What matters most in life – the intention or the action?
Many say intentions are what matter most. Intention generates the principles by which things are done. Intention gives us meaning and direction in any given endeavour.
But then again, things still need to get done, and they need to be done efficiently and in a timely manner. So yes, action is clearly required if people are actually going to go out into the world and make things happen!
So it’s just another ‘chicken and egg’ question then, isn’t it? Just like asking, what’s more important, the heart or the head?
No. It’s not one of those imponderables, even though it may appear so. Intention really is king. And intention is just another word for culture. All organisations need culture – and a deliberately created culture at that – because culture is what binds the sometimes apparently disparate elements of a company together to make it a successful, functioning whole.
But this is where theory encounters harsh reality, because a company’s core values must be enacted in the form of KPIs, and if not, there are going to be innumerable disconnects between departments, managers, and most damaging of all, between the company and their customers. It’s going to cost you.
And this, of course, is the nitty-gritty of the whole scenario. The bottom line. We all know what it’s like to deal with a company which suffers from a faulty internal structure, because the service will be erratic or consistently sub-standard. And what happens when we encounter such service? We say ‘Up with this I shall not put!’. We vote with our feet, and it’s easier to do this now, in the age of the internet, than it’s ever been. Just raise a Paypal dispute, or Google another of the millions of companies worldwide who do what we are looking for, except maybe better and cheaper too!
Scary times for malfunctioning organisations, no doubt, but there is a solution: Get honest with ourselves. Is our mission statement any more than a bit of window dressing? Is anyone actually tasked with ensuring that our company values are translated into demonstrable behaviours? Is anyone being consistently recognised and rewarded for outstanding performance? Are department heads linked up and cooperating? Are KPIs being monitored and cross-referenced with sales data to produce meaningful training objectives?
If the answers to those questions are something like Maybe, Not sure, No, Possibly and Definitely not – you’re not alone, because it’s so easy for all this to be lost in the hurly-burly of a standard working day. When you’re under stress, culture sounds like fluff, regular team meetings are a stress in themselves, and monitoring KPIs just gets in the way of watching call rates and sales data.
But that would be a tragedy, because the whole idea is that culture, and what flows out of it, provides the foundation for excellence which all organisations require. We already mentioned the reality of today’s digital environment; our company image must align with what a customer actually experiences. If it doesn’t, that cognitive dissonance quickly results in a lost customer.
And how many companies, do you think, will look at their data and conclude: ‘Hmm…maybe we’ve got a disconnect happening here. Let’s reverse engineer this process and see where we can improve’.
If that sounds fanciful, we’re happy to report that it’s out there happening as we speak. We’ve worked with companies around the world who behave this way, as a consequence of a coherent and well administered reporting and consulting process. Department heads committed to espousing, recognising and rewarding those who consistently demonstrate their company values. And all geared to outstanding customer experiences, as an end product to outstanding internal management processes at every level.
To learn more about our extensive experience of building a strong value-based culture and processes with real ROI effects, contact dancing lion today. Our highly skilled team of associates have unrivalled expertise which could benefit your organisation, whether in change management, culture, retentions or sales training.
