Do you recall the last time you just watched?

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I was early for a meeting and had the opportunity to sit quietly; just watching the world go by. The venue was a modern “Innovation Centre” that brought scientific research together with business and government to explore business opportunities... businessmen in their suites (some stylish and others not so much), doctors in their scrubs, researchers with their security tags, young women carrying thick binders and so on… some alone and others in groups; all with a purpose in mind. It was the everyday hustle and bustle of life.

I should clarify that when I say I was watching, it is not a passive event where I also read email, surfed the web and checked stock reports, but rather a very conscious activity -  Watching for how a person looked and acted, what they are doing, how they interact and react with their environment, etc. This is a thinly veiled segue into how with business and most other activities for that matter, there is nothing more important than knowing your customer*... how they act, what they need, how to interact with them, and how they are changing in a rapidly changing world... all that market research is just a sophisticated form of watching. 

Circling back to my active watching moment, I had quickly focused on a series of five large photographs** on display for people to view as they made their way through the Innovation Centre - And guess what? Not a single person stopped to look at them, and of the hundreds of people who walked by, less than a handful even glanced at them. I will wager that somewhere, someone is saying something along these lines, " Look what we have done, we are highlighting this local photographer, connecting with the community and enhancing the environment of the Innovation Centre!"

I will argue that since no one is even looking at the photographs, none of this is happening... it is as if the photographs were not even there. It looks "great on paper" as they say! Some thoughts quickly come to mind: 

• The photographs simply weren't engaging for the demographic. 
• The location just wasn't suitable for someone who is "on the go"... expecting them to stop and look at the photographs was not realistic.
• There was no "call to action" or context for the photographs that would engage a person... such as a sign.
• The same people may frequent the Innovation Centre, so they had seen the pictures many times and had become just part of the familiar landscape.

Personally, I believe that the photographs were in the wrong place, as this was a high traffic area and people were heading somewhere, with no interest or opportunity to stop. This was probably compounded by the lack of context regarding why the photographs were there. But, then again I would have to ask those people who "walked on by".

And this comes to the point and something that was re-enforced for me as I watched - We are busy (or make ourselves so) doing things, "making it happen" and "driving action", and if we are not truly watching what we do, as well as why we do it, our efforts will be misaligned and ultimately ineffective.

And of course everything is always changing, so active watching needs to be ever present.

gpe

* Business governance probably is a close second as a poorly run business inevitable goes down in a ball of flames. In the end however, if you are not intimate with your customer you will perish... guaranteed

** In my humble opinion the photographs were beautiful cityscapes and the work of a very talented photographer.

The Business Gnome

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

It's been a little over 90 days since I have been blogging under the unicorn banner of GPEStratagem and I wanted to quickly say, "Thank you for reading". I also wanted to take a moment to ground us as to what I story tell about - Specifically, I am interested in out of the box thinking as well as creative problem solving, particularly in the areas of sales and marketing; this of course can run the gamut including situation analysis, planning, problem solving, leadership, execution, process improvement, organizational behaviour and of course the customer. With all of this said, it is probably time to mention the rarely seen, but very much believed in, Business Gnome.

I've heard the business Gnome looks like this...

A very dear friend of mine, who I hope is finding great fun and adventure at the moment, introduced me to the Business Gnome a number of years back. For those of you who are not familiar with the Business Gnome, it is a genus of "mystical individuals" who get things done when people don't think of it, assume it'll will get done, don't want to do it, or don't know how. The Business Gnome falls into a number of different species, such as the "Technology" Gnome, the "Marketing" Gnome, the "Clean up your mess" Gnome (which has a domesticated cousin), and so on. Business Gnomes, like "tribbles" (yes a Star Trek reference), are cute and cuddly, but if they get into the machinery they will totally mess up effective execution and most definitely impact your customer's experience.

Let me offer you an example of what I am talking about - A small company was sponsoring an event which involved developing a process to sell the event tickets online and went live with it. It turned out when a customer went to order a ticket, the only option available in the drop down menu was zero. After that was fixed, it became apparent that there was no electronic ticket that was actually sent to the person who had ordered... just a receipt indicating that their credit card had been charged. In all of this, it is obvious that someone looked to the "Technology" Gnome to ensure it all worked when they set up the process. It was a good thing the company was so customer oriented as they caught this with the first order and fixed the situation. They went on to have an amazing event and the Technology Gnome was conspicuously absent. 

As you can appreciate there are two camps regarding the existence of the Business Gnome and I don't want to spend time debating their actual existence but instead spend a little time on the "people and company cultures" that do believe in them... or at least act as if they do. 

People (and cultures) that don't take the customer's perspective in what they do are big believers in the Business Gnome, and look to them to ensure that all of their initiatives and processes work smoothly. To this point let's use the situation with the event tickets above - If, before they went live with the ordering system, someone had said, "Let me pretend I am a customer and see how this works", they would have discovered very quickly that they had some "gaps" in their process, and ultimately in the customer experience. Those who think like customers don't believe in Gnomes.

There also seems to be a correlation with people not knowing the systems and processes that they use and their belief in Gnomes. Many a time I have seen a brilliant idea come crashing into reality because of the limitations of the systems and processes that are available... somewhere, somehow, someone must have had faith in the "Operations" Gnome to make it all work. As an extension to this, there are people who are miscast for the task ahead but "do it anyway", without soliciting help and the resources needed to make it happen. They must be big believers in the "Hope and a Prayer" Gnome. 

And lastly, the biggest playground for Business Gnomes that I have seen is where there is a culture of assumption... Assuming it will get done, assuming the resources are there, assuming the skill sets are in place, assuming the customer thinks like you, assuming there is someone to pick up after you, assuming the system will do what you want it to do, assuming your pilot project will scale - Hopefully you get my drift, and if you find too much assumption going on, you most likely have a deep seeded belief in Gnomes. 

Of course, encouraging Personal Leadership, Ownership and an understanding that everything is connected can create a culture of accountability... dispelling the mythology of the Business Gnome. 

Let me know if you have seen a Gnome, and do remember that "Car Key" Gnomes are very real.

gpe