Wednesday April 16, 2014
By DR MICHAEL HEAH
Question:
We have run out of ideas to be more effective in the organisation. Our R&D, who is responsible for new ways of doing business is not helping much too.
Instead of cost-saving and staying lean in our structure, we always end up spending more trying to get more people to support and perfect a work system.
To quote a recent case, we now have an automated call system for customers to call us on their problems with our software. But this is costing us lots of money and manpower compared to the manual system.
Answer:
The trouble is many people bulldoze their brains to find new ways even though they are at the dead end of their imagination.
Yes, we all need to be determined to break out of the old ways to get something new and refreshing. Technically, this is an adorable life principle.
However, we need to be more practical and less stubborn to accept that when old ways do not work anymore, a totally new thinking has to be generated.
Thus, we need to break out from the normal cultural way of thinking for other exciting possibilities to take shape.
As in your case for example, instead of trying to perfect your call centre model, you could explore a totally new world altogether.
Like for instance, introducing training programmes to ‘teach your customers how to fish, instead of giving them the fish’.
Perhaps through this way, they may not need to bother your staff anymore because they are now more self-sufficient rather than having the old system that continues to make them helpless and dependable forever!
POWERFUL QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF
• How happy are you with the current ideas?
• What is it that you are looking for that is still missing?
• How can you totally change the fundamentals to get something that bear little resemblance to the existing way?
• What new possibilities do you get when you do this?
Article by Dr Michael Heah, an ICF Credentialed Coach with www.corporate-coachacademy.com