That’s an old adage and yet somehow it still stands the test of time, if something is working why would you change it?
Change for changes sake doesn’t really have a purpose does it?
Take KFC for example, they have stuck to the same recipe for their chicken since they were launched way back in 1952, sure they have added new products new marketing special offers etc, however the core of the business the chicken, remains the same, would you say the same about your business?
Of course if you don’t recognise the world is changing and your product no longer fits then you need to evolve or you simply die, Kodak would be the classic case in point from having over 90% of the global market to total disappearance because they wouldn’t change anything, an Ostrich with its head in the sand comes to mind.
But let’s go back to KFC, how have they managed it, well I guess the base level is their core product was and is popular, affordable, it has a good reputation it’s consistent regardless of where you are and it offers value for money, so the reality is it ticks an awful lot of boxes.
You could say they really understand the needs of their customers and they have remained true to that ethos focusing on providing a great quality product and service.
So many fast food operators have come and gone over this period of 69 years, and the same can be applied to business’s for so many different reasons, one of the sad facts is so many business’s don’t listen to the needs of their clients and don’t listen to the front line staff they employ who usually have a pretty good idea of whats going on in the real space.
I spoke with a client last week about their daily sales meetings, and found out that the team members don’t contribute, and the reason, “they just talk about rubbish that’s not important and moan a lot, that’s not what we need, they need to learn from me everyday”
Wow, that’s a great environment, so the team has no opportunity to share best practices, wins, gains and lessons learnt from the daily activities of the business.
I asked the guy to give it one week of changing the meetings to team contribution, discuss lessons learnt from previous days, share the wins etc. let the team talk and debate things.
To be fair he agreed, I spoke to him again and it was as if he had had the classic “light bulb” moment, he couldn’t believe the difference in the meetings, the amount that he had learnt from his team, he had seen the delight in the shared wins, the concern and team work over lessons learnt and the charged atmosphere at the end of every meeting, also he realised he was contributing less and listening more, which in turn allowed him to make adjustments based on what he had heard.
Kudos to him, sadly that not always the case.
We don’t always need to reinvent things and when we have a winning formula its good to always remember and go back to the basics to keep it that way, however we must always keep an eye open, and be open ourselves to trying new ways.
Not forgetting that a team that works together will aways be more productive than a team that only hears one voice.
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