The real value of practising what you preach

Sometimes you need to ‘practise what you preach’ in order to fully understand the benefits of your product.

Everybody 'knows' what the benefits of their products are. For instance, I could tell you how simple, practical and effective our KPI management System is and why it is more powerful than alternatives on the market. But that does not necessarily mean you fully understand its true value. This is something that certainly applied to me and why I now understand the importance of practicing what you preach.

At Experian UK, I was the system administrator for 600 system users across our business units. It was my duty to support all the KPI Managers with the system; explaining how to use it and why.

The trouble was though, I was only supporting the process and not part of the process. I was on the outside and therefore not embracing what ICG was really about.

Clearly I always liked the product. So much so that I even ended up joining Qualitin! But it was the day of our Partners event where I understood ICG's value. This is the day where I knew I would be required to present my KPIs, results and proposed actions.

Having all your data on display for everyone to see meant there was no hiding away. Everybody could clearly see what my targets were for the month and what I had actually achieved. Everybody could see my red KPIs (unfortunately there were a few that day I recall) and so I explained what I intended to do about improving the situation for next month.

It was at that moment though where it all made sense. Firstly having my data on display had provided me with the necessary self-discipline to be appropriately prepared for the meeting. I did not want to be shown up after all. Secondly, everybody was less interested in the fact a couple of my KPIs were red. The focus was far more on my analysis of the situation and what I intended to do about improving it.

Therefore now when I describe ICG to someone I would no longer just use the words ‘simple, effective and practical’. These just describe ICG as just a tool and certainly do not provide ICG justice. Instead the words ‘ritual’, ‘forward-thinking’ and ‘self-discipline’ are a better match because these words describe what ICG does, not what it is.

Now, and only now I can now honestly say I understand the true value of my product.

Maslow's pyramid

This is an excellent case to illustrate a fact I had problems to understand: the accuracy of the information that brings us knowledge is much less important than the emotion it fixates in our brain, and which begins to influence our decisions.

I've learned from Falconi the importance of philosopher Maslow's work, which in the last century brought an important human focus to Deming's statistical theories. It played with the brain's right side, rounding the edges of the TQC's logical-mathematical approach.

Of Maslow's lessons I have permanent memories regarding human motivation:

1 - Our natural state is that of dissatisfaction (or neutrality); we have satisfaction impulses. Motivation is the product of the frequency and range of these peaks.

2 - These satisfaction peaks happen when we solve problems related to the 5 layers of basic necessity, characterized by Maslow as:

a. Physiological - such as hunger, sleep...

b. Security - maintaining job, patrimony...

c. Social - being accepted by family, friends...

d. Self-esteem – being free, independent, recognized

e. Self-actualization – achieving your own potential, working on what is your vocation, self-development.

3 - There is a hierarchy: the most basic needs must have been satisfied so that the superior layers may become important. If we are thirsty, as long as we don’t have anything to drink we'll have few social concerns, for instance;

4 - Later, I read in another book by the same author that above self-actualization there is donation, donating what we have for the benefit of others (a Maecenas is a good example).

Because it is a hierarchy, with more or less basic needs, almost every author refers to as a pyramid and represents it as such.

It is a very good representation, but Maslow' books don't have any images.

We can go into further detail as there are other more advanced needs said author presents and discuses.

To me these 5 suffice, added of a sixth layer representing many needs. They've helped me a lot in understanding and explaining routine motivational problems. If we hold a meeting to discuss Maslow, everybody will quote his pyramid and the five basic necessities. What others have for extra content is of very little importance for the (meaningful and representative) 80%... 

Written by: Claus Süffert

Ministers - 12 or 40?

This is a little story we used to tell when, in the early days of quality learning, we began to understand what to lead means.

The question was asked: which is the ideal number of team members we must have in our organization?

Which number would you say, without thinking much about it? Answers used to vary from 3 up to 20.

The correct answer, however, was:

IT DEPENDS!

If the team is well trained, completely aware of what they have to do, and the leader only does that which he alone can do... a conductor commands up to 180 musicians in a philharmonic orchestra!

Each of the musicians is thoroughly trained, has a sheet music that tells him in detail what has to be done... and the conductor only sets the rhythm!

Imagine if he tried to jump from one musician to the next, correcting the violinist's strings tension, replacing the drummer at some crucial point, or singing at such a high note as the soprano was not being able to reach...

In other words: the number varies, depending on the clarity of the instructions given, people’s training and... a leader who doesn't get in the way!

You can apply this reasoning to your company...

Written by: Claus Süffert