How to Avoid Sustained Mediocrity
Don’t just embrace change, invest in it.
Failure isn’t the risk, that’s a natural byproduct of business. We have to accept there is an inherent risk of failure we can learn from.
The real risk is sustained mediocrity.
It’s the big changes we fear, so we continuously keep making small ones. Over time, we fall further and further behind the competition who release better features, services or products that meet customers' expanding expectations.
Easy example: not investing in people
Classic. Operating a small team that is nimble and cost-effective, but their time is swallowed up by the daily grind. Bug fixes, customer service, promotional changeovers; soon there is almost no time going into improving the company or innovating.
How do we invest in change?
Investing in a Vision
Who do you want to be?
This shouldn’t be a secret. It should be on the wall, on the tips of everyone's tongues. You might not know how to get there yet, but let’s set a target.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
President John F. Kennedy
I’ve referenced this speech at times because of how bold and uncompromising it is, but it's also honest that it will be difficult, and it will have to be invested in.
Transcribe this into business:
Do you want to be an industry leader? Great, I thought you’d say yes. Who is the leader today? Ok them. They run this technology with this team. If you’re willing to go toe to toe, we need to arm ourselves for that fight.
Once there is a clear vision, you can align investing with that target.
Connect your goals with leadership's vision. You have to make your win their win.
Then, provide the roadmap of how to get there. Now you’re solving their problems, not your problems.
Investing in the Team
Headcount is a tricky thing to talk about now with the mass layoffs. Major changes have affected many lives perhaps because companies risked investing and it didn’t pay off. At the same time, I see hundreds of companies looking to acquire this incredible talent. Forward thinking companies are investing in growth.
When it comes to a team’s abilities, I had to take time to understand how labour is applied to innovation. Truthfully, this is where I see many companies struggle, and where many leaders and managers struggle to get approval for new talent.
Operations vs Innovation
Most roles within an organization are operationally driven. They perform the required day to day tasks, but seldom have time to break ground on improvements. On one hand, so many companies praise a culture of continuous improvement, but run a lean team.
Innovation requires an investment, and with people it’s an investment in time.
You need people whose job is primarily focused on improvement. This could be efficiencies in operational execution to save time, it could be new tools/services for customers; either way, these breakthroughs come few and far between if you expect your operational unit to achieve them.
I don’t have a clear rule for the split between ops and innovation, it comes down to the vision the company has to achieve. Yes, you can outsource some of this, but to build a culture of innovation, you need people in your world everyday who see the opportunities.
“Sounds great, but I’ll be told no!”
My headcount plans have often been laughed at by peers because of how hard growing teams can be. People kept asking for people and being shut down.
Remember that vision we just discussed? Once I connected my plans with the greater goal, the conversation had merit. I wasn’t complaining about being understaffed, I was making the proposal to help the company achieve its vision.
This is where the sustained mediocrity comes into the conversation. We can keep doing what we’re doing everyday, and we’re becoming less and less competitive.
“I’m not saying we have to invest in people. We can get up tomorrow and keep doing what we’re doing today. But the days will pass, and soon the year will be over and we’ll be in the same place we were when we started.”
Trust me, it took some convincing. But once I was able to break through the first time and show results, every conversation after that became easier.
Invest in Technology
The workaround to more people is often better technology. Automation, analytics, communication, coordination; these can all be improved through the appropriate application of tools.
Make a case for value
Will this save time?
Will this create better performance?
Will this save money?
Systems have a value proposition baked into them. Once you can clearly define that role and impact on your organisation, the conversation turns from expense to investment. Now we’re talking about ROI, and math becomes an objective way to convey the value of new programs.
Overcome the fear of integration
Do your research and understand how long it will take to onboard new technology.
How will this integrate with other solutions?
Will this replace other costs?
Is there a data migration required?
These are all costs that aren’t often expressed in a package price, and leadership is smart enough to know that. Come prepared with how this will be achieved and what that cost will be. You will get run over later if these aren’t discovered and stall integration or balloon the budget.
As a side note, it’s wise to have your ‘pull chute’ strategy. Which is to say, how hard is it to pull the parachute and abandon the project? Are you signing a long term contract? Know how hard it is to get in and get out of a technology.
Overcome the fear of adoption
Get buy in first! The people on your teams and affected by the project can be allies. Be sure they’re on your side and look forward to these improvements. New systems shouldn’t be a surprise no matter how obvious an improvement they can be.
Put it in perspective
As I mentioned earlier, you can’t keep doing the same thing every day and expect to make any leaps. Vision, team, time, technology; these are changes that can give an organization the chance it needs to grow.
There are far more aspects of investing in change, but these three are the most fundamental in my mind. Hopefully there are a handful of tips in here to help you get leadership buy into investing in change.
I’m not sure about you, but I have little desire to simply sustain mediocrity.