Читать книгу NEXT STOP: UNSTOPPABLE - Malte Stöckert - Страница 14

Thinking in Circles Only Leaves You in a Cage

Sunday morning passes by quite calmly for Thomas, but by late afternoon he feels rather restless. He needs to make a plan, he thinks, so he finally sits down and looks at all the tasks he and his team didn’t get done last week.

Then he considers what tasks need to be delegated to the others from the two people who quit on Friday. Thomas looks again at all the tasks before him, unsure if they can be accomplished next week. But then he remembers a few tricks about prioritizing and divides all of them into categories A, B, and C. A tasks are important and urgent, B tasks are important or urgent, and C tasks correspond to neither. He moves the C tasks to the “task bank.” But he looks at the remaining A and B tasks and realizes he can’t do them in the coming week, and neither can his team.

Thomas ponders the situation for a long time, getting more and more nervous. Finally, he decides to call Tim. “Hello Tim,” he begins. “I’ve got a question. I’m organizing work tasks for my upcoming week and realized that my team and I won't be able to get it all done. It’s just not possible with our numbers. Do you have any spur-of-the-moment ideas about what I could do?”

“Yes,” Tim replies. “I’m going to assume you sorted the tasks by importance. In that case, see if something can still be pushed down the line a bit. If that doesn’t work, take a look at the tasks that have been given to you and your team from the outside, externally. Are there a lot? Get rid of them, or at least reduce them by priority. Check again if you can do all the tasks. If that’s still not enough, then look at who the tasks need to be done for. If you know that the people at the other end don’t need those done urgently, cross them out too. Okay, so now you should have a manageable number of tasks on your plate – maybe still a lot, but doable.”

“That sounds great, might even be easy. I’ll take care of it now and get back to you afterward, okay?” Thomas hangs up before he hears a reply.

Bright and full of energy, Thomas dives into organizing the tasks. He categorizes the external ones as Must, Should, and Could, and crosses off all the Could tasks. He puts the Should tasks into the task bank. This already looks much better. He finishes reassigning all the remaining ones. Thomas is still skeptical that it can actually be done, however. He takes one last look at which tasks are important for whom and crosses out all those that have no direct customer benefit. Done with that, Thomas calls up Tim again.

“Hey Tim, I did the tasks just like you said and now I have the impression it’s going to work. Thanks for the tip! But be honest: does it really work that easily, and have you been using it with your team for a long time?” Tim replies, “Of course. It’s brilliant, isn’t it? I got that from an old hand in our department; he’s been working that way for years and does rather well with it, he says. I have to tell you, since I’ve been using it, my life has been much easier, work less stressful, and my team does everything I ask them. So that’s how it goes when it works and then everyone’s happy.”

“All right, well, thanks again, Tim. You really saved my Sunday.”

Tired but reassured, Thomas finally goes to bed and falls asleep in no time. It’s good to have a plan, after all, he thinks.

Monday morning comes and with his team together, Thomas explains which tasks need to get done in which order, following all the A, B, C, Must, Should, and Could tasks by priority. Together with the team, Thomas does everything he already practiced at home on Sunday night, watching as the tasks get reorganized or put into the task bank. So far, so good. He gets the impression that the team likes it too; he sees them smiling and happy when another task disappears from the board. What a great feeling, Thomas remarks to himself.

It's smooth sailing on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday are no different. His team crosses off all the tasks on the board and Thomas gains more and more confidence in the changed approach. He likes that.

On Thursday, he goes to the usual weekly meeting with the other department heads. The manufacturing manager asks him about a task that was supposedly scheduled for last week, and the research and development department rep has a question that Thomas can’t answer because it wasn’t done by his team. But on the whole, he is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, he didn’t get any more tasks, and there was no trouble this time. On the way to his office, he wonders how or why the R&D task managed to slip through. He takes a look at the task bank. Sure enough, the task is noted there. This reassures him for now because he knows he hasn’t forgotten about it, but an uneasy feeling gnaws at him for not being able to answer R&D’s question. Thomas makes a mental note, wanting to talk with Tim about it.

That evening, he phones him up and says, “Tim, the method works pretty well, but I put a task in the bank, and at today’s meeting with the other department heads, a question came up about that task and I couldn’t answer it. How do you handle these types of situations? I mean, how do you respond?”

“Hey, Thomas. I’ll give you an estimate of how long my team has to complete something from the task bank. It’s about two weeks. That’s what I say, too, when other team leaders ask me about it. If that’s not enough, then I say I’ll have an answer the week after.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” Thomas replies. “So, two weeks. And if it’s not done yet?”

“It’ll be done in a week, I’ll say. And if that’s not enough, then I usually point out my team’s limited capacity, and how my supervisor agreed that tasks from within our department should always be processed first. It’s usually quiet after that because none of the team leaders want to mess with my supervisor,” Tim laughs. “Again, that sounds great,” Thomas says, “and it really works out that way?”

“You bet. Sometimes there’s a little friction here and there, but no friction, no heat, you know. Keeps everybody on their toes,” Tim answers.

Thomas goes on to finish the work week and is feeling good about it. It wasn’t so bad after all. The method seems to work and that’s good enough for now.

Next week, things continue without any major problems. But then there’s a big disagreement during Thursday’s meeting with the other department heads. Some of the team leaders have not been able to fulfill the agreed to-dos from last week’s meeting, so a large project, which upper management identified as a strategic project, will therefore not be able to be completed by the target date, at least from today’s perspective.

Mr. Mueller, the operating managing director, is really working himself up about the whole situation, and with a booming voice, he says, “now, why don’t you all quit being petty and work together for once? It drives me up the wall that we’re always mulling over rudimentary things while the clearly defined tasks sit there uncompleted. What are we going to do if the project doesn’t get delivered? Should we be selling something else? The new product is absolutely ready for the marketplace, and we’re engaged in a very aggressive marketing campaign. If we can’t deliver the numbers within the period we promised, who do you think will get the blame? Me? Absolutely not! I’ll jump aside and you can feel the wrath of sales yourselves. I’ve been defending all of you up until now, but that’s it! And what will be the consequence of all this? Exactly, at the next new product launch, we’ll have to talk about moving it all to Southeast Asia! Is that what you want?”

It was so silent in that room that Thomas could hear the heartbeat of the person next to him. After far too long a pause, Mr. Mueller resumed speaking. “Now, I know this is uncomfortable, so here’s my final warning. Pull yourselves together and work as a team. I want to see an innovative team working to catch up with the schedule. Otherwise, I will personally have a stringent conversation with each and every one of you. Are we clear?”

The awkward silence kept on as the team leaders stared at the floor. Thomas doesn’t dare look Mr. Mueller in the face. Thomas feels caught out, in a way. But he wonders what he could have done wrong.

The meeting is adjourned. Small groups form here and there only to dissolve quickly thereafter and before you know it, it’s lunch. “Time to eat,” murmurs a colleague from the manufacturing department, and that already lightens the mood a bit. Over lunch, Thomas’s fright from the meeting subsides and by midafternoon he feels he can work calmly again. Somehow, though, he’s still expecting some kind of a reaction from his colleagues. Maybe even just a knock on the door. But nothing happens. Probably because I'm the new guy, he thinks, and leaves it at that.

At home after work, he turns the day over in his mind; it all seemed so surreal, at least in retrospect. He calls Tim and describes the day’s incidents to him. Tim sighs and says, “well, these things happen, man. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Looks like someone just needed to let off some steam. It happens to us every now and then too. You weren’t addressed directly, so don’t blame yourself for it.”

“But I do,” Thomas objects. “I still feel caught out somehow. After all, I belong to a group that didn’t complete all their tasks on time. And that definitely contributed to the overall situation, how it turned out. I mean, he was right. We can’t meet the project target date like this.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about that, Thomas. What does your little task have to do with your company not launching the product at the right time? Do you really think anyone will care about that in two months? It’ll be water under the bridge, I’m telling you. Pretty quick there’ll be new fish to fry. At the end of the day, it’s about not being last and attracting negative attention. As long as others have completed even fewer tasks than you, you’re in the clear. Also, you’re a real workhorse, a hard worker; I know you are. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gotten the job. So, forget about that, and let’s plan something fun instead. What are you up to this weekend?”

“Nothing going on,” Thomas answers hesitantly. “Actually wait. I want to go for a drive in the countryside this weekend,” he says, not entirely sincerely, but somehow not really liking the way this conversation is going. He can’t put his finger on what’s bothering him exactly, but there’s something in his own answer that he doesn’t like. The two friends talk for a few more minutes about trivial things, they say goodbye, and that’s that.

Thomas thinks a little about what disturbed him, but he still can’t name it. Nothing. Maybe somehow, Tim’s answers are simply too short-sighted for him.

He thinks about his plans for the weekend and calls his Uncle Willy, inviting him for dinner. He lives almost 100 miles away in another city, but Uncle Willy is a real foodie and loves to dine out, so right away he suggests a restaurant Thomas still remembers from their last visit.

They meet at the restaurant on Saturday night. After they pore over the menu, finally decide on the daily special, a nice wine, and an appetizer to start, Uncle Willy asks, “so, Thomas, why don’t you tell me what’s been eating at you lately, then?”

Thomas tells the whole story with the job change, the new team, how two members of his team quit, the advice from Tim, and about the blowup at the meeting with the department heads.

Whenever the conversation turns to Tim’s advice, Uncle Willy listens carefully, grimaces a little but allows Thomas to finish. He listens to every syllable. Thomas loves that about his uncle and feels much better already. He listens well, never interrupts, and always has good advice to give. Thomas finally finishes his story, but Uncle Willy goes, “I see. Let’s enjoy the main course first, shall we?” He asks a few more questions before they dive into the food.

Now, Uncle Willy really gets going. “So, what your supposed friend Tim is advising you to do – that’s not going to work. Have you ever heard of internal customers or a silo mentality?” Thomas shakes his head and says, “well, internal customers, yeah, but I don’t really know what to do with that term.”

“No problem. Internal customers are the people or departments in your company that benefit from your team’s work products and that you and your team must serve in some way. This may be very easy to understand in some cases, e.g., the sales department may be an internal customer of the manufacturing department because manufacturing can only do their job if sales actually sells something. So, in a sense, manufacturing depends on sales. Without sales, there is no manufacturing, and without manufacturing, there is nothing to do, no jobs within manufacturing. Have you ever thought of it that way?” Uncle Willy waits for Thomas’s reaction. “Yeah, kind of, but never just spelled out like that. So, salespeople are indispensable, in other words. But I can’t stand those slick, preppy types at all.”

“But that’s how it is, Thomas – your products only get distributed if they’re sold. Manufacturing needs sales just as well; you must listen to what they say. But let’s take it a step further. So, if we assume that there is always an internal customer, then yes, you are someone’s customer already. How do you want to be treated as an internal customer? How do you want to feel?” Uncle Willy pauses again. Thomas shrugs his shoulders and answers with a counter-question: “What do feelings have to do with it?”

“Oh, a lot. Look, here we are tonight – customers in this high-quality restaurant. What is your expectation of the service at this establishment? Is it completely separate from the great-tasting food you’re surely expecting as well?”

“Well, I just want to be treated well, I don’t want to wait too long, and I want advice on the wine because I don’t know that much about it,” Thomas replies, somewhat doubtfully.

“Right, then back to my question. How do you want to feel when you get here, then?”

“Relaxed, I want to enjoy myself in a certain way and have a deep conversation, kind of like what we’re doing here.” Suddenly it dawns on Thomas that, in principle, this is just like the bartender Jan, who WANTS his guests to be feeling good. Uncle Willy spots a flicker in Thomas’s eyes.

“I think you get the point. We like to go to this restaurant because we like to be served well in a nice and cozy atmosphere: check.” Thomas nods.

“So, the chef has to make sure we get good food, the dishwasher has to make sure the dishes are clean, the waiter has to make us feel special, the owner has to have a good eye for atmosphere, the sommelier really knows his wine, and the cleaning staff goes over every little detail: check.” Thomas nods again.

“Thus, in our case, at least five people have to work well together to produce excellent service, namely, to satisfy the customer, right?” Thomas nods again.

“Now, what would happen if the dishwasher didn’t do his job right and we got dirty plates?”

“Well, we’d probably complain,” Thomas replies.

“Exactly, and what would happen if this kept happening?” probes Uncle Willy.

Thomas thinks for a moment and then says, “we probably wouldn’t come here again.”

“Bingo,” Uncle Willy replies. Thomas is starting to get it now, he feels. “So, if we’re not completely customer-centric, including serving our internal customers, like the dishwasher serves the waiter, for example, then the waiter can’t make us feel good about being here. And if we don’t feel good about being here, then the chef can’t cook anything for us that we’d like anyway, and the owner, like everyone else, won’t make any money because we just won’t come back here.”

“Exactly,” Uncle Willy replies with a big grin. “Now you see how what your friend Tim advised in setting the tasks within your team but not paying attention to who gave you a task might get your things done, but it doesn’t actually account for the CONSEQUENCES this behavior has for the entire company.”

Thomas sits back and thinks a little about what Uncle Willy has just made clear to him about his own job environment.

They finish their main course, washing it down with a nice French red wine. Uncle Willy continues.

“Now imagine you’re inside a big silo. What do you see?"

“The wall inside the silo,” Thomas answers quickly.

“Right. With a silo mentality, the employee is always thinking only within his department, within his silo. He won’t be able to get out of the silo either because the wall is too high to climb. That’s what will happen, my dear Thomas, if you listen to Tim’s advice. You will always be messing around with your team in your own silo, but nothing will get to you from the outside and you won’t be able to get anything from anyone else because no one will hear you. That is the consequence of departmental thinking. Everyone does his own thing, and, in the end, there is no result at all. That’s why Mr. Mueller was so angry with you guys. He hasn’t seen anyone willing to get out of his silo and take a look around the yard to see what needs to be done.”

Uncle Willy keeps talking in stride, in his element. “If we’re all always looking out for our own benefit and staring at the walls of our own silos, there’s not going to be any exchange whatsoever – we’ll be stuck in our own cages clipping our own wings, unlearning how to fly. Your horizon becomes extremely limited, and you only see resistance everywhere you look.” Uncle Willy interrupts himself for a sip of water. “If you keep minding your own Ps and Qs but don’t keep an eye on what’s good for the public, it’s like you’ve cooked your own soup to perfection but missed out on the whole menu! You’re limiting yourself in your own ability to flourish because you’ve voluntarily chosen to be stuck in a cage, in your own silo.”

Thomas remains silent. That hit home. He sips on his wine listlessly, lost in thought about what Uncle Willy just said.