Broken Washroom Doors

Every business has its 'broken washroom doors; its misdirections, its policies, procedures and methods that emphasize and reward wrong behavior, penalize or inhibit right behavior."

There are a number of things a manager can do to minimize mishaps, bad policies, unsound methods, and habits that inhibit poor performance:

Make sure your best people are placed where they can make the greatest contributions. Put strength on strength.

Write down your priorities, but no more than two, and make sure that your people are also focused on the right priorities. Drucker asserted he never knew a manager who could handle more than two priorities at a time.

Maintain an outside-in perspective by ensuring that all mangers spend time with customers in the marketplace, the only place results exist.

Review systems, processes, and policies and abandon any that add to bureaucracy and diminish productivity.

Review compensations systems to make sure you are rewarding outcomes that can actually move the needle.

ACTION POINT: Pay attention to your people, priorities, customers perspective, policies, and processes to prevent broken washroom doors.