failure occurs here. Then why do most organizations put too little emphasis on this? I seem to often find that they’re discouraged and fed-up about past history. Action: pick a simple, consistent process that the team thinks will really work…get them involved. Include measurement, control, rewards, recognition and consequences for the entire team. Accountability is a key.

4. Three Potential dangers

Avoid: too much new technology vs. investing in your people; analyzing and debating everything to death vs. real action; doing the same thing again and again if it still doesn’t work.

Why not take at least one Action from these benchmarks and try it? It just might help make life easier and more productive. go to top

Significant Trends in Law

Some time ago a few publications came up with what they consider significant trends that those in law should heed. Here’s a few to consider as part of your strategic focus:

Bringing perceived and deliverable value to a savvy client and their engagement will override the past tactic of charging only by the hour.

It could be that profits may still be more than adequate or even improve. Some firms have gotten smaller and more profitable.

The good news and the bad news. This would be a great world if it wasn’t for the people, right?

The escalating pace of business demands everyone to react lightening fast. No old order bureaucracy will continue to be as profitable.

Good rain makers have been doing it for years. Now it must be the rule throughout the firm.

We best get used to it. If all things seem equal with a proposed engagement, and your competition has better technology and the savvy to use it, guess who wins?

Doing just "good work" doesn’t cut it anymore. World class service will be the key. Also, it takes so long and costs many $ to bring a client to where you want them. Huge emphasis is needed on keeping the good ones you have, and gaining back those who are worthy of your talents.

Making some of these come to pass in your firm will pay great dividends for the few that prepare. I remember some trends I thought might never come to pass. Things like a computer on every desk, pumping your own gas, bagging your own groceries…and, the rise of prepaid legal services. go to top

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