WARM FEET TO COLD FEET
I need a pair of winter socks.
I, the customer, want to give the store some money as quickly as possible in exchange for nice warm feet. The clerk wants to do his/her job. Simple, right?
Not simple. Often, the process has become burdensome. The clerk is required to recite a string of questions during the transaction. “Do you have your Rewards Card?” “Would you like to get one?” “Do you want to donate to the Radio-Staff-without Socks Campaign?”
Blessings on the next person in line if the customer decides to get a Rewards Card.
The screen on the card reader asks the customer yet another set of questions, then decides it can’t read the chip. The customer is now inwardly apologizing to God for his evil thoughts. Next time, he’ll probably shop elsewhere.
There are entire organizations suffering from this kind of slowdown. If you work for such an organization, everything feels like “one step forward, two steps back”, like slogging through mud or knee-deep snow.
UNITY OF PURPOSE
When did protocol trump common sense and normal human interaction? In this environment, employees may default to passive aggressiveness, and few communicate honestly. Instead of having one common goal, employees are likely to default to tunnel vision. In other words, “If it ain’t my department, it ain’t my job.”
If this is happening to your organization, consider adopting a Unity of Purpose mentality.
Rather than focus on one particular facet of an assembly line, each employee must adopt the entire project as his/her own. The final outcome of a project becomes everyone’s goal. Just as iron sharpens iron, each holds him/herself accountable for moving the project along. How to do this? Try a brainstorming session followed by a process flowchart—all bathed in prayer.
ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
With Unity of Purpose, you boil the project down to a simple, ultimate objective. Each person involved has a specific role, but his/her goal is focused on the ultimate objective. Let’s say you’re promoting a Christmas Concert. Everyone agrees that the registration process (should this be ticket purchase process?) is too involved. It’s slowing down productivity and taxing the server. Instead of making folks crazy trying to make it work, do a restart and simplify it.
Everyone’s having fun.
There’s communication when everyone is responsible for the goal, not just their part. The Holy Spirit works when everyone works in one accord … decently and in order.
Now where are those tickets to the Christmas concert?
