A colleague on twitter tells a tale...
The Blame Game"Ugly story that's way too common: Top line sales drop, operations suffer first. (Extreme case: Exec w/sales background blames operations.)"
Now what?
Before we examine this issue, lets vote: who do yo blame?
Sales? Or Operations?
Actually, write it down on a piece of paper. Better yet, email me your vote before you read any further! Then give me your thoughts after you read the correct answer.
First things first: Is this within your span of control? For most of us the short answer is "no". This is a great spot to make a simple decision, "Is this work environment for me?" Sadly, most folks are unwilling to explore the ramifications.
Secondly, if it is within your span of control, what is the most effective and rewarding approach? Actually, lets do some role playing. How does the Sales Exec look on the situation?"I am busting my backside... the economy is tight for our product line at the moment. Our sales team is over-extended, trying to get around to each and every customer, prospect and even a lot of suspects in a massive effort to "put numbers in the hopper!"
Okay, sounds reasonable (on the face of it). No way to fault them. The call sheets are all filled out in great detail. Sales "calls" are up over 10% year to date. Yet sales are off almost 27% for the same period. Plus, it is not just us, our industry is also "off" in excess of 20%.
What say you, operations director?"We are busting our humps too. Cost cutting measures (mostly due to the spike in fuel costs) are a significant factor in our approach recently. There have been some "minor" products dropped that were not pulling their weight relative to increased costs. And yes, that probably has had the single biggest negative ramifications to overall sales. But employee turnover is also a factor. In order to keep our efficiencies up, we have increased batch sizes and therefore, some shipments have been delayed even across quarterly reporting periods. It cannot be helped. Consider too the fact that sales asked us to expedite a line of products that now sit in the final assembly department, all ready to go, except for the fact that the actual "sale" never closed!"
Get the idea?
It is easy to understand most any debate from our own vantage point. But is that what passes for "leadership" today? I hope not.
The correct answer to this riddle is simple: both parties are right.
But they are right on the wrong question!
Business is a team sport. Consider GM (General Motors). One of the favorite whipping boys of the moment as a result of GM's focus on building gas guzzling trucks and SUVs while gasoline prices exploded past four bucks a gallon.
The CEO is responsible for strategy. But if the emperor has "no clothes" (or a faulty strategy), leaders within the organization must make their concerns known. What is the backup plan? What are the other components of our plan? Do we have too many eggs in one basket?
Lets us hear the conclusion to this matter: blame is counterproductive.
W. Edwards Deming said that success is 94% the by-product of your system. Yea, that is a loose paraphrasing (at best!). No success? Look at your system. Then your assumptions. Then the marketplace and your competition. Apple said it best: "think different!"
Guess what?
Thinking will keep you too busy to blame anyone but yourself.
Then, pick up the phone and call me. Together, lets challenge some of those assumptions that are destroying the bottom line. Lets start by asking the right questions.
Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah
Throughput.us LLC
(330) 432-3533
©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.
Blame Game
