🚀 go-pugleaf

Frank, colleagues:

The stem was, as I recall, private.  And it was getting senior management to
listen, not the other way around.  But it works in government too   The aim
there is to maximize budgets, not profits.  This is a perverse
incentive--maximize input rather than output.  But talk increasing budget in
government if you want management to li$ten.

Anyone know of a not-for-profit organization that isn't trying to increase
donations, tithing, support, et al?  Certainly money is not the only
motivator in organizations, but it's gotta be in the top three.
Organizational survival depend$ on it.  Not just for greedy capitali$t$.
And it depends on your perspective.

Example: The bright young lady in charge of the postage meter reported to me
(director/office manager of a small office (40-person) of a small management
consulting firm, flat organization, no layers) that someone had used all the
stamps in the postage meter--about $30 worth.  It was important to her, but
I had to put her off for two days while focusing on the several $million
worth of contracts that were at risk, supporting about half the office).
When I had the 10 minutes it took to ask her what we should do about it, she
got it on the first pass: lock the meter in her desk.  The quick answer from
me when she asked would have taken 2 seconds, but it was better that she
figure it out herself.  And the meter credit was gone--a sunk cost.  A
better way might have for her to lock it up and tell everyone why?  There
was no penalty--ever--for making a misteak.  That's what she did from then
on.

And you are right Frank.  A lot of activities in organizations do not
significantly contribute to organizational objectives.  Some of the links
are difficult to identify.  Customer satisfaction undoubtedly shows up in
the bottom line/budget/donations, but it is difficult to identify the
linkage.  If there is no link from an activity to organizational objective$
though, quit doing it.  It cost $money.

Ray Martin
RMartin@texas.net


-----Original Message-----
From: Francis S. (Frank) Patrick <fpatrick@focusedperformance.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list QUALITY <QUALITY@PUCC.BITNET>
Date: Saturday, August 01, 1998 11:32 PM
Subject: Re: Listening


>Ray Martin wrote about...
>
>>...how to get management (whomever that is) to listen.
>>Talk money if you want anyone to li$ten.
>
>Acutally, in a more generic sense, this might be rephrased:
>
>Talk bottom line impact if you want anyone to listen, where the bottom
>line is defined in terms of the target audience's goal.
>
>Ray's use of money is the special (admittedly very common) case of a
>situation where the goal is to make more money now and in the future --
>essentially, most for-profit organizations.
>
>There may be non-profit or not-for-profit or more personal endeavors
>where the overarching goal is related to service of "customers" or
>satisfaction of "associates or members." If the goal isn't money, talking
>money won't necessarily get them to listen.
>
>I will admit that "talking money" can be a powerful approach, even in the
>situations I describe, when making money is an important necessary
>condition to support the otherwise non-financial goal, but that isn't
>always the case.
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________________
>Francis S. "Frank" Patrick              http://www.focusedperformance.com
>
> Focused Performance - Management Consulting & Training
>  601 Route 206, Suite 26-451, Belle Mead, NJ 08502
>   Phone: 908-874-8664   Fax: 908-874-7664
>    Email: fpatrick@focusedperformance.com
>
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>      that limit their potential performance, growth, and success.
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>