Off the Shelf

Firefighter or Manager - Which are You?

Audrey Kidd, my Marketing VP, and I were having a discussion yesterday about Leadership and why companies seemingly run in place, continually changing systems or processes instead of staying the course and completing the race. As a result of the conversation Audrey introduced me to something Dr. W. Edwards Deming wrote about called Special and Common Causes.

Deming felt that as we create systems or processes there will always be variances. It's the effective leader; however, who can discern if the variance has a Special or Common Cause and decide to make adjustments to the process or simply manage the special cause.

For example, a customer walks into a store and has a complaint. The effective leader will certainly take care of the customer's need and they will take an additional step to make certain the root of the cause is either Special or Common before they dismantle processes or systems that are already in place. If it's Special, the customer is well taken care of but the whole operation or process isn't changed. In Deming's work he found that 94% of these system or process variances are Common and don't need to a cause for system modification.

So, are you a firefighter? Are you forever changing your systems or processes because of a multitude of Special Causes? OR Do you take the time to evaluate the Cause and then act only if the variation is Common?

In Deming's mind, well-run and quality-based organizations focused on building effective processes and then made small changes based upon Common Causes. The opposite is organizations that are forever changing processes based on Special Causes and find themselves literally running in place in an effort to keep up with their competitors.

I know this idea will be a part of my thinking going forward. I'd enjoy hearing from you - how have you managed to stay away from constant change due to Special Causes?

Keeping the Vision in Front of You

Several of my most recent posts have been along the same theme. I don't mean to keep "beating the same horse" but in times like this I've found that unless my team and I are locked on to our vision and mission there are simply too many distractions that can deter us from reaching the ultimate prize.

The other night I was channel surfing and landed on an interview with a race car driver. The ESPN-based interviewer asked him, "So how do you go so fast and not hit the wall?" The race car driver without hesitation said, "I don't look at the wall. I look where I want the car to go. If I look at the wall, I'll crash into it."

I think that's excellent advice for leaders. How many times do I find myself looking at the wall and crashing into exactly where I didn't want to go? Notice too he didn't say he ignored the wall. He simply keeps his eyes focused on where he wants to maneuver the car and ultimately go and win the race.

The same is true for leaders if we want to make progress in our company, division, or team we need to keep the vision in front of us and our people. We need to know and be aware of what's around us, but in the end we need to keep our eyes on the prize and our vision so we're moving forward and not crashing into circumstances we cannot control.

I'd love to know, what do you do to not crash into the walls that can stop you from reaching your vision?