Of Leaves and Roots

The dynamics of change is curious. I think most people are content with status quo. Change takes effort and for most people life is pretty much o.k. without change.

This is why there will always be Get Rich Quick and Fix It Fast scams - the promise and allure of a quick fix is so enticing. Real change takes effort. Real change costs you something. Real World 101.

Individuals that can engage in real effective change rise to leadership. They are the exception.

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An organization began to question why their numbers were dropping. Their product was good but fewer were buying. To grow they knew they had to increase their revenue. The decision was made to formulate a survey and see if they could learn what they were missing.

The survey results seemed to identify some key areas requiring attention; things like packaging and value to the end-user and availability. Surveys can mislead and so can the interpretation of the data collected. The axiom about listening (we have two ears and one mouth) never goes away. Even after we get the survey results.

The key players met to discuss the findings and what should be done about them. Without engaging their clients and potential clients in further discussion (one mouth, one ear with a weak battery in the hearing aid), they began to make decisions.

• Decisions about packaging. Change the font. Instead of square, let's do rectangle. Can't the container be clear? If we package it this way it will look like the customer is getting more. (If we can't change the real value, then we can change the perceived value.)
• Decisions about value. They chose to define value in monetary terms (cost per unit) instead of in terms of benefit to the customer. 
• Decisions about availability. We will put our product in these new venues.

None of the decisions they made were necessarily wrong. All of the decisions increased work load. None of the decisions increased revenue that validated the changes. In other words, they could have done nothing at all and their bottom line would remain basically the same.

It appeared that they were trying to change their harvest by playing with the leaves and ignoring the roots. Leaves are easier to access. You can trim them, rake them into a pile and jump in them, sit back and admire them. But roots are beneath the surface and not so easy to see. They are not as easy to change.

Turns out the company's product itself just did not taste as good as their competition. Changing packaging, pricing or availability did not address the real problem.

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Change - effective change - is the arena of Leaders. For effective change to occur Leaders focus their concern on the roots. That's where the real action is.

• Active listening (like radars that never turn off) helps the Leader to hear "through" the answers to its questions.
• Vision casting helps the Leader to take his people from where they are at to where they need to be.
• Priority management helps the Leader stay out of the galley and in the cockpit.
• Reality checks help a Leader to stay fresh and relevant.
• Smart goals and accountability help a Leader to keep moving forward.
• Identifying the root issues and addressing them decisively causes beneficial change.

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Put the rake away. Pick up the shovel.

The Old Red Shirt

It's red. It's a pullover. It never needs ironing. I can throw it on and do what needs to be done. I use it for lounging around watching television or for reading a book in my favorite chair. It doesn't matter if I spill on it cause it's already stained. I can do yard work in it or indoor projects. It's great for raking leaves or trimming branches or sawing wood. I've even dared painting while wearing it. (There's a eggshell white stain on the back of the left arm for proof.) It may be cliche, but it's still true. That's how cliches become cliche.

After going to my closet for years (y-e-a-r-s) to find my favorite red microfiber waiting for me as a default fashion item, I couldn't find it. Carefully I moved every hanger thinking that perhaps I had overlooked it. I emptied out the laundry hamper. I looked in every drawer. This particular day required my comfortable red shirt. There was too much to do that had to be done and this shirt reassured me that I could get it all done. Why doesn't Google have a solution for this?

My wife is my GPS for things I can't find. But I could not find her. Someone needs to invent a GPS to find GPS devices. A mild panic started to seize me but before giving in I hurried to the laundry room. The red shirt was not in the washing machine. It wasn't in the dryer.

OK, I was out of options. The clock was ticking and I had to get my chores done. Not finding my shirt was not helping me.

Don't lecture me that it's just a shirt and that I have other perfectly good stained worn shirts to wear. This is psychological. It ventures into an area of my mind where reason is suspended. That same area of the brain that I rely on when deciding whether to go for the next slice of pizza or not.

Change is not comfortable. 
Change is not comfortable especially when it comes to changing the way we've always done things around here. We've always done sales like this. We've always handled customers this way. We've always marketed to these people. We've been at this for y-e-a-r-s so don't think we don't know what we're doing.

Top performers in any area of life know the value of change. They are comfortable with change. They are comfortable with being uncomfortable. And as a result these top performers are always willing to take another look at being more effective, more efficient, more productive, more profitable and more strategic. Change is about optimization.

Just back away from the red shirt.
In order to leave behind the way-we've-always-done-it mindset and embrace change for a better tomorrow, you need to frequently ask yourself questions like these:

• What is the best use of my time, talent, and treasure?
• What resources am I not utilizing to its fullest potential?
• How can I maximize output (returns) and minimize input?
• What strategies will give me supersized results?
• What processes are underperforming?
• What relationships can I better leverage?
• What other business can provide me with best practices that I can implement?
• What opportunities am I missing?
• What customer feedback should I be addressing first?

"That shirt is gone."
My wife got tired of seeing it and gave it to Good Will. She won't tell me which one. I now have a blue and gray plaid button down with a fleece lining. It fits better. She says I look better. That in itself is a big improvement. Maybe change is not the monster I thought it was.

"Now let's go take a second look at your closet."

Somehow I know that there is a lesson in here for my business.

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Which one of your employees has an idea of how a process can be improved? How will you find out?

What no-cost solution can you implement to increase customer retention?

Who do you know that can keep you focused on key questions that result in business improvement?

Send me an email: A.Furst@theGrowthCoach.com