Once you start developing ideas that fit your objectives, it’s time for the next step in our journey toward managerial effectiveness.
Get busy collecting data, especially performance data, but avoid the common error of analyzing data too soon. Concentrate on personal observations, interviews, and feedback. Train others to vet their observations of speculation and early conclusions. Like an effective detective, let the facts take you to the truth. Coach your team to become objective observers rather than trying to fit the facts to their prejudices. This is not easy but worth the effort.
Staying Close to Customers
An important way of collecting data is to get closer to your customers and invite their feedback. One client told me, “We talk to our customers every day.” Yes, but do we really know what they are thinking? One of my coaches told me, “Dave, you know what a customer is thinking when their lips are moving and they’re telling you.”
