There is a great book called the One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Kenneth Blanchard, Hal Burrows, and William Oncken. In this book, they explain their philosophy that managers should not take on problems (monkeys) that are not theirs. When managers take on other’s monkeys, they end up becoming the hopeless bottleneck for the company.
I am sitting in a session with a client and we are making sure to flush out all the issues. The Sales and Marketing Director is going through his list as I write them up on the board and he finishes his list by saying, “and I need to be on the issues list as well.” This gathered a few looks but I told the group that we had bigger fish to fry so we were not going to dive into solving any of the issues just yet. We worked through the day, learning a new tool and setting our Rocks (priorities) for the quarter when we finally got to issue solving. The team’s interest was definitely peaked at this point so we started with the Sales and Marketing Director’s comment. He identified his concerns by saying, “I don’t have the skill set to do this job at the level the company needs.” As we worked through the issue, the group came to the conclusion that he was right and we needed to get a more experienced person for that position. He wasn’t in the right seat. But, then the owner said, “This definitely confirms you are the right person. What seat do you think would be a good fit?”
I traveled to Peru one summer to help build a school. My job was to construct the baño (bathroom). The area didn’t have electricity so we did everything with hand tools. As I dove into the job, I realized that it would take us three to four times longer without electricity. It was frustrating for all of us. We knew what we needed to do but we didn’t have the right tools for the job. This same thing happens every day in business. People are given a task but don’t have the right tools to accomplish that task. One of the biggest resources or tools that your people need is your time and attention. Not to take on their issue as yours but to help them think it through their task at hand and build their confidence so they can tackle their job.
I was sitting down with one of my first clients over 10 years ago and we were working through a few issues. “Jim, we are struggling as of late with our quality and shipping on time,” Tom told me. We took a walk down to the manufacturing floor to watch a few of the guys craft one of the products. We were there only a few minutes when I saw something that didn’t look right. “Tom”, I said, “they are creating the same product, correct?” Tom confirmed my suspicion. “Then, why are they doing it in two completely different ways?” Tom took me back to his quieter office to discuss. As we got back to his desk, he proudly handed me a binder. Looking through it, I see that he had spelled out the steps to the process for creating the product. “Tom, I am a bit confused”, I said, “it would appear from this that neither of them are actually doing it this way”. “Oh, well, they haven’t actually seen this”, said Tom sheepishly.
No one cares what you do. I know this seems a bit harsh but it is a reality all the same. There are many other companies that can fulfill the need your company currently fills or what you do. But there are probably none that can fill that need in the way or HOW you do it. It is not the “What” that your customers care about, it is the “How you do what you do” that makes you special. So, why is it that so few companies truly have their How documented?
So, your company is on target to grow 20% this year. That’s great, but are you also set to grow 20% this year? Is your team? As businesses grow, the people in it have to grow and develop as well. With growth comes new challenges, which means you need to have the know-how to handle them. If you are not continuously developing yourself and your team, then at some point you won’t be able to handle the growth. What if there was an easy way to make sure you are moving up, and into the position your company needs you in, and the whole time, elevating the skills of your company?
