Do you recall the character that Bill Murray plays in the movie Groundhog Day, cynical and grumpy weather forecaster Phil Connors finds himself trapped in a time loop while covering the ritual of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, until he learns that he must change his behaviour, the days just keep repeating themselves.
I draw a parallel to this with sales managers and sales people who continue to try the same thing week in and week out, only to be surprised that they get the same results (if they are lucky).
Come to think of it, the problem is not restricted to sales people. How many business owners continue to repeat traditional methods of sales and marketing year after year with the same old results?
I wonder what behaviours you need to change in order to improve results within your organisation. What behaviours, attitudes or sales skills do you need to change to avoid a repeat performance next year of this year’s results?
To learn how our clients are taking a step away from traditional, single loop learning techniques and reviewing how to change underlying values and assumptions that keep them doing just more of the same read further.
Many organisations face the growth challenge by traditional reflection and review that is associated with single loop learning, this is a common style of reflective practice associated with adult learning and developed and published by David Kolb in 1984.
Quite simply, we do something (concrete experience) we review and reflect on how it went (reflective observation), we come to some decisions about what happened (abstract conceptualisation) and then we take these conclusions, realign them to the task in hand and then try a revised version of our earlier concrete experience (active experimentation).
This model may serve well however it is restrictive in so much as the action focus may not lead the reflector to challenge the basic assumptions of what he or she is doing. With this in mind an organisation may consider the use of double loop learning where the learner is not just fixated on repairing a problem but questions the underlying belief, assumptions and values related to the challenge faced.
If we relate this back to our challenge of increasing growth and sales within our organisation, how can we get the organisation and the people within it to challenge the norm and come up with methods that will make a difference?
And not just ideas, this is often the fun part of business planning. How can we make sure that such ideas are implemented and become the organisations normal way of operating?
The challenge
Understanding what is required to improve business performance is often left up to the leader (probably the business owner in a smaller organisation) to identify and then try to implement, almost in isolation and yet, the obvious place to look for support is among your own team and stakeholders.
Even if you do have all the answers as the leader, how do you convince your team to come on board and get involved?
What we do
We provide support to a business that introduces a 21st Century approach to business and people development. This includes changing perspective and approach to a truly trust based environment for all your team.
We have a number of supporting interventions to support a business change and execute growth starting with business planning workshops that will help the business owners and their team consider things from a truly wider perspective.
This has worked for large organisations through to one-man band start-ups, and provides an alternative approach that is built on eight key principles:
By building these core principles into our interventions, we find that a natural engagement is developed that creates a positive space from which to build success.
Expert facilitation that engage the participants and truly challenge them to think is often the starting place of our work.
Once this engaging activity is completed the audience can then be supported by transforming behaviour and skills so they can implement the desired changes, these may be process as well as behavioural based changes.
We provide a range of coaching services that deliver both skill based learning and transformative behavioural change ensuring your strategic plans are implemented effectively and efficiently.
We often provide coaching workshops that support your immediate team create inclusive and reflective environments that widen the change activity internally and even outside the organisation.
Benefits to your business
A fully inclusive solution to your growth plans, by which we mean, a plan that has been devised from feedback from key stakeholders such as clients, shareholders, suppliers and your own team, and then detailed for action by the members of your team who will play a significant role in delivering sections of the plan.
This supports your business by having team members fully on board and fully committed to the actions required to make it work.
Having been included within the development of the plan, team members are less likely to throw in the towel when the going gets tough and will have ownership of the results. If you can link this into performance related bonuses and pay, you have a much better chance of sharing the success with those that have committed their futures to you.
Certainly this approach can look a far more attractive proposition when you are trying to attract new talent into your business and may even act as a deterrent to those looking to come on board for an easy ride. The inclusivity message is often shared by employees to colleagues and peers outside of work, this in turn acts as a real plus for your business in general.
Conversations are far more effective which in turn supports greater relationships between various stakeholders including peers, subordinates, suppliers, customers, legislators and future employees.
Benefits to your team
Inclusivity of this kind is highly inspirational and, managed well, can lead to far happier employees who in turn become far more productive. In short, they look forward to coming to work.
The learning curve that an employee can begin to enjoy is a fantastic thing to witness, and as a coach, it never ceases to amaze me how much positive energy a team can generate from our workshops. What is even more amazing is how this energy exceeds the workshop period and is maintained thereafter by the project team and beyond.
Those members of the team who are directly involved in the planning process begin to reflect on the opportunity they have been given to help mould and shape the future of the business and themselves and then begin to manage in a similar way, thus disseminating the positivity throughout their own teams.
Conversations become more positive and relationships become firmer and are based around trust and respect rather than fear or undue pressure.
Absenteeism reduces.
In conclusion.
As we enter into another festive season and end of year festivities I wonder what your new year will hold? Will it be same old, same old? Or can you break out of the “Groundhog Day” routine and take a fresh approach to your business aims and aspirations?
For more information of our support services contact tim@salesimprovementservices.com
