Discipline makes Daring possible. – Page 102 – Musings from The Disappearing Boss on People, Process and Responsible Autonomy for small-business employers.

February 18, 2020

The Status Quo

We like to stick with the status quo, believing that if we do nothing, nothing will change.

But in a complex evolving system things are always changing. All we can do is try and shape those changes. To make possible new status quos that are better than the one we have now – and now – and now.

This is an almost impossible task. But not to be given up.

Because if we don’t choose the shape of the next possible status quo, someone else will do it for us.

Or against us.

“What comes to pass does so not so much because a few people want it to happen, as because the mass of citizens abdicate their responsibility and let things be.” ~ Antonio Gramsci

February 17, 2020

Measuring doughnuts

In an earlier post, I asked why it’s deemed important to report on the FTSE 100 index at every news on the radio, and what relevance that index has for most ordinary people.

There are alternative things to measure, that matter more to most people, and I think Kate Raworth’s doughnut pretty much captures them all.

What if instead of the FTSE, we had a daily snapshot of our impact as a nation on overshooting the ecological ceiling, or undershooting the social foundation? What if we could see every day how well we are doing at keeping within “the safe and just space for humanity”.

Like the FTSE and other indices, this snapshot would be made up of data from millions of enterprises large and small across the country, and that means that each enterprise would need to measure it’s own impact too.

That’s completely doable, if we set our mind to it, with the help and support of our accountants.

Why wait? Let’s start now.

February 13, 2020

Extending the franchise

Enfranchisement: verb (used with object), en·fran·chised, en·fran·chis·ing.

to grant a franchise to; admit to citizenship, especially to the right of voting.
to endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights.
to set free; liberate, as from slavery.

Franchising creates a business within a business, where the management of a branch of the original business is outsourced to a third party, who pays for the privilege.

Franchising works because it balances autonomy with responsibility. If I buy a franchise, I own that business, I get to keep most of the profit, I manage my branch as I see fit. At the same time I have a responsibility to the parent business and my fellow-franchisees to maintain and even enhance the brand.

For this reason, good franchisors recognise that they need to communicate ‘how their business works’ to franchisees. Not just technical stuff, such as how to put together a pizza or prescribe a pair of glasses, but the customer experience stuff too. Sometimes, if my potential franchisees are unlikely to be business owners already, even how to monitor business performance. Then they let the franchisee get on with it.

A good franchise takes a lot of effort to set up, but once set up it is relatively straightforward and quick to replicate and expand. Done properly, franchising is a brilliant way to grow a business without killing yourself in the process.

It’s possible to give yourself a head start.

Enfranchise the people inside your business first.

February 12, 2020

Repetition

I own a few thousand books, all of which I have read multiple times.

Why do I do this?

Because every time I read a book, I’ve changed since the last time I read it, so my interpretation of it changes. I see different things in it, notice different character traits, or different ways of using words than I did before.

I also own several editions of the same works.

Why do I do this?

Partly for practical reasons. Some editions fit more easily into a pocket than others. But mainly because the experience of the physical book is different in each case. Some have fine, almost transparent pages of thin, crisp paper. Others are thick, rough-textured. Some even have edges cut by the book’s first reader. Typefaces vary. The smell and heft of each edition is different.

You may think I’m weird (I know I am), but I bet you’ve re-read a book, or re-watched a film, or watched a remake of a favourite. You will have heard different versions of the same song, and sometimes preferred a cover to the original. I bet you’ve eaten the same dish at different restaurants, or at the same restaurant at different times. Not because you want it to be identical, but because ‘the same but different’ is interesting.

Repetition is comforting, reassuring. Repetition with variation is comforting, reassuring and enriching.

Something customer experience designers could learn from.

February 11, 2020

Opportunity wasted

“The proof print didn’t work.”, my publisher told me. “The glue wouldn’t stick to the inside spine, because it was red, so I’ve adjusted the files and sent them back again. But I’m afraid it’ll be another week before we get your proof copy.”

“Oh.”

“Apparently this always happens if you don’t keep the inside spine white. I don’t know why didn’t they tell us when they received the files a month ago.”

I know why.

Because what’s been systemised and automated, at great capital expense no doubt, is the technical part of what needs to happen, not the customer experience part. A wasted opportunity to add huge value to the customer. A wasted opportunity to make the machine minder’s job much more fulfilling.

And unfortunately a common scenario.

February 10, 2020

Growth

For the last 260 years or so we’ve behaved as if we live in a world of infinite physical resources. We don’t, obviously.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘no-growth’ future. It just means finding a different, less damaging kind of growth.

If the things people really want, beyond food, shelter and family are agency, mastery, autonomy, purpose and community – personal growth and development – then we will never run out of opportunities to grow these things, just as we will never run out of opportunities to ensure everyone is fed, sheltered and cared for properly.

Plenty of scope for human ingenuity I would have thought.

February 7, 2020

Externalities

Wikipedia tells me that “an externality is a cost or benefit that affects a third party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit.”

If I have a flu jab, to protect myself from flu. I decrease the chances of the people around me catching flu. That’s a benefit.

If I go to work full of cold, I increase the chances of my colleagues getting a cold, that’s a cost. If I stay at home, that’s a benefit.

The point about externalities is that they aren’t measured. They are literally not accounted for in a business. We metaphorically shrug our shoulders and say “Not my problem. I’m just trying to make a profit.”

Yet the consequences don’t go away, just because we ignore them. If I go to work with a cold, and my colleagues catch it, everyone’s productivity is lowered.

We live in a series of systems, and ultimately a closed system – planet Earth, and sooner or later the consequences will come back to bite us.

Time then to take responsibility for all the results of our actions, not just those we choose to see.

Climate change needs to be on the balance sheet.

February 5, 2020

Triage

One reason why we can feel overwhelmed at work, is that we don’t use triage enough.

Simple triage for unexpected client phone calls and emails:

If you can answer their question or address their issue in 5 minutes, deal with it now, preferably by phone.
If it is urgent deal with it now. Have a clear, tangible definition of what ‘urgent’ means. Don’t rely on the client’s perception.
If it’s not urgent and you genuinely have time to deal with it now (i.e. doing so won’t delay any other client’s work or eat into your rest time), deal with it now, preferably by phone.
Otherwise, schedule time to deal with it and schedule a call with them to give your response. It helps to keep an hour or so set aside every day to schedule these into. That way you can keep on top of the work generated, and be clear with your client when they can expect an answer.

Every customer has top priority. That needs managing.

Outbound Triage

One key way to reduce the volume of interruptions you receive, is to consider before you interrupt others.

Following on from yesterday’s post, here is another simple triage:

Is this something you could find out yourself with a little research? Could you look it up rather than asking someone else? If people are constantly asking each other the same questions, you’ve got something missing – FAQs, or a system that holds frequently referenced information, or what you do have isn’t easy enough to use.
Could you phone rather than email/text/whatsapp? Talking is often quicker than typing. And you have to be sure the other person will see it. It’s easy to think you’ve dealt with it because you’ve sent your message. But it isn’t dealt with till you’ve arrived at an answer.
If you’re dealing with a colleague, could you go to their desk and talk to them? That way you get the benefit of whole communication.
Could you use a message to schedule a call or a meet? Then you know its convenient for both of you.

Respecting other people’s time helps them to respect yours.