We've all heard the expression, "Street Cred," but I digress.
Do you have Suite Cred or Sweet Cred?
SUITE CRED
In the suite we are talking real. In the vernacular of youth: "Get real," or "Make it real." We can quote Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try." Or we can cut it short: "Do or do not."
Slim Fairview's Four Rules of Communication.
- Precision
- Concision
- Enumerate
- Specify
Anyone who went to B-School knows the rule: One Page.
The morning memo to the boss: One Page,
The résumé: One Page.
The more important you are, the shorter the résumé. E.g.
Name: The Queen
Address: Buckingham Palace
Work History: Queen of England.
Personal: Loves Corgis
The bottom line
Suite Cred is all about the bottom line. One thing we've lost in this country, an elsewhere, is the focus on the empirical method of analysis.
Then: Perform the experiment, document the results, repeat the experiment, duplicate the results, report the conclusion.
Now: Form an opinion, seek data to support your opinion.
For those who need a brief refresher, I've created the metaphor for understanding The Empirical Method of Analysis
Eggheads & Cracked Eggs--Why We Can't Solve Problems
From The Bauhaus we learned "Form Follows Function."
Case in point:
In the supermarket bakery, the croissants sell at twice the price of doughnuts. These sell to the people with money to spend. The new baker adds goop to the croissants. The croissants do not sell. This is reported to the owner of the store by the customer. The response to the customer from the new baker. "Not everyone likes it the way you do." None the less, the croissants do not sell with goop on it. The owner fails to tell the new baker, "Do not put goop on the croissants."
Second:
In the supermarket bakery, the new baker does not make baguettes. The loaves are shorter and fatter. The customer complains to the manager. The new baker's response to the customer, "It's the same weight." The manager fails to tell the new baker, "Make baguettes!"
Two real life examples of management that doesn't. Doesn't what? Doesn't Manage. In the first store the baker is putting out product in a form that does not sell. The only opinion is that of the baker. The opinion, put out croissants with goop on it because not everyone likes them the same way. In the second, as long as the loaf weighs the same, the shape doesn't matter. The function: Sell baguettes. The form: long and skinny.
The problem worsens when we try to solve problems with committees. Committees involve more people. More people want to talk about it. Why do people want to talk about it? To bully other people into doing things their way.
More people = more words.
More words = more bad.
More people = more bad.
The Committee:
In my article: "China: Economics and a word beginning with the letter P" I explained this:
If you don't believe me, witness the GSA scandal. And the head of the GSA who was fired was reinstated with all back pay.
Our problem is systemic. It is inculcated into the fibre of our collective being.
Next we have
SWEET CRED
Consider the lollipop. Pretty, sweet, tastes good. However, it has no nutritional value. The real downside, however, is not the lack of nutritional value. It is that the lollipop spoils our appetite for nutritious food. This metaphor extends to education and to business management. It also extends to the news. "I want news. I don't want coverage." Slim Fairview
Consultants have been handing out lollipops for so long that the owner of the store is unable to say, "Make the croissants without goop on them."
Now, why the committee?
- Billy wants to be on the committee.
- You don't have a committee.
- Billy wants to be on the team.
- All the positions are filled.
- Billy bullies you into having a committee instead of a team.
- Why?
- So he can bully you into letting him on the committee.
- Why?
Herein lies the reason
- Billy has a warehouse full of bottle caps.
- Billy wants the final report to include: "Bottle Caps are crucial to the solution."
- The final report reads: "Bottle Caps are crucial to solving the problem."
- The report is issued.
- The price of Bottle Caps skyrockets.
- Billy has a warehouse full of bottle caps.
- Billy makes a fortune.
This is understandable. Specially if Billy owns a Bottle Cap Making Company and this creates jobs. And, if Billy makes money without hurting anyone.
However, if valuable resources are diverted to buying Bottle Caps, the problem won't be solved. Conditions will not get more high, good, better. The situation will get more low, bad, worse.
When hiring a consultant, be careful about the consultant you hire.
Of course, you can always call in an expert.
- 10 experts say, "Do this."
- 10 experts say, "Do that."
- 10 experts say, "Do something else."
- 10 experts say, "They're all right."
- 10 experts say, "They're all wrong."
- 10 experts say, "Who's to say what's right or wrong?"
- 10 experts say, "There is no right or wrong."
If you don't believe me, ask an expert.
If anyone still believes that a committee is the best way to solve a problem, I shall now refute, repudiate, and debunk your assertion with one word: Congress.
Regards,
Slim
If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not
hesitate to send me a really tricked-out Mac Book and to tuck a few dollars into
the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim
Copyright © 2013 Slim Fairview
All Rights reserved
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