10/11/2013 10:17:00 AM
HEADLINES
Merrill Asks Pac-West: How Did Nicklaus Approach An Unfamiliar Golf Course?
How did golf icon Jack Nicklaus approach a golf course he hadn’t designed or played before?
He walked the course backward, consultant Vicky Merrill told the Pacific-West Fastener Association.
“Play with the end in mind. Know where you are or where you are going or you will just drift.”
Speaking at the Pac-West autumn conference in Vancouver, Canada, Merrill, of Dsamih Consulting LLC, emphasized the Pareto Principle: “Concentrate on the important few; Ignore, delegate or delay the trivial many; and have the wisdom to know the difference.”
Every company needs a strategic plan and employees even at the lowest levels need to know the plan.
“If you don’t understand the plan you don’t know how to help,” Merrill explained.
“A bad plan is better than no plan,” she added. “Don’t wait for perfect.”
Know your company’s unique competitive advantage, Merrill advised.
“What is getting in the way? Issues, obstacles, challenges, whines and excuses … find out what is stopping and take corrective action.”
“Without clear goals, can’t have meaningful coaching sessions,” Merrill observed.
Ask questions to design your future. What do you want out of your markets in terms of revenue, size, profit and geography? Which products and services, and which customers do you want your growth to come from?
Develop a one-sentence mission statement, Merrill advised. What is your purpose? How do you want to be remembered by clients and employees?
In addition to a mission statement, you need a code of ethics or values for employees to follow as they work on reaching your vision and mission.
Needed Numbers
Merrill pointed out that doctors monitor a variety of vital signs, but “focus only on five.”
Fastener distributors should determine which numbers are key to their success and watch them. Revenue? Net income? Cost of quality? Productivity? Revenue per labor hour?
The best CEOs don’t know all the numbers, Merrill emphasized. “What number would you need on a deserted island to know that your organization is healthy?”
Success Metrics
All positions in your company need to be measured. Using “Success Metrics,” employees can define contributions to the success of the team. The measurements “must be within your sphere of influence and must be able to be controlled or influenced by you; and attainable but challenging.”
Success metrics must be measurable – not just taking “action steps.” For example, the number of times a salesperson contacts a company is an “action step,” but not revenue, Merrill explained.
Also keep in mind the difference between year-to-date numbers and “a good month,” she added.
Using success metrics will show others how each person is doing. “Your team will know who the sandbaggers were,” Merrill added.
She acknowledged some positions may be more difficult to measure, but added that “every position can be quantified.”
For example, Human Resources could measure the number of positions open longer than 30 days, number of employee reviews conducted on time, turnover, the percent of “A” players in the company, training or department costs vs. budget.
“You might not serve the customer directly, but you serve someone who does,” Merrill pointed out.
When there are real numbers, “you don’t have to be the bad guy.” The numbers will create the process.
Meet monthly and schedule the meetings a year in advance so they are prepared.
The leader reviews the overall success metrics. “Give them the big picture.
Then team members report results in comparison to goals – in writing with copies for all, Merrill said.
“You can change behaviors with success metrics,” Merrill said. “When you give people accountability, it is amazing the difference you will see.”
For those who achieve goals, “reward them and ask them how they did it.” Web: Pac-West.org ©2013 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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