If You Ask For Suggestions, Listen To Them
“Dear Dum-Dum, Why are you bothering us? Why are
you so stupid? Don’t you understand anything?”
Of course the wording is usually
smoother and more professional, but the meaning is clear: keep your
nose out of our business! That, basically, is the rejection response
to most suggestion program submissions. A suggestion, by nature, is
calling somebody’s baby ugly.
There is a manager or owner somewhere
responsible for taking action on a suggestion, whether it is a
formal, sponsored suggestion program, or simply a letter to the
editor of the local newspaper. A discovered fault, or a better way
to do something, usually means someone has failed to perform his or
her assigned duties.
If you are a business owner, it is time
to swallow your pride and take a hard look at the suggestion. It
might save you money or even your customers, especially if the
suggestion comes from a customer.
It is up to the suggestor to define the
new procedure, and the duty of the program owner to defend his or her
performance of assigned duties. A suggestion that defines or
illuminates an error in judgment or even failure to comply with laws
or guidelines may well be rejected by a single review when in fact it
is a valid suggestion. Asking a reviewer outside the realm of
authority usually results in an unbiased review as is there is no
ownership of responsibility.
Whining about status quo is not
productive. Neither is it well received by management or owners.
Whiners are usually held in contempt because they add to a problem
rather than to the resolution. Suggestors should avoid complaining
when they in fact have valid improvement suggestions. Often, people
responsible for identified problems are aware of the conditions but
are prevented from action by budget restraints or even legal issues.
A business owner, however, works under a different set of guidelines.
Discretionary spending doesn’t have to go before a board for
approval. Legal issues may have to go to an attorney outside the
company.
A standing joke in the Air Force about
finding the easiest way to perform a given task was to simply ask the
laziest person you know how they would do that job. The lazy person
will always find a way to accomplish a given task with the minimum of
effort. Not necessarily time or cost, but it will always be the
easiest route possible. Balance that against reality. Prudence must
play a role as safety is always an issue, as well as what is legal
and what isn’t. People who are not in management positions may not
have a say in how a business is run, but it doesn’t mean they
aren’t aware of how a given business fails or succeeds.
If you are the business owner, divorce
yourself from the “I’m the boss” syndrome and take a look at
what your employees have to say. Their suggestions may well be the
key to success in your business.
George Mindling © 2005
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