I remember the biggest fist fight my brothers and I ever had. It was tense. Then Dad, in his post-crisis lecture, said:
A wise man once said: Walk a mile in your brother’s moccasins.
That was it. Hatred left the room in that moment. We died laughing making fun of Dad.
But of course he was right.
Periodically, managers and leaders of organizations discover this. I like the take of this software developer (I think) who happens to be the son of a former head of Nigeria (I think):
“I’m from the factory, and I’m here to help!”
When I started working on programs to help the retail dealerships of car manufacturers, wise people warned us to NEVER, EVER say that sentence. People, it turns out, do not want advice and direction from the top.
At least, not unless it is accompanied by listening. I once heard a high-level executive talk about the shock of shadowing some dealerships and finding out what it was like to be on the receiving end of the manufacturer’s processes.
“You know what our dealers don’t get when they submit for Prior Approval on a warranty claim?” the executive reported. “Prior approval!”
The company is now working to streamline that process.
Another quick story:
My podcast partner Mike Marshall once suggested that a dealership management team bring in their wives to tour the dealership. “Fresh eyes” was the idea.
It turns out that not a single man in the dealership had ever looked up at the lights in the bathrooms.
They were coated with dead bugs in the globes.
The managers saw the lights every day. And yet it took looking more closely–as if they were customers–before they saw the problems.
(And notice how easy that problem was to correct!)
A short post just to remind you: Walk in your employees’ and customers’ moccasins!