For months now we have been knee-deep in problems at Jones And Co. The kind of problems that have always been there. The same problems that exist in your practice whether you know it or care to admit it or not. It’s just that as a team we’ve made a conscious effort to further refine our core processes and make them more effective and efficient. So we’ve been actively looking for problems that previously were over-looked or swept under the rug. And its been uncomfortable for the team at times because of a tricky thing called human nature – they feel emotions like blame, guilt, embarrassment, resentment, unfairness, overwhelm and so on.
And it’s been uncomfortable for me too for different reasons – I am ultimately responsible for my team and how they perform and if I’m doing something that is stressing them out and having a negative impact, I need to figure out how to change that for the better. I also know the way forward and path we must travel is to navigate the problems, strengthen our systems and improve our capabilities as a team. So that is the tight-rope I must walk.
For example we have more data than ever, and the whole team is aware of it, on the number of remakes and mistakes we are making in ordering glasses for clients as well as the reasons for the error. Lenses not ordered. Transitions missed from the order. Lenses ordered to the old prescription. Frames damaged through careless packaging. Prism not added. A scratch not picked up until the client is trying the glasses on etc. If you actually go looking at all that stuff, I guarantee you’ll get a sharp dose of all the emotions I just listed from your team. But the truth is there are no more errors happening than have been happening in previous years, the only difference is that we are now looking and measuring. It is uncomfortable but it is also the only way to improve the situation.
Problems are like mushrooms. When they’re in the dark, they multiply. Under bright light, they diminish.
Our new improved processes are definitely shining a lot of bright light on the issues. And they will diminish because of that as we keep going. The real challenge as a team is to keep our collective chins up and keep going as we grow and get better.
Our tendencies as human beings are to sweep things under the rug, to abdicate responsibility, to blame others, to find quick-fix solutions to the wrong problem, instead of painfully searching for the real reason behind the problem.
The root cause to a problem is usually several layers deep. And the search is painful. Asking how can I get my team to pay attention and order the correct lenses is the wrong question and is of limited value. The right question is: what are we doing that is making it difficult to order the lenses correctly? This question will unearth the real answers like; there is a rush to order lenses because you’re running late… because the client arrival and check-in process is too slow…because the styling consultation is taking over an hour every time rather than 45 minutes… because we’ve gotten sloppy and now expect it to take at least an hour… because we don’t follow the processes for the styling consultation as they were designed…because we haven’t trained on those processes in over 24 months etc. etc.
See what I mean? It can feel like torture. And every practice is different. Even the same practice is a different practice in 6 months from what it is today, and what it was 6 months ago. There is a multitude of different factors changing all the time. Your success as a practice owner lies in your ability to ask good questions, get to the real answers of what is really going on and what the root causes are, and then mix that with the ability to prioritise and focus and work only on the most important 3 to 5 goals and issues in your practice in any quarter. This is very much the work I do each month with Mastermind members on our coaching calls. You’ve got to be okay with problems because you will always have them until the day you die. The skill you want to develop is to be able to wade through problems and identify the right ones to fix at any given time.
There’s no denying that it is necessary short-term pain for long-term gain, if you want to create capacity for further growth. Someone wiser than me said “In the long run, it’s always the long run that matters.”
And please, in your pursuit of your goals, give up on the idea of perfection. It’s unachievable, unrealistic, impossible and more often than not an excuse to never even start. I’m a recovering perfectionist myself and have to fight those tendencies. Be pragmatic. Stop approaching work, employee training, websites, marketing, anything as a quest for perfection. Never confuse performance and perfection. Aiming for outstanding performance is a good thing. Expecting perfection is not. As Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s partner) advises, “Instead of seeking perfection, we should avoid stupidity.” He’s right!