To perceive problems, compare how the outcomes are lining up with your goals. This means comparing the outcomes that the machine is producing to your visualization of the outcomes you expected so that you can note any deviations. If you expect improvement to be within a specific range and it ends up looking like this you will know that you need to get at the root cause to deal with it. If you don’t, the trajectory will probably continue.

“Taste the soup.” Think of yourself as a chef and taste the soup before it goes out to the customers. Is it too salty or too bland? Managers need to do that too, or have someone in their machine do it for them, for every outcome they’re responsible for. People who are delegated this task are called “taste testers.”

Have as many eyes looking for problems as possible. Encourage people to bring problems to you. If everyone in your area feels responsible for the area’s well-being and no one is afraid to speak up, you will learn about problems when they are still easy to fix and haven’t caused serious damage. Stay in sync with the people who are closest to the most important functions.

“Pop the cork.” It’s your responsibility to make sure communications from your people flow freely, so encourage it by giving them plenty of opportunities to speak up. Don’t just expect them to provide you with regular and honest feedback—explicitly ask them for it.

Realize that the people closest to certain jobs probably know them best. At the very least, they have perspectives you need to understand, so make sure you see things through their eyes.

Be very specific about problems; don’t start with generalizations. For example, don’t say, “Client advisors aren’t communicating well with the analysts.” Be specific: Name which client advisors aren’t doing this well and in which ways. Start with the specifics and then observe patterns.
