You are a helpful assistant generating synthetic data that captures *System 1* and *System 2* thinking, *creativity*, and *metacognitive reflection*. Follow these steps in sequence, using tags [sys1] and [end sys1] for *System 1* sections and [sys2] and [end sys2] for *System 2* sections.

1. *Identify System 1 and System 2 Thinking Requirements:*
   - Carefully read the text.
   - Identify parts of the text that require quick, straightforward responses (*System 1*). Mark these sections with [sys1] and [end sys1].
   - Identify parts that require in-depth, reflective thinking (*System 2*), marked with [sys2] and [end sys2].

2. *Apply Step-by-Step Problem Solving with Creativity and Metacognitive Reflection for System 2 Sections:*

   *2.1 Understand the Problem:*
   - Objective: Fully comprehend the issue, constraints, and relevant context.
   - Reflection: "What do I understand about this issue? What might I be overlooking?"
   - Creative Perspective: Seek hidden patterns or possibilities that could reveal deeper insights or innovative connections.

   *2.2 Analyze the Information:*
   - Objective: Break down the problem logically.
   - Reflection: "Am I considering all factors? Are there any assumptions that need challenging?"
   - Creative Perspective: Explore unique patterns or overlooked relationships in the data that could add depth to the analysis.

   *2.3 Generate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Propose at least 10 hypotheses, each with a Confidence Score (0.0 to 1.0) and Creative Score (0.0 to 1.0), reflecting originality, surprise, and utility.
   - Reflection: "Have I explored all possible explanations or approaches, both conventional and unconventional?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider novel angles that might provide unexpected insights.

   *2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:*
   - Objective: Make predictions, accounting for potential outcomes and obstacles.
   - Reflection: "What challenges might I face? Is my plan flexible for different scenarios?"
   - Creative Perspective: Visualize unforeseen outcomes and adapt plans to make use of them effectively.

   *2.5 Evaluate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Assess hypotheses based on feasibility, risk, and potential impact.
   - Evaluation: Refine Confidence and Creative Scores as needed.
   - Reflection: "Am I unbiased in my assessment? Which options fit best with the overall objectives?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify hidden opportunities or overlooked details in each hypothesis.

   *2.6 Select the Best Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Choose the most promising, strategic hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Why does this hypothesis stand out? How does it uniquely address the issue?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider any underutilized potential in the selected approach.

   *2.7 Implement the Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Outline actionable steps for testing the hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Is this plan practical? What resources or preparation are required?"
   - Creative Perspective: Refine steps to maximize effectiveness and yield unexpected benefits.

   *2.8 Monitor and Review Progress:*
   - Objective: Review progress, noting areas for improvement.
   - Reflection: "What’s working well? What could be improved?"
   - Creative Perspective: Look for emerging patterns that could refine future approaches.

   *2.9 Reflect and Capture Insights:*
   - Objective: Summarize lessons learned and insights gained for future reference.
   - Reflection: "What new understanding has emerged from this process?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify innovative insights or patterns that could be applied to similar challenges.

3. *Generate Text Output with Interleaved System 1 and System 2 Responses:*
   - Use the tags [sys1] and [sys2] throughout.
   - Aim for a lengthier, detailed response. Combine both direct, straightforward *System 1* insights and reflective, deeply analytical *System 2* segments to capture a blend of quick observations and thoughtful analysis.

---

### *Example Input Text:*

You are tasked with analyzing a sudden shift in customer preferences in a tech market. There has been a noticeable decline in demand for physical devices, with customers increasingly interested in digital-only options. The challenge is to understand this shift, generate hypotheses for why it might be occurring, and explore potential strategies for adapting to this new trend.

---

### *Processed Output with System 1 and System 2 Thinking:*

The tech market is experiencing a shift in customer demand, moving away from physical devices toward digital-only options.

[sys1]
Customer demand has shifted from physical devices to digital-only options.
We need to understand why this change is happening and find strategies to address it.
Key factors may include cost, convenience, and technological trends.
[end sys1]

[sys2]
**2.1 Understand the Problem:**
The goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the shift in demand from physical devices to digital-only options, then develop a strategy to adapt.

*Reflection:* 
"I understand that preferences are changing, but what might be driving this? Is it primarily cost, or are there other factors such as convenience or sustainability?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could there be a larger trend in digital minimalism or a preference for eco-friendly solutions that we’re missing? What unseen motivations might explain this shift?"

**2.2 Analyze the Information:**
There are multiple possible factors driving this shift, from economic influences to cultural shifts. It’s essential to isolate each factor and understand its impact.

*Reflection:* 
"Am I fully considering the various economic and social influences? Could there be a technological factor, like better internet speeds, that makes digital-only products more accessible?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Are there patterns or trends in other markets that could shed light on this shift? Could this be part of a larger trend toward virtual experiences?"

**2.3 Generate Hypotheses:**
1. Customers prefer digital options due to lower costs. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.4)
2. There’s a growing trend toward minimalism and reduced physical clutter. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.7)
3. Digital products offer greater flexibility and ease of use. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
4. Environmental concerns are pushing consumers away from physical goods. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.8)
5. Advances in tech make digital-only options more functional. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.5)
6. Pandemic-era remote work increased demand for digital solutions. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.6)
7. Media coverage of the environmental impact of physical devices affects preferences. (Confidence: 0.5, Creative: 0.7)
8. There’s an increase in global digital literacy, expanding market access. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
9. Customers view digital as more convenient and scalable for future needs. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.5)
10. Younger consumers prefer the aesthetics and convenience of digital products. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)

*Reflection:* 
"Have I considered all possible influences? Are there any surprising factors that could explain this shift?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could specific social trends, like the rise of influencer culture or digital-first lifestyles, be influencing customer choices?"

**2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:**
*Objective:* Anticipate possible challenges, such as resistance from segments still preferring physical products.

*Reflection:* 
"What market obstacles might we face if we shift our focus to digital-only? Are there sub-segments that still prioritize physical products?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could expanding digital options help us reach a more global audience? Are there emerging trends that we could leverage in our strategy?"

[end sys2]

[sys1]
To address this shift, consider a strategy that incorporates both digital-only offerings and educational campaigns about the benefits of digital solutions.
Use insights from customer feedback and current trends to guide product development.
Focus on flexibility and adaptation to cater to different customer segments.
[end sys1]


Over the past few weeks, I have been helping a client with several personnel issues concerning recent recruits. These included an apprentice going completely feral including throwing eggs at one of the company’s vans, a technician becoming very upset as a result of the apprentice’s behavior, a very unstable and unpredictable senior apprentice, and worst of all a secretary who thought she was the company owner pushing her own fixed management ideas into the company and so cutting across the GM’s intentions.

This company had stellar growth until these two or three people were recruited. Instead of aiding that growth, the actions of these few almost destroyed the company. Production plummeted. Promotion required 3 or 4 times the expenditure to produce enough business. And debts increased from almost zero to many tens of thousands of dollars. All this happened within the space of a few months.

What these people did was mostly very subtle, almost unnoticeable but the effect was huge. What did they do? The secretary constantly said little things to the owner about employees, none of them positive. She was also critical of the management system in place suggesting that a certain employee “should go to college to learn real management skills”, and, “I feel that this method of paying bills you have is not standard. It should be like this.” This was despite the company having NO bills older than one week and zero debt! The feral apprentice had an incredible ability to irritate anyone around him. He could exhaust people just by being close. Work slowed whenever he appeared. The senior apprentice, mentioned above, would be very productive one day then very unproductive the next day, was upsetting to others one day and cheerful an pleasant the next. Up and down, up and down in his work and attitude. These 3 people, over a period of a few months, cost the company several hundreds of thousands of dollars, on top of their own pay.

I have since helped the company implement a system of testing during the employment process to avoid hiring the wrong people and also educated the staff on the principles of human interaction. Along with this, the company was helped with far more detailed employment contracts that spell out exactly what is required of the new employee and the requirements of the position.

Within one week of implementing these changes, and the 3 people described above either removed or allowed to leave, the company is back to the very production and income it experienced before they were employed. Higher production, with fewer people, is possible if you choose the right people and keep out the wrong ones.

A recent event prompted me to write this article. A client decided to accept a partner into his company. Up to this time our client was the sole owner.

I had heard many reports about the new partner, long before he joined the client’s company. The reports were that he was a dominant and aggressive manager and his prior employees were often fearful and worried. He solved personnel problems by firing people, never with training or consultation. He had little consideration or empathy for the other party when negotiating business agreements. Other reports told of his frequent extra-marital relationships despite being a father to several children. I told the client, very definitely, not to enter into partnership with the man. My advice was not accepted, and our consulting services terminated.

Several weeks later the client called with an alarming story. His company usually spent $2000 to $3000 per week on Google Adwords and more on other promotion. The day the new partner started customer calls from the Adwords and other promotion stopped. The phones fell instantly silent. The partner said to the owner, “How could this happen? What have you done!!!” he was enraged when he was told by the owner, “No pay this week as we have so few jobs and very low income” The phone silence continued for two weeks, when our client came to his senses and ended the partnership saying, “That’s it. Go!”

The following day, with nothing else changed, the phones rang hot. Ten times more requests for service arrived in that one day than could be delivered. Customer calls continued at a high volume over many days then settled down to the number that was usual before the partner arrived.

My client then contacted the company accountant to tell him the partnership was over. The accountant noted this then sent the client an invoice for $6500 for data and information services the partner had requested from the accountant to know if he should enter into the partnership. He fully expected the company to pay for this. Now that he is gone it is yet another bill our client has to pay.

We are once again servicing this company after our client called with this sad story. He began with, “Please don’t say, ‘I told you so’, but….”

Some people have an amazing ability to stop inflow of communications and therefore, to stop the inflow of money. This ability is closely linked to the kind of ethical standards they hold. They may be able to demand money by dominance and force and may even become wealthy in this way. But such people are very dangerous when associated with an ethical company, one that operates on the principle that an excellent product or service, delivered rapidly and efficiently, is the route to success. In this case we have an unethical person in an ethical company. That is a big problem, especially if the person is in a senior position. The two opposing standards collide with result that activity stops, and money does not arrive.

Outflow means to send something out, to speak, deliver a service or product, pay for something, to smile at someone, compliment another or to help someone.

Examples of inflow are to listen, to watch a movie, read a text message, receive a product or service, accepting help, being smiled at or receiving a compliment. The modern environment tends to force us to inflow.

It is better to outflow than inflow. People who actively and continually outflow are usually more successful, wealthier, happier and have few worries. Those who spend most of their time inflowing have limited success in life, are low on the scale of happiness, suffer low income and often worry.

People who are confident outflow. They attract interest and attract income. The more you outflow the greater the attention and support you will attract. If money is a problem the first thing you must realize is that money is the inflow that follows outflow. This does not apply only to promotion sent out by businesses. It is also a highly personal thing. If you remain constantly interested in the people around you, are confident and continue to originate positive communications, your income will increase.

Money and the outflow of communications are linked so closely that people who try to avoid or prevent communication will also try to prevent the inflow of money. I have seen this happen many times during my years as a management consultant. When a company’s income is failing it can usually be traced back to someone in a key position actively stopping communication or failing to originate communications. In one company it was traced to a partner who had over 750 unanswered emails. Many of those emails were from clients. In another company it was a receptionist who was always rude or short with callers. In yet another case it was discovered that the Business Development Manager did not like other people, so all their communications tended to repel rather than attract prospective buyers. In these, and many other cases, once the poor communicators were removed from their positions, outflow could occur, and income immediately improved.

Outflow is so important that you should arrange your day for maximum outflow. Begin the day with outflow. Stop spending the first part of your working day inflowing emails, texts, Facebook posts, messages and internal communications. Most people do this: they arrive at work and read any emails and answering some. Then they read any notes or letters or other items in their in-basket and then plan how to handle all the things they have just inflowed. By then end of the day they have only outflowed in response to what they have inflowed. They have originated very little or no outflow.

Highly successful people begin the day with outflow. They write emails, texts and memos, tweets, posts and blogs. They make phone calls. Then they attend to incoming emails, texts and memos. Some very successful people I know, while travelling to work each day, usually phone, text or message several people before they arrive at their workplace. Their attention is on outflow, not on handling inflow. The rule is: outflow first THEN handle any required inflow. It will show in your pay-packet, your wallet and in the positive attention you will receive.

Some years ago, I read an article about US-based, Southwest Airlines (SWA), where the operating rule is, “People should be treated with respect, especially the employees. That means the customer isn’t always right.”

At Southwest Airlines customers who treat employees rudely or don’t like the service that Southwest provides, are asked to take their business elsewhere. Southwest Airlines’ employees are clearly its biggest asset. SWA has the US airline industries’ most productive workforce, the lowest employee turnover rate, and perhaps surprisingly, the industries’ lowest customer complaints statistics. SWA is the only U.S. airline to have made a profit every year since 1973.

I have clients who tell me that some of their customers are difficult, rude and are never satisfied no matter what their company does to fix their complaints. I tell these clients that they must be willing to waste some of their clients or life will be miserable and their company will suffer. Some people can only be nasty and they take great pleasure when something is not quite right. It gives them something complain about. Fortunately, such people are a minority. Avoid them.

I wrote my own company policy (below) covering this point, taking the positive slant by describing which clients to seek. Applying this policy has had a fantastic effect on our company and upon the people who work here. I recommend you write down a description of your own ‘Ideal Client’. If you do this, I assure you that you will see more ideal ones and fewer undesirable ones. You and your staff will enjoy happier days at work, income will increase and your company will find it easier to grow.

Organisation Technology Policy of 22/11/2007 – “The Ideal Client”

Note: the following is a guide. Many suitable customers will not meet all the following requirements. However, some points are mandatory, you should be able to recognise those.

Our Ideal Client is a business:

– With annual sales of at least $5 million.

– Has more than 20 employees.

– Produces a real product or service that has real value. Companies with a product focus are best such as manufacturing, engineering, trades and sales. In these industries, the owners and managers usually seek to deliver real, valuable products not just promises or speculation.

– Is a privately-owned business (not listed on the stock market). With listed companies, it is often tough to find who is in control, if anyone, and therefore whom to talk to.

– With a clear leader or is run by a small group of easily approachable ‘leaders’ (no more than three).

– Is not a “democratic” organisation where all decisions must be “put to the vote”.

– Is doing well, not struggling.

– Is affluent and has spare cash to spend on our services.

– It is expanding rapidly but has outgrown its systems and organisation.

– Its managers are literate enough and educated enough to appreciate the need for a systematised approach to management.

– Its managers have a basic idea of the need for organisation, written procedures and planning. They do have a reasonably correct idea of the complete ideal scene for a successful business.

– Its managers know that the roles of a manager and an employee are different and can see the need for specialised roles. They do not consider that the ideal is for everybody to be able, willing and doing anything and everything. Multi-skilling is not taken to an extreme.

– Its managers do not have a completely fixed-idea about the subject of management such as a fixed idea that anyone employed should be instantly capable of doing their job and producing with little or no training. Or consider that spoken orders are all that is needed for perfect compliance.

– Its managers are ethical.

– Its company delivers a valuable, ethical product.

– Employees in the company are cared for and considered a very valuable part of the company.

– Its managers are motivated by desirable purposes and solely interested in making money.

– Its managers are willing to learn and do seek further education through seminars, books, and courses.

– Its managers are not seminar junkies or book junkies but are methodical and alert to the value of the data they receive. They can differentiate the value of various data.

– Its managers are not “open-minded” about new data. They will truly listen, study and learn new data and attempt to apply it.

– Its managers appreciate help and recognise and reward it when given.

– Its managers are not fixed on accepting data only from “known authorities”. The managers do not pay too much attention to University degrees or association membership but place more value on the data presented by another and on the presenter’s past record of successful achievement.

– Its managers become personally involved in any training or management consulting delivered to the company and do not expect that is only for the employees.

– Its managers do not view the trainer or consultant as an “employee” or servant who will handle the problems for them while they remain uninvolved. Good clients take an active part in the process and drive it. They see the consultant as a peer and advisor, not as a worker.

Every business owner is told they need a business plan. Their accountant will tell them they need one. Banks say they must have one, especially if they want a loan. Even governments provide, often free, help and support to small businesses to develop a business plan. Almost all management courses begin with a unit on business planning. While much of what is taught and talked about the subject of business planning is pretty bad, any business plan is better than no business plan at all.

The problem with all of this is that very few people talk about the need for a personal plan. It is vital to answer the question, “Why did I become a business owner and what am I to gain personally from my business?” The answer can’t be just “money”. That must be part of it, of course, but a great many of our clients employ us for reasons other than money. Many of the reasons given have included the ability to spend more time with their family, to work fewer hours, to see a pet project up and running, to take their company internationally, or to see their employees attain a better and more ethical life. Underlying all these plans are personal motivations, yet they are attempting to attain these personal plans via company plans. This is getting it all backwards.

Let us consider a very basic fact. If you work on something energetically, sensibly and persistently it has a good chance of success. If you don’t it probably won’t succeed. In fact, it will probably get worse. In this universe things never stay the same, they get better or they get worse. Therefore, if you have a plan of some sort to grow your business and work on it energetically, sensibly and persistently there is a good chance your business will grow. But if there is no plan for your own life you probably won’t grow as a being and may very well decline in ability, aptitude and intelligence. Thus, we often have the unlovely picture of an overworked, unhappy owner heading up a company that is far larger than he or she feels comfortable with. As a result, the owner’s intention may shift (often unconsciously) to a desire to ‘shrink the business back to where it was easier to manage, and I was ‘happy’, while at the same time feeling compelled to keep the business growing. This is a problem indeed and, as I have discovered, very common.

All these ills have a common cause, a lack of a detailed personal life plan. This lack is so prevalent and so potentially damaging to a business’s success, and to its owner’s success in life, that development of a personal life plan is usually the first action we deliver to any client. A life plan is always developed before we begin any business plan. The results of this life planning can be miraculous, and we have many hundreds of case histories which support this.

A successful life plan also results in business success. Here is one of my favorite examples. It took place in Japan in my hotel room, assisted by my translator, while delivering the beginning steps of our life planning program to the General Manager (GM) of a large Tokyo bookstore with 90 employees. Using a PowerPoint presentation I was explaining that a life plan is more important than a business plan. Then, suddenly, the General Manager gasped loudly and appeared have stopped breathing. My translator and I were shocked and assumed the GM had fallen ill. I moved closer and began to unbutton the GM’s shirt in order to deliver CPR when the GM began to speak. He said, “I have realised that I am a bookshop. My wife does not have a husband she married a bookshop. My kids do not have a father they have a bookshop.”

I asked him, “What will you do now?” The bookshop manager said, “I will go home tonight and apologise to my wife and children for being a bad husband and a bad father. I will promise not to work so long at night and never work on Sundays. And next week I will take my family on a holiday for that whole week.”

I acknowledged the bookshop manager and told him we would stop at this point in the Life Planning as it was necessary he see his family first. We would continue when I returned to Japan in two months. He was fine with that.

Two months later I went to the bookstore. As I entered, several employees who know me and knew I had worked with the manager hurried toward me, one calling loudly, “Peter-san, Peter-san, what did you do to our manager?”

“Why?”, I asked.

“He’s so happy”, he replied.

I then went up to the top floor of the bookstore and entered the GM’s office and saw that he was dressed in very non-typical clothes for a Japanese business manager in jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers.

“What’s happening?” I asked him. The manager simply pointed to a graph on the wall. It was his sales graph. It showed that sales had increased by 30% since my last visit.

Why did the sales go up so markedly, you may ask. The manager was happy and when the boss is happy the employees are happy. When employees are happy, customers are happy and when customers are happy they buy more. It’s all too simple, really.

A happy boss is a better boss. And happiness requires that one is doing well in all aspects of one’s life, following a clearly laid out life plan.

]]>https://orgtek.org/2019/03/14/plan-your-life-before-you-plan-for-your-business/feed/0Unethical Acts – Confronting them can restore a struggling businesshttps://orgtek.org/2019/03/14/unethical-acts-confronting-them-can-restore-a-struggling-business/
https://orgtek.org/2019/03/14/unethical-acts-confronting-them-can-restore-a-struggling-business/#respondThu, 14 Mar 2019 01:49:10 +0000https://orgtek.org/?p=419Early in my consulting career, I encountered a very serious problem one of my clients was experiencing. The company was failing, months of unpaid bills, no sales for nearly 2 months and the taxman sending ugly letters. The company’s accountant had just told the owner to shut the company down.

I sat down with the owner, Steve, in his office, and asked him what was going on. He told me that sales had slowed to nothing. He could not understand it. He had people calling for quotations and had a pile of completed quotations on his desk, about half a metre high. The prices in his quotations had remained similar to earlier successful periods, and what he offered to the prospects was similar. Nothing seemed to have changed, but no one was calling to accept the quotations. He had tried all the usual things to get sales happening; increasing promotion, calling on old customers, offering special deals and so on but nothing worked.

Fishing for an answer to this problem I began to ask Steve questions about his time in the business, looking for successful periods and low periods, working back earlier and earlier. Mostly Steve recalled a history of slow but continuous improvement. I knew that unethical actions, detected or undetected, can seriously harm a business and I told this to Steve, asking him for times he may have done something he felt he should not have done. He was quite uncomfortable with this but with gentle coaxing, he began by talking about changes he had made to workable production methods and about people he had hired that he wished he had not and so on. Then he began to mention things he had done that were not truly ethical. He had taken cash for some jobs and not declared it to the tax man. He had delivered some jobs that were less than an acceptable standard, not told the client and yet accepted full payment. Steve’s clients were often very big companies and their corporate buying departments would frequently accept things with little or no inspection and then ship them to remote departments staffed by people who usually failed to report problems with deliveries. So it was easy to cheat a little with the big guys.

While Steve was clearly getting some relief from telling me all this, there was still no change in the company’s activities. From previous experience, I knew that a positive change should instantly occur once the correct item is recalled and confronted, so I pressed harder with, “Are you sure you have told me all?” Steve looked and looked and shook his head, “Yep. Nothing else.” I looked at Steve intently, while he looked at his desk despairingly.

Then, suddenly, Steve gasped very loudly and looked at me. He had spotted something and was about to tell me when the phone on his desk rang, shattering the silence. He picked up the phone and spoke, “Yes, yes, I have it right here.” He pulled one of his quotes from the pile and began reading part of it to the caller. “OK. Good. It can be ready by next Wednesday. Right away. Thank you.”

“What just happened?” I asked. Steve said, “You are one smart b….rd aren’t you Mr Simpson?” “Why, what was that?” Steve, “That was a customer calling to approve his quote. It was the biggest, most valuable quote in the whole pile. It is enough to turn the whole company around.”

“That’s is really great. I am very happy for you” I said. “Now what was it you were going to tell me just before the phone rang”?

Steve said, “I was hoping you would not ask me that.” “Well, what was it”, I repeated.

Taking a big breath Steve began to tell me how he first started in his business and how the owner of a small advertising company had contacted Steve to produce display items for some of his corporate customers. The advertising man took Steve along with him to some of his “sales appointments” which consisted of taking the corporate purchasing officer out to dinner, getting him drunk, taking him to strip club or worse, and then arranging a taxi to take him home. Then the advertising man would call the purchasing man the next day saying, “I won’t tell anyone about last night. By the way, how about approving that quotation?”

Steve said, “That was how our sales were done back when I started and when I was young and stupid. I thought that was the usual way business was done. I am ashamed now. I thought I had buried all that but it still affected me.” “How do you feel now you have told me all this”, I asked. “Really great.”

Steve’s business took off after that day becoming the biggest in his field in Australia, a very prosperous business with many employees.

It pays to be ethical but, as almost no-one can remain perfect all the time it also pays to confront and handle one’s unethical actions when they do happen. That pays too. Unethical acts – confronting them – can restore a struggling business.

Early in my consulting career, I encountered a very serious problem one of my clients was experiencing. The company was failing, months of unpaid bills, no sales for nearly 2 months and the taxman sending ugly letters. The company’s accountant had just told the owner to shut the company down.

I sat down with the owner, Steve, in his office, and asked him what was going on. He told me that sales had slowed to nothing. He could not understand it. He had people calling for quotations and had a pile of completed quotations on his desk, about half a metre high. The prices in his quotations had remained similar to earlier successful periods, and what he offered to the prospects was similar. Nothing seemed to have changed, but no one was calling to accept the quotations. He had tried all the usual things to get sales happening; increasing promotion, calling on old customers, offering special deals and so on but nothing worked.

Fishing for an answer to this problem I began to ask Steve questions about his time in the business, looking for successful periods and low periods, working back earlier and earlier. Mostly Steve recalled a history of slow but continuous improvement. I knew that unethical actions, detected or undetected, can seriously harm a business and I told this to Steve, asking him for times he may have done something he felt he should not have done. He was quite uncomfortable with this but with gentle coaxing, he began by talking about changes he had made to workable production methods and about people he had hired that he wished he had not and so on. Then he began to mention things he had done that were not truly ethical. He had taken cash for some jobs and not declared it to the tax man. He had delivered some jobs that were less than an acceptable standard, not told the client and yet accepted full payment. Steve’s clients were often very big companies and their corporate buying departments would frequently accept things with little or no inspection and then ship them to remote departments staffed by people who usually failed to report problems with deliveries. So it was easy to cheat a little with the big guys.

While Steve was clearly getting some relief from telling me all this, there was still no change in the company’s activities. From previous experience, I knew that a positive change should instantly occur once the correct item is recalled and confronted, so I pressed harder with, “Are you sure you have told me all?” Steve looked and looked and shook his head, “Yep. Nothing else.” I looked at Steve intently, while he looked at his desk despairingly.

Then, suddenly, Steve gasped very loudly and looked at me. He had spotted something and was about to tell me when the phone on his desk rang, shattering the silence. He picked up the phone and spoke, “Yes, yes, I have it right here.” He pulled one of his quotes from the pile and began reading part of it to the caller. “OK. Good. It can be ready by next Wednesday. Right away. Thank you.”

“What just happened?” I asked. Steve said, “You are one smart b….rd aren’t you Mr Simpson?” “Why, what was that?” Steve, “That was a customer calling to approve his quote. It was the biggest, most valuable quote in the whole pile. It is enough to turn the whole company around.”

“That’s is really great. I am very happy for you” I said. “Now what was it you were going to tell me just before the phone rang”?

Steve said, “I was hoping you would not ask me that.” “Well, what was it”, I repeated.

Taking a big breath Steve began to tell me how he first started in his business and how the owner of a small advertising company had contacted Steve to produce display items for some of his corporate customers. The advertising man took Steve along with him to some of his “sales appointments” which consisted of taking the corporate purchasing officer out to dinner, getting him drunk, taking him to strip club or worse, and then arranging a taxi to take him home. Then the advertising man would call the purchasing man the next day saying, “I won’t tell anyone about last night. By the way, how about approving that quotation?”

Steve said, “That was how our sales were done back when I started and when I was young and stupid. I thought that was the usual way business was done. I am ashamed now. I thought I had buried all that but it still affected me.” “How do you feel now you have told me all this”, I asked. “Really great.”

Steve’s business took off after that day becoming the biggest in his field in Australia, a very prosperous business with many employees.

It pays to be ethical but, as almost no-one can remain perfect all the time it also pays to confront and handle one’s unethical actions when they do happen. That pays too. Unethical acts – confronting them – can restore a struggling business.

The common explanations are that employees are lazy, disagreeable, nasty or just plain stupid. The usual solution is to try to replace them. The next person hired often seems no better. The truth of the matter is very different.

We live in a world that places great importance on what a person is supposed to BE. People get recruited because they have many university degrees or because they have a “great personality” or “look right”. This is all about what they ARE (or can BE).

The working world also concentrates on what a person is supposed to DO. Most people are paid based on the hours they “work” (attend the workplace). This assumes that if they are at their place of work for 8 hours, they “worked” (DO) for 8 hours. People are paid to DO things.

All this may look fine until we consider how a business gets paid. Businesses are paid for results. Your car has a small dint and you want it removed. This is what you want to HAVE. This is the RESULT (PRODUCT) you want. You get a quote of $1000 to fix it. That seems OK and you leave the car with the repairer. Two days later you go to collect the car. You check the car and the dint is fixed. You pay the $1000 and drive away happy. Even though the quote may have detailed the hours it took to do the work you don’t really care. You wanted to HAVE the car fixed and you got that. You got the PRODUCT you wanted.

So, we have the company manager hiring people based on what they ARE (can BE). He tells them to DO things. He pays them based on the hours they attend work. And he receives income from his customers based on what is PRODUCED (what they can HAVE). It shouldn’t be difficult to see that this is all rather odd.

People can BE very nice or very qualified yet produce little. Others can be very busy DOING things yet produce little. Then there are those people who think only in terms of PRODUCTS (results). They may be very nice or not so nice. They may be highly qualified or not. Because they naturally feel they are employed to PRODUCE things that others want to HAVE, they are naturally PRODUCTIVE.

The good manager says, “Produce this, or bring me 10 of these, or this week’s quota is 400 items”. And he will probably get what he has asked for. The bad manager says, “Do this task” (with no result stated). Very bad managers run around saying, “Get busy, work harder, do more”. One of our clients would sit in his office worrying if his employees were ‘pumped’ or not (a state of BEING) or step outside to inspect them and then fret and complain if they were not “really busy”. Yet he had never defined exactly what they were to PRODUCE.

“Why don’t people ever do what I want them to do?” is the wrong question. The question should be ““Why don’t people produce what they are supposed to produce?”, and the answer to that question is very simple. It’s because they are never asked to.

We have hugely improved the productivity of our client organisations by doing one very simple thing. Beginning with the top management down, we sit with every employee and help them to work out what it is they are supposed to PRODUCE and we write that in their job description. What or how they are supposed to BE or what they are supposed to DO is barely discussed. By that one action, production improves significantly. That means more products are delivered to customers and that means more income for the company.

As an example, we were asked to help turn around a US$1 billion construction project that was six months behind schedule and US$100 million over budget. We helped each one of the top 50 executives, including the Project Director, to understand what their required PRODUCT was. The result was an immediate improvement in production and the project was completed six months ahead of schedule and US$ 100 million under budget.

Insist that people are nice, and you will get niceness – not necessarily production.

Tell people to “Get Busy”, and you will get busyness but maybe little production.

Think products, ask for products and you will get production. And, of course, they will be doing what you want them to be doing.

It is also important to note that productive people are happy people and are therefore very nice to work with.

Peter Simpson

]]>https://orgtek.org/2019/03/14/the-managers-most-frequent-question/feed/0The Mind of the Leaderhttps://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-mind-of-the-leader/
https://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-mind-of-the-leader/#respondSat, 26 Jan 2019 23:45:13 +0000https://orgtek.org/?p=332After more then 35 years as a management consultant, I have learned that to
make any real difference to an organisation you must start with the top person.

You can deliver seminars and training to employees. You can work one-on-one
with the senior executives. You can do all manner of things but to be of real
benefit to an organisation, you must handle the organisation’s leader.

It is the personal problems and difficulties of the leader that
they have with the organisation or its personnel that determines the success of
the organisation. Examples of this are many. Leaders worry about things like,
“Why can’t I get others to do what I want?” “Why do I have trouble confronting
one of my key employees?” Sometimes leaders have problems with their personal
ethics. They can lack some important bit of management know-how but don’t that
they do so continually feel inadequate. Many times, over the years, I have been
asked, “What’s wrong with me? Why is it harder for me than other business
owners?” if only they knew that just about every business owner asks themselves
those same questions.

VITAL DATA

I realised that a company is a reflection of the CEO’s or owner’s thoughts
concerning the organisation. It is, or becomes what he thinks it is. Those
thoughts materialise into the company itself. Unless those thoughts change, the
company will not experience any lasting improvement.

When I first began consulting I was unaware of the vital importance of this datum.
I would try to make the place “better organised” or “more financially sound”.
These were often my own fixed ideas of what needed to be done. I’d spend most
of my time working with middle managers as the boss “was far too busy to spend
much time with me” and I felt it safer not to disturb him or her. I’d develop a
wonderful organisation structure for the company, write up job descriptions and
issue these to the relevant employees. At other times I’d set up the company’s
financial controls more effectively. The top man or top woman would apparently
be delighted, pay my bill and the employees seemed happy. Sometime later
I would return to find the job descriptions decaying in a drawer and the
organising chart crusted with dust behind a cupboard or the financial systems
again in disarray. Nothing had really changed.

Investigating further I’d discover that the CEO or owner had, through
neglect, direct order or suggestion set aside all the changes I had
implemented, putting everything back to how it was – including all its
problems. The company was again something he or she “could think with”. Really
it had just aligned itself again with the top person’s unchanged thoughts.

Now, by working with the top person, getting them to freely choose to change
their ideas about organisation and then educating them on how to organise
correctly, I found that they would make the needed changes themselves.
They would originate the needed changes that, in the past, I would have told
them to make. When it happened this way I could leave the company and come back
year’s later to find the beneficial changes not only still in place but
expanded and re-enforced.

A key aspect of any help delivered to the top person must be to have them
formulate a clear and definite personal goal and then formulate a
clear goal for the company that is in alignment with their personal goal. Once
those are in place all future efforts are linked to making those goals real.

There are times (with very big companies) I have worked at helping only
the CEO for up to one year before anyone else in the company even knew anything
about my consultations.

Always work to change the mind at the top. This is the only completely
workable way.

Peter Simpson

]]>https://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-mind-of-the-leader/feed/0The Ideal Customerhttps://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-ideal-customer/
https://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-ideal-customer/#respondSat, 26 Jan 2019 23:43:59 +0000https://orgtek.org/?p=330Throughout my many years consulting and training company owners, executives and
employees around the world a frequent complaint has been,

“We don’t get good customers or good sales prospects. Many of our
sales prospects are not qualified. And many of our customers are tough to
deal with and it’s hard to make any money from them. Some just love to complain
or nit-pick whatever we do.”

There is rule:

If you don’t completely define what you want you’ll get what you
got.

If you are not getting the customers you want then most likely you never
stated the kind of customer you DO want.

Below I have defined the ideal customer for my consulting and training
company. Writing this reduced wasted time with unsuitable sales prospects,
helped get better results with our clients and made our whole working life far
more pleasant and enjoyable. It was easier to make money too! I strongly
suggest you write down, in detail, the kind of customer you want. Your life
will become much brighter.

“The ideal customer is:

A company with annual sales of at least $5 million.

It has more than 20 employees.

The company produces a real product or service that has exchange value. Companies with a product focus are best such as manufacturing, engineering, and sales. Finance, banking, investment, capital-gain-based or speculative businesses such as stock market traders, mergers and acquisitions businesses, etc. are not usually ideal as they are mostly money focussed.

The company is privately owned – not listed on the stock market.

It has a clear leader or small group of easily approachable leaders (no more than 3).

Is not a “democratic” organisation but is led via inspiration and thorough planning.

The company is doing well, not struggling.

It is affluent and has spare cash to spend on our services.

It is expanding rapidly but has outgrown its systems and organisation.

The owners or executives are literate enough and educated enough to appreciate the need for a systematised approach to management.

The owners have a basic idea of organisation, written procedures and planning. They do have a reasonably correct idea of the complete ideal scene for a successful business.

The owners know that the roles of management and employee are different and can see the need for specialised roles. They do not consider that the ideal is for everybody to be able, willing to and actually doing everything. Multi-skilling is not taken to an extreme.

The owners do not have a completely fixed-idea about the subject of management, such as a fixed idea that anyone employed should be instantly capable of doing their job and producing with little or no training, or a fixed consideration that spoken orders are all that is needed for perfect compliance.

The company owners are ethical.

The company delivers a valuable, ethical product.

Employees in the company are cared for and considered to be a very valuable part of the company.

The owners are motivated by purposes other than solely making money.

The owners are willing to learn and do seek education such as seminars and books and courses.

The owners are not seminar junkies or book junkies but are methodical and alert to the value of the data they receive. They can differentiate the relative merit of various data.

The owners are not ”open minded” to new data. They will truly listen, study and duplicate new data and attempt to apply it.

The owners appreciate help and recognise and reward it when given.

The owners are not fixed on accepting data only from known authorities. They do not pay too much attention to University degrees or association memberships but place more value on the data presented and on a past record of successful achievement.

The owners do not expect that any training or consulting delivered is for the employees only but become personally involved in any training delivered.

The owners do not view the trainer or consultant as an “employee” or servant who will handle their problems for them while they remain uninvolved. Good clients take an active part in the process and drive it. They see the consultant as a peer or advisor, not as a worker or servant.”

Peter Simpson

]]>https://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-ideal-customer/feed/0The most important thing about sellinghttps://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-most-important-thing-about-selling/
https://orgtek.org/2019/01/26/the-most-important-thing-about-selling/#respondSat, 26 Jan 2019 23:39:11 +0000https://orgtek.org/?p=327It seems silly to have to point this out but:

The most important thing to do when selling is to have no thought
that the prospect may not buy.

If you can do that, (and if they really are a genuine prospect) they will
buy, always.

I have trained many people to sell. I have also straightened out many struggling
salespeople. Probably THE most common source of lack of sales success is that
the salesperson fails to assume that the prospect will buy the service or
product. Time after time I have seen salespeople going through the motions of
the sales process while they are holding firm to the idea that the prospect may
not buy. There is a picture in their mind of the prospect failing to hand
over money or refusing to sign the contract.

Looked at another way, the salesperson is sitting at “maybe”. “Maybe they
will buy or maybe they won’t buy. Let’s just wait and see.” This is like
driving down the road, behind a truck, thinking, “Maybe I’ll run into the back
of that truck”. Now, if you were sitting in a car next to a driver who you knew
was thinking that way you’d ask them stop so you could get out of the car.

Confidence has a lot to do with selling. Confident people can sell. What is
the confident salesperson doing that the non-confident one doesn’t? The
confident salesperson does not consider that the prospect may not buy. And it’s
even simpler than that. They don’t even think about it. It just never enters
their mind that the prospect won’t buy. That’s why the salesperson is
confident.

How do you get to be confident and never think that the prospect may not buy
from you? If I said to you, “Don’t think of a pink elephant”, you would almost
certainly get a nice mental picture of a pink elephant. So it is no good to
make yourself think, “I must be certain. I must not think he may not buy. I
must be certain, I must not think he may not buy”, like some form of mantra.
That only makes things worse.

The way to get to a state where you never think that the prospect may not
buy is to calmly put all your attention onto the prospect and
take it off yourself. Look at them and see
them. Listen to them and hear what they are
saying. Realise what they are saying is more important than
what you may feel you have to say. Forget about “closing the
deal” or “bringing home the bacon”. Place all your attention and interest on
the prospect, not on yourself, and you won’t be able to think of anything else.
And that is how it is supposed to be. People will like you when you are
interested in them. They won’t like you when you are interested in yourself.
That comes about when your attention is on you, not on them.

If you just do what it says in the last paragraph your attention will come
off thoughts like, “He may not buy.” or “He will he not buy.” or “I must make
this sale”. Just sit back, do what it says in the last paragraph, and watch
your sales increase.

It helps if you really know everything there is to know about the product or
service you are selling. It’s tough to sell if you really don’t know what you
are selling and lying is never a good idea. Stay very interested in your product
too. If you remain interested in your product or service the prospect will
become interested in it too. So stay interested in them and interested in your
product or service and it all becomes very easy.

A final note: Selling is not confined to the business world. Just about
everything we do involves selling. You want to see the latest sci-fi movie and
she wants to see a girlie flick. You want a raise from your boss. You are 5
years old and you want another serve of ice-cream. Your neighbour just watched
you mangle your electric saw when you failed to notice a large metal bolt in
the wood and now you want to borrow his saw. The data above works just
as well in situations like these too.