Boots on the Ground Decision-Making

From the What I Wish We Did More In This World Department (or better entitled - Message to all supervisors, rule-makers, managers, and executives). Why do we make rules based on one situation, then apply that rule across the board? Why can't we allow our people, our Boots on the Ground, to make operational decisions as they see fit?

Two quick stories: Yesterday I am trying to send money to Costco to renew my membership (I have to pay to shop there? What a concept.) Since our membership expired several weeks ago (which means, Costco Execs, that we have done our shopping elsewhere for the last several weeks), instead of mailing our renewal to the state of Washington (taking 5 days by Pony Express), I thought since it's such a beautiful day I'd ride over on my Harley and drop off the payment to our local store (then we could shop there again SOONER). The renewal is $100, I had a certificate from Costco for $58.00 (a rebate of sorts for spending thousands there in the last year), and a personal check for the difference.

I rode over to Costco and walked in. Decision: go wait in line at the regular checkout to drop off my payment, or go to the counter labeled MEMBERSHIP that had only one individual waiting. No brainer - off to the MEMBERSHIP counter. Quick math: two workers helping two customers, one person waiting in front of me = quick service and I'll be outta here in 5 minutes (quick ego boost for being so smart). Then, of course, the inner workings of a large corporate juggernaut kick in. A briskly walking manager-type blows by (so as not to get caught by a customer and be sidetracked), grabs one of the counter workers to handle some perceived problem ("I need you to come up front"). Briskly walking manager then wheels around and blows by us again (speed = untouchable!) with beaten-down counter worker in tow. Quick math: one counter worker, 3 customers. CRAP! You guessed it. 15 minutes later I hear what I came for: "May I help you Sir?" Then corporate juggernaut rule #2 comes in. I explain that I would like to just DROP OFF my payment for my privilege to shop there. The worker looks at the check and certificate and says, "Sir, I cannot take this payment. If you were paying me the total $100 I could, but we cannot take this certificate here. You will need to go to the checkout line where they would gladly process your payment." I AM AT THE MEMBERSHIP COUNTER. The checkout line is less than 30 feet away (and of course, there's a line!). I say "thank you" and walk out the door.

An acquaintance has a meeting set up at a local coffee shop. He and his partner are meeting with some banker-types to discuss funding another line for his business. They get there at 10:30 for the 11:00 meeting to prep for the conversation. The waitress says, "Is all your party here?" He says, "No, they'll be here shortly." She says (as she points to the SIGN on the wall), "All must be present to be seated." So they sat near the door at a near-empty coffee house to wait the 30 minutes for their guests, so they could be seated at a table in the NEAR-EMPTY COFFEE HOUSE (by the way, that was AFTER he spoke to a manager).

Two situations, two rules enforced, more than two customers alienated. My acquaintance will never go back, and I went back to work and mailed my payment (which means I'll be shopping elsewhere for another week or more, totalling one month of spending money NOT at Costco). In both cases the workers (who are NOT at fault and should NOT be the recipients of our frustration) could have taken care of us with ease, but because of their leaders' robotic reactionary rule-making, we were inconvenienced again (hmm, sounds like the government, no?). Could the waitress have seated those gentlemen? Of course. Could the MEMBERSHIP counter person have taken my payment? Absolutely. Problem is, they would be breaking a rule, and we managers punish people that break our rules.

Message to all leaders and managers - Your people know better than you when they are working with customers. Wake up and let them take care of us and quit flogging them like they are incompetent slaves. EMPOWER YOUR PEOPLE and you will find that they actually LIKE to think, solve, and serve the public. The reason employees are disgruntled and unhappy is because they are forced to follow rules you set up that DO NOT WORK. The coffee house rule is a wise one as long as your business is full. The Costco rule I'm certain is logical if you're trying to streamline a process. In both cases business was slow and the customers WERE TURNED AWAY (and the employee doesn't care because they are secretly getting back at you for handcuffing them with your stupid rules). Does this make sense to anyone? In the end the management blames the worker and tightens down the rules, but I have one question for management. Were your workers incompetent when you hired them, or did you make them that way?

We as leaders, managers and executives must do a better job of screening potential employees and training them when they're hired. Help them do a great job by teaching critical decision-making skills, and you can take your 'rule book' and burn it (or stick it as your employees say). Let the "Boots on the Ground" make the decisions. You think business is complicated? Try getting things accomplished during a firefight when the people next to you are dying. You know how the Marine Corps does that? THEY USE 19 YEAR OLDS. Yes, the Lance Corporals and the Corporals who are right there fighting (the same people we wouldn't trust to punch a time clock) make the decisions in battle. They don't have to wait for a manager to come out of his office and they don't have rules (read customer warnings) hanging on the walls. They are taught a set of parameters and they are taught critical decision-making skills, then they drill on a daily basis. Do you train on a daily basis? I'm a manager and I don't. I also don't know anyone who does.

My rant is done. Empower your people. Hire them right, train them right, and let them make the decisions. Will they make mistakes? Yes, but it's better than the mistakes YOU are making for them by not allowing them to decide what's right at that moment for the customer and allow them to figure out how to MAKE IT HAPPEN. If you allow them to feel that their thinking and decisions make a difference then you will see a happier, more involved, highly effective employee, and you just might get credit for that....