Faking it

A story caught my eye in the paper recently.

Dubbed the 'Mrs Doubtfire Bandit', Nino Lanu wore a wig and women's clothing when he robbed a Bayswater (Vic) bank earlier this year.

He paid careful attention to detail. Bought a black wig and a pale skirt from op shops. Glued fake nails to his fingers and wore a pair of 'fake boobs' he had made. He borrowed make-up from his mother (wonder what he told her?), and added black tights, sunglasses and roller blades to complete the ensemble.

Just one oversight.

He forgot to shave.

That's the trouble with faking. Astonishingly, I still hear of cases where companies plan to fake it 'for the auditor'. Or say why bother to review policies or procedures, as no one pays them any attention anyway. At it's most extreme, that can lead to firms behaving as appallingly as Enron and HIH did. (And causing enormous damage.)

You have to go to a lot of trouble to put up a false front, as faking it actually takes a huge amount of effort. And ultimately, it will come back to bite you. When it isn't real, often people come to grief over something that's so basic to what they really are and do, that they overlook it.

OK, it's a long way from Nino (currently in jail, perhaps contemplating where he went wrong) to faking it in your business management system, whether to employees, customers, suppliers or auditors.

But the principle's still the same. Keep it real. Say what you do and mean, and then do what you say.

For example, whatever you have as the policies (business rules) for your organisation, they need to be real. Not fluff, not words you put together because you think they sound or look good. Much better something clear and simple and REAL that you live by, than something that sounds impressive, but actually means nothing.

Or, even worse has absolutely no reality or substance at all behind it, which was the case with an organisation I audited recently. Or another, a former client I recently stopped working with, principally because of the disparity between their stated principles and values, and the decisions and actions they actually made in practice.

A fundamental company principle of mine is:
If it isn't valuable, Mapwright won't do it, let alone charge for it.

It's relatively easy to have principles when sticking to them doesn't cost us, or not much.
The true test I think is how strongly you follow them when there is a cost (not necessarily financial). With the former client, after working for some time to effect change, I eventually realised it wasn't going to happen, and chose to terminate my services.

Steve Simpson has written a brilliant little book called 'Cracking the Corporate Culture Code: Strategies to Create a Culture of Service'. Contending that many organisations have the wrong approach to service improvement, he introduces the concept of 'Unwritten Ground Rules' and shows how they dictate corporate behaviour. Very readable, and well worth reading. Steve is based in Australia, and speaks internationally. If you're interested, you can get his book direct from them at Keystone Management.

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Jane Bennett is a quality management consultant, a business coach and author of the 'DIY ISO 9001 Pack'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Need to get ISO 9001 but don't know how? Tired of battling with it?
The 'DIY ISO 9001 Pack' shows you how to get ISO 9001 fast without struggle and without spending a fortune. Click here > DIY ISO 9001

** Ezine editors / Site owners **Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include my resource box as listed above. If you do use the material please send us a note, so we can take a look. Thanks.
© Mapwright Pty Ltd
Jane Bennett
A simple, practical quality system that works
www.mapwright.com.au
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How to Interview

When setting up, or maintaining a system, we often need to get information from each other. Here are some examples of questions I use with willing interviewees.

'Thanks for making the time, Mario. We need to map out the pre-press system to see how it works, and your manager says you know it better than anyone'.
I want them to be at ease, not spend time guessing why I'm there. And I won't assume that they were told, or remembered.

'I've got this list of questions I planned earlier, but others will probably come up. Oh, and I write notes, so I can remember what you tell me later. OK with you?'
I want them to be comfortable. I may use some small talk to break the ice, if it's the first time I've ever met this person. People who are relaxed and at ease will give better information. (If you make them uncomfortable, they'll probably just try to get rid of you as fast as they can.)

'What kicks off a pre-print job for you? Where does it begin?'
I ask simple questions, and keep the language simple and clear. And I also ask them to tell me if they don't understand what I mean.

'Uh huh. So, after you get this stupid form that makes life a misery, what do you do with it?' or 'Why are jobs like that always such a bloody nightmare?'
Meet them where they are, and use their language and terms.

'That's really interesting - I never realised it could be so difficult. Must be a bit of a challenge for you at times.'
Stay interested and non-judgemental. If you aren't, it'll show, and close down lines of communication very, very quickly. But don't fake it. Pick something that IS interesting to you.

'Mmm.' or 'Uh huh.'
Allow them pauses and think time. Don't complete sentences for them, fill in a word when they're hunting for one, or ask another question when they pause for 'too long.' I use the time to check my notes or plan, and let them fill the spaces.

'If you could make it happen the way you wanted it, how would that look?'
When they get blocked, I often try a hypothetical to get the talk moving again.

'Before we go on to the next bit, could you just clear up for me who would contact the customer in those circumstances?'
If I'm not clear, I may not be able to listen fully to the next thing they talk about. If I don't want to interrupt the flow, though, I'll make a note of the question & return to it later.

'I'm not quite clear... can you say a bit more about that?'
I'm prompting them to ramble a bit without specific guidance.
Clarifications may elicit other information that they hadn't remembered, outside their awareness till they start talking more.

'Can you show me? Preferably on a real example?'
Being shown and stepped through a process often brings things to light that they just take for granted, and never thought to explain.

'So, as soon as the plate is created, you send it through to production?'
I'm trying to get corrected. Perhaps my open questions haven't worked, so I'll try making a statement I know is incomplete or incorrect in some way. It often moves them to correct me.

'Is there anything else we haven't covered? If you do remember something later, will you let me know? And I'll be sure to show you the drafts.'
I want them to have an avenue to contact me further, if they do, and also to feel some involvement in the process.

May your business thrive and prosper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane Bennett is a quality management consultant, a business coach and author of the 'DIY ISO 9001 Pack'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Need to get ISO 9001 but don't know how? Tired of battling with it?
The 'DIY ISO 9001 Pack' shows you how to get ISO 9001 fast without struggle and without spending a fortune. Click here> http://www.mapwright.com.au/DIYPack.html

** Ezine editors / Site owners **Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include my resource box as listed above. If you do use the material please send us a note so we can take a look. Thanks.