Outcomes - That's What You Need to Focus on
Successful business owners and managers need to be very clear
about what outcomes they want. Whether you call them goals,
objectives or targets, these are the factors that you're
ultimately judged on. Outcomes determine whether your business
is a success or a failure.
If you're an employed manager, you'll find them in your job
description or contract and I'm sure your boss will concentrate
on them at your next performance review. Outcomes are what
you're paid to achieve.
Many business owners and managers allow themselves to be
distracted and diverted from their outcomes. They get involved
in all sorts of situations that take their "eye off the ball."
I regularly run a workshop for managers called - "Managing Your
Priorities." At the start of the workshop I ask the managers to
draw a map on a large sheet of flip chart paper of all the
things they do in their job. They almost inevitably fill that
page with all sorts of tasks and activities. More often than not
they surprise themselves with what's on the page.
I then ask them to identify and mark with a large cross, their
real priorities, and the outcomes that they're ultimately judged
on. Out of all the tasks and activities on the page they usually
cross only five or six priorities and sometimes less. (You might
want to try this exercise yourself sometime).
What we do find however is that the priorities that they cross
are not allocated the time they deserve on a day to day basis.
The managers will often blame their senior manager for many of
the tasks which divert them from their priorities, which is
perfectly fair. However there are many tasks that a manager
takes on because:
1.They don't like to say "no" or - 2.They don't trust anyone
else to do it or - 3.They just 'like' to do it themselves.
I then spend time in the workshop showing managers how to
communicate with their senior manager and their other colleagues
in order to minimise the number of tasks that don't contribute
to their outcomes.
Many managers fall into the trap of believing that their manager
will understand why they haven't hit their target or quota. They
seem to think that because the senior manager has handed out all
sorts of other tasks, then they'll accept your failure to
achieve your target.
Well let me tell you now - they won't!
Some business owners believe that their bank manager or
investors will understand all the reasons why they haven't
achieved their business outcomes. However, as I'm sure you know,
bank managers and investors only want to hear that you've
achieved what you said you'd do.
The successful business owner or manager keeps very focussed on
outcomes and doesn't allow anyone or anything to divert them
without good reason.
It's also important to focus on outcomes as far as your team are
concerned. Sometimes the people in your team will be only too
happy to do other little jobs and tasks that you ask them to do.
I've had salespeople say - "Oh, I'll deliver that to the
customer, it's on my way." Customer service people will say -
"I'll go and talk to distribution or finance department about
that." You have to keep asking yourself the question, "Is what
they're doing helping me to achieve my outcomes?" If the answer
is "no" then don't let them do it.
Make it clear to your team what the outcomes are and don't
concern yourself too much about how they get there. Now that
doesn't mean that you encourage a salesman to get a sale at any
cost, or a chef to use inferior ingredients. And you obviously
don't want a maintenance engineer cutting corners that could
jeopardise safety.
However it does mean using the thinking part of your brain and
not listening to your inbuilt programs. Your people may not do a
job the way you would do it but that doesn't necessarily mean
it's wrong.
I've often listened to a salesperson speaking to a customer and
found myself thinking - "That's not the way I'd do it." The
temptation then, is to jump into the conversation or speak to
the salesperson afterwards. However I've learned to keep my
mouth shut, because many times the salesperson closed the
business, the customer was happy and it probably was better than
I would do it.
I checked into a hotel recently and as I signed the paperwork
the bubbly receptionist complimented me on my cologne. She asked
what kind it was so that she might buy some for her boyfriend.
Now I know this hotel chain and this isn't part of the welcoming
speech. I also know that some managers would discourage this
level of familiarity between staff and customers. But I'll tell
you something - as a customer, I loved it, she certainly
brightened my day. Her response was far better than some of the
stuffy robotic greetings you get from most receptionists at the
major hotel chains. This receptionist had made me a happy
customer and if I owned this hotel that's an outcome I would
want.
The successful manager defines the outcomes to the team members
and then lets each person find their way of getting there. That
doesn't mean you walk away or have no idea what's going on. You
need to be constantly out there with the team, watching and
listening and supporting what they're doing.
I believe that two characteristics of successful business owners
and managers are -
1.They get the job done and 2.They do it in the easiest and
least stressful way.
I'm just pointing this out, because to try and control your
team's activities and get them to do things the way you want
them done, is extremely stressful. It can also mean that you
de-motivate the team and then it'll be much harder to achieve
your outcomes.