I. PSF = Inc. + Clients + Projects!
1. Think Inc. It all starts in your head. Imagine: You are no longer "HR Director." You are Managing Partner/Managing Director of HR Inc. ... a wholly owned subsidiary of the "ABC Division" of the "XYZ Corp."
1A. Commit "Cool."
2. Think (eat ... sleep ... breathe ... talk up) C-L-I-E-N-T. Period. Client service is the name of the game.
3. Select Clients very carefully. It’s axiomatic: You’re as good—or as bad—as the character of your Client List. In a very real sense, you are your Client List!
3A. Seek out Clients who are Leaders.
3B. F-I-R-E Clients ... upon occasion.
4. Turn e-v-e-r-y "task" into a ... Project. PSF = Client. PSF = Project.
4A. The Work Matters!
5. Become a Catalyst for Revolution. (Why not?) (What else?)
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Detail Overview
Provide details of the concept; what does it mean to you?
1. Think Inc.
MN: This is where it starts. It sounds so simple, but it can be a major hurdle. In the work I have done, there is often a "turned on" client that is sold on transforming his/her department. Often the members of the department are quite content with the historic just do your job, serve your time, entitlement environment. So we often have to start with a compelling business case to try and unfreeze thinking. Many find it hard to understand being content with 8-5 keep your nose clean and work toward retirement thinking, however, at this moment in business, laying low and shunning risk may equate to job security. Once we can get people ready to rethink the work and its importance, we start rolling.
TS: One must understand that Think Inc. isn't just about a mindset. It's also about accountability and generating work worth paying for. These are things the average employee never thinks about or is challanged in defining.
GI: Think Inc. means creating a vision for the client, and own organisation, and developing a road map to attain this. Without this "map" members of the client, and own organisation, lose focus and motivation and the vision becomes another pipe-dream. Continual selling of the vision and pushing of the "map" to the client is an essential part of Think Inc.
1A. Commit "Cool"
MN: Dealing with a "cool" psf is a positive and engaging experience. If your staff area is thought of as a dull yet necessary function, its an opportunity to think cool. It of course begins with producing impeccable results as promised. That is the price of entry. Beyond that, a psf begins to build its brand by providing a remarkable experience. A psf understands it's clients wants and needs and gets what they would think is cool. Then they deliver. With each "cool" and memorable contribution to the client, you are more prone to be asked to contribute again. Who wouldn't want to do work with "cool" people?
2. Think C-L-I-E-N-T
MN: One of the base line ideas here is that we ought to think of ourselves internally as if we were on the outside selling our wares back to the organization. The word "client" becomes important because it raises the level of service expectation we offer internally. We serve the people next in line in the value chain. It isn't simply about a handoff of our work, but a strategic relationship we are trying to build. You are my client, I strive to be your trusted advisor. We strive to be strategic partners mutually growing our part of the business. I don't want to be "the guy in HR who knows how to fill out the insurance form" but "your guy, who insures you the right talent with the right engagement, at the right time"
CDL: Contrast this analysis with the term "customer" which suggests a one-off transactional, non-strategic relationship.
4a. The Work Matters
MN:This is absolutely fundamental to psf. We believe that psf is alternate structure and lens to look at the historic departmental approach. It starts and ends with the work. Members of the psf are compelled to add to their portfolio doing meaningful work that creates client WOW! Of course, we understand that there is some degree of administrivia that must be accommodated, but it is the exception, not the work. Most people walk through the door the first day of their new job expecting to, and wanting to, make a real difference. By providing work that matches their talent and passion, they look forward to entering that door everyday of their tenure in your psf.
Issues/Concerns/Risks
What are some of the issues, concerns, or risks associated with this concept in your organization?
1. Think Inc.
MN: As much as organizations preach innovation, the truth is most have built risk aversive systems. And I do believe there is a significant period of time that has to be invested to be considered a trusted advisor rather than an administrative necessity. Once you get the department thinking like a psf, you really have to market it.
?: I agree, getting them to chat abut the innovation buzz word is one thing, taking action is another step entirely. I have often suggested to smaller businesses to outsource non core functions to get the feel of PSF, if the outsourced work gets big and you consume the Co, then you have a PSF that has it's own life force and can take on extra work as well as work for you. e.g. a marketing dept. Imagine that a dept that can pay for itself with outsourced work...
1A. Commit "Cool"
MN:This is not fluff at the expense of real, value adding solutions. Think of it as the gift wrap, not the gift. Most Apple products are cool, but then they are packaged with a flair that shouts cool. The main risk here is not understanding what the client thinks is cool...they don't want corny glitz, they want a remarkable and memorable experience. You have got to understand and work within the culture of the client's organization.
2. Think C-L-I-E-N-T
MN: Of course you cannot demand to be treated as a trusted advisor. You earn it. And that starts first by seeing your clients as your livelihood, not irritants. It requires a shift to proactive thinking and solutions, rather than reactive administrative actions.
Stories of Implementation
Tell us about your success or failure in adopting these concepts.
1. Think Inc.
MN: My favorite intervention involved a finance department. We learned quickly a simple problem in the way of unleashing the talent. Often a team member entered the organization in an entry position in accounting that may not have been their specialty or their passion. There was the idea that once I get into the job there will be opportunities to move into assignments more aligned. There weren't. So we did a no holds barred role reassignment within the department and to our surprise, only almost every member switched positions and started to produce amazing results.
VW: A client of ours has discovered that when you take a diverse group of people, give them a real business problem to solve, and provide them guidance along the way, stuff happens. We had several teams who used this approach and acted as if the problem was their business problem to solve. In other words, they put their PSF hat on and took a fresh approach to looking at the problema and presenting solutions to the problem. They were given the support needed to tackle the issue and gave presentations to their executives on possible solutions. What made this different from regular problem solving, is that the team used creative stimulus to think about the problem differently and were not bound by 'corporate rigidity'. Most important, they had a lot of fun doing the work. Give great talent a real cool project and you can bring out the best in them.
1A. Commit "Cool"
MN: A couple of thoughts based on the above comments. One success was working with a cross functional team looking at systemic improvements in a client organization. A guiding principle of this firm is that there should be design and innovation in every solution. The final report needed to be more than 10pt, Times New Roman, single spaced, etc. So this team crafted the report to look and feel very different and innovative. It was beautiful, just like the organization's iconic designs, and very cool.
2. Think C-L-I-E-N-T
MN: I think the biggest hurdle the failed efforts couldn't get past is the idea that you have to earn your clients and their business. Internally, we tend to think we have a captive market that just requires regular maintenance and service as needed. When it has worked, the psf proactively engaged their clients with how they might serve them to make them successful.
Lessons Learned
What did you learn from the exercise? How would you advise others attempting to follow your path?
1. Think Inc.
MN: See above :)
?: Org's need to think carefully about how much this type of action will benefit them, then sell the benefits.
TS: Applying Think Inc. may not get recognized nor appreciated. Winning at Think Inc. may just be that little voice that tells you that you did a great job; No fanfare, No awards, and No Appreciation. A job well done may be your only recognition.
1A. Commit "Cool"
The biggest lesson learned was to understand the client. As further posts will suggest, you really need to live with the client and see cool through their eyes.
3. Select Clients Carefully
MN - A psf doesn't "sell stuff" to a client, they join them in a partnership to do great things. And just like external knowledge workers, an internal psf is only as good as their last client. So when you find a turned on, gets it, passionate client, coddle them with fantastic results. You really need to see your "brand" as an extension of the clients. As an external provider, it does take some real thought and quite frankly, courage, to turn down a client. Cash flow does matter! And internally, it is very difficult to turn down a request. However.....it doesn't mean you have to provide WOW in equal measures. As an external consultant, we have to have faith that a remarkable engagement with a cool client will lead to lots of business by word of mouth. And likely to clients that are also cool. Internally, positive press regarding your best client's results will do the same. You don't get cash, you get political currency!
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