Improving the Journey
“Every system is perfectly designed to produce the results it gets.”
- W. Edwards Deming
If you don’t like the results you are seeing, you have to change the system that is producing those results. Here is a simple, but not easy, process to follow.
STEP 1: Review Your Vision.
“I want to be rich.”
“I want to sell my company for $100M.”
“I want to increase value of the company.”
If your vision is something like this, don’t expect anyone else to help you. If you want people to join you on the journey, you need to communicate a vision that is compelling for them too.
What is the future reality you want to see?
Why is it important? Why does it matter?
Why should anyone care? What’s in it for them?
STEP 2: Reflect on your Strategy.
I once worked for an organization that never said “NO”. Maybe they did a few times, but not nearly enough. The result was mass confusion, inefficiency, and a string of failed product launches. They tried to do too much and achieved very little. Eventually they were bought out by a competitor. Don’t be afraid to say NO to good ideas so you can keep your people and your resources focused on a handful of great ideas.
Which path(s) will you take to reach your vision?
Which path(s) will you NOT take?
STEP 3: Standardize your Processes.
I recently learned there is a noticeable difference between the customer service quality on the weekend vs the customer service quality during the week at a particular retailer. The best customer service representatives (let’s call them the A-Team) want to work during normal business hours. Which means the B-Team works the weekends. The gap between the A-Team and the B-Team is either a process problem or a people problem. Before you can address people problems, you need to have the right processes in place.
What are the handful of things your organization needs to do well every time?
How are those things done well? What’s the process?
Where are those processes documented?
Who needs to be trained in those processes?
Who will train them and when?
STEP 4: Optimize the Experience
This week I referred a great service to a friend of mine. As he was going through their onboarding process, he sent me this text: “man … if I didn’t know you – I’d be questioning the $%#$ out of this … lol”
The problem isn’t that the process doesn’t work. It works. The strategy is sound, and the process is standardized. But the experience isn’t optimized. It doesn’t feel good. The process gave him anxiety rather than giving him confidence.
What does it feel like for your customers to interact with your organization?
What would you like your customers to feel?
How do you need to optimize your processes to consistently give your customers the experience you want them to have?
Step 4 begins the transition from Journey to Culture – from what you do to how you do it. And Culture is where we will focus next.
