Facts matter. Visible facts change behavior.
Some problems stay hidden and never see the light of day. Hidden problems consume money, frustrate employees, disappoint customers and rarely fix themselves.
Part of the leader’s job is to make important problems a priority for solution.
Dr. Thoralf Sundt of the Mayo Clinic expressed an important idea: “If I can see it, I can fix it.”
The glove lesson
A manufacturing company had fourteen plants scattered throughout the Midwest. Each plant was allowed to purchase some supplies on its own. Jason, the VP of Purchasing, knew this was inefficient and costly. He had a hard time convincing the senior leadership team to centralize all purchasing, so he decided to make the problem visible.
He focused on work gloves. One of his direct reports collected all the gloves that were purchased at each plant. On each pair of gloves, he attached the price paid. Identical gloves cost $7 at one plant and $15 at another.
A table was set up in the executive conference room, with 28 pairs of gloves covering the table. Some were nearly identical, yet the price tags varied dramatically.
Jason invited the executive team to inspect the gloves. The display made the problem impossible to ignore. If you want people to act, don’t just tell them about the problem; help them see it for themselves.
The scrap pile
A manufacturing company was producing an excessive amount of scrap. Managers discussed the issue repeatedly, but little changed.
The vice president decided to make the problem impossible to ignore. He instructed production employees to pile all the scrap in a highly visible area of the factory, and he then moved his conference table next to the scrap pile.
He then began conducting his weekly staff meeting next to the scrap pile.
The scrap became the elephant in the room — literally. Everyone could see and touch it.
Guess what?
Reducing scrap quickly became a top priority.
The customer complaint wall
A software company believed customer satisfaction was improving because only a few major complaints reached senior management’s attention.
The customer service manager knew customer satisfaction was not improving. It was actually getting worse. He decided to make the problem visible by posting every customer complaint received during the month on a bulletin board in the executive hallway.
By the end of the month, the wall was covered with 48 comments.
Executives stopped to read them daily. Instead of discussing customer satisfaction in abstract terms, they were confronted with the voices of real customers.
Few messages are more powerful than hearing directly from a customer.
The power of video
While coaching college hockey, I noticed that one player occasionally stopped moving during games. When I discussed it with him, he denied it.
I remember thinking, “He honestly doesn’t realize he’s doing this.”
During the next game, I videotaped him and showed him the footage. Within seconds, he saw exactly what I had seen.
His response was immediate: “Okay, coach. Now tell me how to fix it.”
The camera revealed what conversation could not.
Some companies have used video recordings to capture customer feedback on their products and services. One company videotaped a few customers trying to install their new garage door opener. These approaches can be very effective in identifying problems that otherwise would remain hidden.
Data changes the conversation
A student was concerned about the amount of arguing between his parents. His parents insisted it wasn’t that bad.
He tracked the number and length of arguments for two weeks and compiled a simple bar chart. The data surprised his parents. They admitted it was worse than they imagined.
Once the problem became visible, it could no longer be minimized.
You are most effective when you find creative ways to make problems visible. Visual evidence often succeeds where words alone fall short.
Direct observation has a way of silencing excuses.
People often resist opinions, but they have a much harder time denying concrete evidence. The next time your team seems stuck, ask, “How can I make the problem visible?”
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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