PPC Book

Preparing Yourself for the Working World
Paul Brainard

Power ,
Politics
&
Conflict
in
Organizations

Paul Brainard

Tree Free Press
La Verne, California

Editing
Valentina Silva
Alex Johnson

Copyright © 2009 by Tree Free Press

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includ-
ing photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and re-
trieval system, except by a reviewer who may quote short passages in
a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper or on the Internet,
without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Tree Free Press
La Verne, California 91750

treefreepress.com

Second Edition 2009

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009900942

ISBN 978-0-9761193-1-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

Cover design by Lily Brainard

Table of Contents

Introduction Why You Need to Read This Book 1

Part I - Organizational Politics & Power
Chapter 1 Organizations 9
Chapter 2 Getting Hired 13
Chapter 3 Increasing Your Workplace Power 19

Part II - Effective Leadership
Chapter 4 Leadership 35
Chapter 5 Change 53
Chapter 6 Managing Conflict 65

Part III - Operations Management
Chapter 7 Business Resource Model 92
Chapter 8 Department Performance
Measurements & Ongoing Improvement 95
Chapter 9 Pinpointing Improvement Opportunities 145
Chapter 10 CEO 159
Chapter 11 Real World Scenario Ethics Exercise
Overstating Operating Income 173

Appendix 177
Index 179

v

INTRODUCTION

Why You Need to Read
This Book

Politics, not sound management practice, is the dominant
force driving business organizations. Most companies are more
politically driven than performance driven. This is a primary cause
of the numerous failures of once stable companies we recently
experienced.

Maneuvering for control or power, in a group having
conflicting interrelationships, is one definition of politics. This
book discusses some of the political forces you will encounter in
the workplace and teaches you useful and effective ways to use
those forces to your advantage.
These political influences are often destructive, as we
witnessed in the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis. After reading
this book you will be able to recognize the political activities for
what they are and respond in a productive manner, while at the
same time increasing your power in the organization.

1

2 Power, Politics & Conflict Introduction 3

Leadership Change
Soon after starting to work, a business school graduate has a fair To improve its productivity, an organization needs to be able to
chance of being put into a supervisory position. The graduate change. Yet, changing an organization is much more difficult to
may end up supervising people who have more work experience implement than you might expect. In chapter 5 you will learn
and believe they are better qualified to fill the supervisory position. about common barriers to change and ways to overcome those
This often creates conflict with those being supervised becoming barriers.
hostile to the supervisor.
Supervising people who are hostile to you is challenging, Conflict
especially when the people you are supervising have been with Interpersonal conflict in an organization is the cause of a lot of
the company several years, while you are relatively new to the misery and anxiety suffered by employees. Understanding how
company.
to manage conflict not only minimizes the potential for conflict to
By reading this book, you will learn what you need to do to
bring you grief, it also gives you a lot of power in the organization.
become an effective leader, how to motivate people to perform
All employees must deal with conflict; therefore, the power derived
closer to their potential, and how to manage the conflict leaders
from conflict management is available to any employee.
typically encounter.
Chapter 6, which is devoted to conflict management,
discusses some of the common types of conflict you may
Management Tools encounter and how to manage conflict to your own advantage.
In addition, you will learn basic management tools that can be
used with confidence to improve an organization’s productivity Challenges & Opportunities
and profitability.
Working people today face many challenges. Job stability is a
By the time they graduate, business students have studied a thing of the past due to the export of jobs, downsizing,
lot of management theory. Unfortunately, the amount of theory consolidations and ownership turnover. This has been aggravated
studied can be overwhelming, making it difficult to recall and put by a lack of leadership. Not enough leaders have the skills and
to use in their work. This book streamlines the theory and gives power necessary to improve the productivity of our organizations
it to you in a usable and effective form. in a competent style.

4 Power, Politics & Conflict Introduction 5

Many leaders manage for short term results, jeopardizing the Even if you do not aspire for a position of leadership,
long term existence of the organization. Their actions often understanding and practicing the concepts presented in this book
negatively impact productivity at the expense of owners, creditors will make your job easier and less stressful. In addition, you will
and employees, sometimes to the point of bankrupting the be of greater value to your employer, increasing your job security
companies under their leadership. and compensation.
Global competitive pressures will only increase with time and
more jobs will be exported to places like China and India. We It is suggested that you study Part I when preparing to go to
currently face rising unemployment, as companies struggle to work full-time. After you have found a job and are working full-
remain liquid and search for ways to increase productivity. time, study Parts II and III as you focus on building your working
Fortunately, increased productivity can be readily achieved by knowledge.
working smarter, using established ongoing-improvement business
management tools. After you have studied the book, keep it handy as a reference
tool. Whenever you encounter a situation discussed in the book,
There is a widespread need for leaders who have both the skills you can refer to it and respond to the situation in a productive
and power necessary to improve the productivity of our manner. Your ability to use this material will allow you not only to
companies using a direct and effective approach. This book take greater control of that situation but also to increase your
explains how a leader acquires the power needed to change an power within the organization.
organization, and it shows how to use a few simple management
tools to improve the productivity of an organization in a straight
forward manner. Companies that employ leaders who utilize the
tools presented in this book will enjoy a competitive advantage.

How to Use This Book
This book is packed with valuable information about the forces
that drive organizations. If you study this book, you will learn
how to accelerate your advance to positions of power in an
organization and how to use that power to improve the
productivity of the organization.

6 Power, Politics & Conflict

Part I
Organizational
Politics and Power

7


CHAPTER 1

Organizations

For the purpose of this book, an organization is defined as a
structured group of people with some common purpose.
Organizations include corporations, small businesses, nonprofit
businesses, government agencies, volunteer groups and social
clubs.

The word ‘company’ is used throughout this book for illustrative
purposes, but most of the stuff discussed in Part I of this book
would apply to many types of organizations. Parts II and III
apply mainly to business operations.
When the word ‘product’ is used, it can mean either tangible
products that a company manufactures and sells, like furniture,
or an intangible product, like computer repair service. The
expression, ‘CEO’, is used to indicate the most senior leader of
an organization.

9

10 Power, Politics & Conflict Organizations 11

Organizations are Complex People are Competitive
Organizations may appear simple in theory and can be nicely People also have a competitive nature. We often desire, and
summed up using flow charts like the one on page 93. When maneuver for, power or prestige within the organizations we are
you consider the multitude of details that comprise an members of. We sometimes believe we should be in control of
organization’s operations and the complexity of its membership, the organization, instead of those who are currently in control.
an organization is a highly complex organism. Every organization We may sometimes feel a need to control the behavior of others,
is unique and constantly evolving. Granted, some for better, others although we do not like it when others try to control us.
for worse.
Organizations are Political
People Can be Productive These competitive and controlling conflicts create political forces
People are often kind, honest, and exceptionally resourceful. in organizations. Like it or not, politics are inseparable from
These qualities make humans very productive creatures, with the organizations and spawn a lot of additional conflict in
ability to improve the quality of life for themselves and those around organizations. The level of conflict in an organization can range
them, without degrading the quality of life of others. from subtle tensions to unbridled hostility. Some of this conflict
is productive, but much of it is destructive. The ability to manage
conflict is an important source of power in an organization.
People Can be Destructive
Unfortunately, human nature is also corrupt to some degree.
People sometimes lie, cheat, steal or even kill to get what they
desire or believe they need. This willingness to lie, cheat, etc., is
often destructive and can harm other people and society as a
whole.
Since an organization is a collection of people, an organization
will reflect some of the productive behavior and some of the
destructive behavior of its members.


CHAPTER 2

Getting Hired

When a company needs to hire an employee, one or more people
will make the selection. The person who will supervise the
candidate will usually make the final decision. This will be based
on the decision-maker’s perception of the candidate, regardless
of the accuracy of that perception.

What is the decision-maker looking for? Here are four key
criteria:
The candidate must appear to meet the minimal skill and
experience requirements of the position. Resumes and
application forms are often used to determine whether the
candidate has the requirements. To fill a management position,
many companies require that the candidate have a college
degree.
The candidate must appear dependable. The decision-maker
will want someone who will show up to work as expected,
on time, and will require little supervision when completing

13

14 Power, Politics & Conflict Getting Hired 15

assignments. References and schooling background are to ask such as, “What do you feel is the most challenging
commonly used to help determine if a person is dependable, aspect of the position?” or, “What do you like best about
but it’s your own actions that ultimately matter. Arrive early working here?”
to job interviews; if you wish to be considered for a position, The decision maker has needs. Try to get a clear
don’t be late. understanding of his or her needs, and ask questions if you
need to. Show that you understand their needs by repeating
The candidate must appear non-threatening. A candidate them. “I see, you need someone who can . . .” If you believe
with too much confidence, skill, experience, drive, or talent that you can meet their needs, let them know, by stating in a
can be perceived as a threat to the hiring decision-maker. confident tone something like, “I am able to do that.”
The decision-maker will want someone who will be
submissive and loyal to the decision-maker, yet isn’t Selling Yourself
necessarily looking for someone who has a submissive
Talking at length about how wonderful you are, is not a good
personality. For some positions, the decision-maker may
way to sell yourself. A better way to sell yourself is to persuade
want a person with an aggressive personality, yet will still
the decision-maker to talk about how great he or she is.
want whomever they hire to submit to them.
The use of leading questions to encourage people to talk
Listen attentively to what the interviewer says, and when
about their interests is a valuable sales tool. When you meet the
asked a question try to give complete answers that are not
decision-maker, keep your eyes open. Take mental notes on his
too lengthy and don’t go off on tangents. Many over confident
or her environment and décor. The office may be decorated
candidates make the mistake of talking too much and not
carefully listening to the person conducting the interview. with pictures or objects that indicate their interests. For example,
an avid golfer may have pictures of golf courses, a cup or a
The decision-maker must simply like the candidate for paperweight with a golfing theme.
whatever reason and feel emotionally at ease in the candidate’s Towards the end of your interview, if you have an opportunity,
presence. try to get the decision-maker to talk about his or her interests.
To help the decision-maker feel comfortable in your Make a pleasant comment about a picture or object, or ask an
presence, encourage the decision-maker to talk about the open-ended question. For example, if you notice a picture of a
company, the position, his or her background or interests. golf fairway, you might ask something like, “That’s a nice picture,
You can do this, by asking open ended questions about the do you like to golf?” The more you can get the decision maker
company and the position. If no particular questions come to talk about his or her interests, the more comfortable they will
to mind during the interview, have a couple of questions ready feel about you.

16 Power, Politics & Conflict Getting Hired 17

Dress A degree may be important for getting your foot in the door, but
Always look your best for a job interview. Dress conservatively, it takes experience to gain an understanding of how a business
and don’t worry about over dressing for an interview. Wear a operates in the real world.
tie, even if it’s a factory worker type position you are applying
for. For an office position wear slacks, a tie, and a coat if you
have one. Avoid multi-color hair. For a management position,
consider a coat and tie to be mandatory.

Drug Screening
Pre-employment drug screens are common protocol. Many
companies will send a potential hire to a clinic to test for illegal
drug usage. This is a product of the political environment during
the Reagan presidency, an era of increasing illegal drug use by
employees. Some substances can be detected thirty days or
more after being taken, so stay clean when looking for a job.

Why Companies Hire People With
Business Degrees
Companies hire people that have business degrees for
management positions not only because business school graduates
have received formal training in management practices.
Companies also want employees who will conform to company
culture, follow instructions, complete assignments, take on new
tasks, and be reliable. Having a degree indicates that a candidate
has those desired qualities. To earn a degree one must conform
to academic standards, follow instructions, complete assignments,
learn new things, and have some self-discipline.


CHAPTER 3

Increasing Your
Workplace Power

After you have been hired for a position, you will need to begin
building your power foundation. Having a sound power
foundation will make your job easier and less stressful, allowing
you to accomplish a lot more. Some power comes from having
a management position, but a lot of power is available to all
employees, no matter what their position.

Power is the ability to do something. People often incorrectly
believe that power is the ability to do what we want to do. This
myth keeps a lot of people from utilizing the power they already
have.
People frequently struggle and sometimes destroy themselves
attempting to do what they want to, but cannot, do. In the
process, they ignore the power that would be available to them if
they attempted to do what is actually possible. Utilizing the power
of what you can already do, will eventually give you the power to
do more of what you want to do.
19

20 Power, Politics & Conflict Increasing Your Workplace Power 21

The Power of Time job using the theory they learned in school, but without the proper
In an organization, time is the foundation of individual power. power foundation, these efforts will likely fail and may even trigger
The longer you stay with the same company or industry, the greater hostility from fellow employees.
will be your ability to increase your power. For example, an The newly employed should focus on learning as much as
entrenched front-line employee who has been with a company possible about the company and the industry. He or she should
ten years may have more power than a president who has been not focus on using the theory learned in school to change the
with the same company for only a few months. company. Opportunities to invoke change can be taken advantage
of when appropriate, but the main focus should be on increasing
one’s working knowledge.
When you start working in a company, it may take a year just to
get basic working knowledge of the organization and for other
Working knowledge is power. The more you know about
employees to accept you as part of the company culture. Use
the company and its industry, the greater the power you will have
those initial months to observe and learn as much as you can.
in the company.
Make sure that you acquire the skills and knowledge
After working at a particular company for awhile, you may necessary to do your job well. Understand how your job fits
discover that it is poorly managed. This can lead to a lot of into the organization and how it impacts the other positions around
frustration. The frustration may be so great that you feel you you. Learn how the company and industry operate from beginning
cannot continue working there and need to find another company to end, and learn who the industry players are.
to work for. If you can tough it out, with time and patience you
may be able to increase your power enough to make some changes Who has power and authority in the company?
that will make your job tolerable. Who is really in charge?
What are their priorities or obsessions?
Working Knowledge
Who are the important customers and suppliers?
Your real education begins when you start working. For someone
who has just graduated from college and is beginning to work in What are the major drivers of profit?
his or her desired field, the first months or even years are mainly What are the critical internal processes?
educational.
Some recent college graduates may feel cocky about having
their new degree. They may try to invoke change in their new


Becoming Accepted Understanding
When joining a company do not be surprised if some of the other The Power Organization
employees show you subtle, or even outright hostility. A new Your company will likely have a formal organizational structure
employee brings an element of uncertainty to a company culture, with the CEO or president at the top, senior managers under the
an element that threatens insecure employees. CEO, and so on. Titles can be deceiving. You need to uncover
In companies where communication is poor, existing the organizational power structure and discover who really has
employees may not know why the new person was hired; some power.
may wonder if their own jobs are in jeopardy. Contrary to popular belief, the CEO is often not the most
powerful person in the company. There may be people under the
As mentioned earlier, it may take a year or longer to become
CEO who wield greater power, for a variety of reasons.
accepted as part of the company culture. If you are respected
Sometimes the receptionist is one of the most powerful people in
by other employees and not considered a threat, you will be
the company and may be more influential than the CEO. In a
accepted more quickly than if you are not respected and
family-owned business, the owner’s spouse may have more
considered a threat.
power than the owner or the CEO. In a company where the
CEO avoids conflict, a front-line worker who frequently complains
Dress to the CEO may have a lot of influence.
The perception other employees have of you makes a fundamental
difference in the amount of power you have in a company. One way to discover who has power is by observing the conflicts
Personal appearance plays an important role in how the other that arise and noticing how people react to them. Those
employees perceive you, especially when you are new to the employees and managers who are able to confront and manage
organization. The way you dress is very important as your peers conflict will have greater power. Those who fear and avoid conflict
develop their impressions of you. will have less power. Those who choose to instigate conflict will
If you dress slightly more professionally than your peers, they have power in an environment where they are allowed to instigate
will have more respect for you than if you dress more casually conflict.
than they. On the other hand, if you dress a lot more professionally
than your peers, they may feel you are pretentious. Try to find a Learning Your Real Job
middle ground, a style that will garner respect as well as
When hired, you will be given a list of your job duties and
acceptance, while maintaining your own comfort.
responsibilities. The list may be given to you in the form of a


written job description, or it may be communicated to you orally surprise yourself and find it can be done, or you will reach a
over time. Write out your job description as you see it, and point where it will be obvious to your supervisor that you will
modify it as you learn more about your position or as new duties need additional resources to complete the task. At that time
are flung at you. consult with your supervisor about how to proceed, and let your
Don’t assume that a formal job description completely defines supervisor decide whether to provide the additional resources,
your duties and responsibilities. Chances are, your job will be modify the task, or abandon the task.
somewhat different than the one portrayed by a formal job
description. Sometimes it will be unclear, at first, what your actual Internal Customers
job is, and you will need time to learn what is expected of you by Treat the other employees that you do work for, or pass work
your superiors. on to, as your internal customers. Try to give good customer
Your superiors will regard some of your duties as paramount, service to all of your customers.
while others will be less significant to them. Determine what the Make a list of the people you do work for, or pass work to,
most important duties are, prioritize them, and make sure you and what it is you do for each of them. Try to understand their
understand how to do them according to your supervisor’s expectations of the work you do for them. Do quality work
expectations. based on their expectation of quality. If they want it given to
them in a particular form, try to accommodate them as best you
At times you may have a job duty pushed onto you that you feel can.
should be the responsibility of another employee. This can be
frustrating, but it can also be transformed into a source of power. For example, if one of your duties is to prepare some paperwork
If the additional responsibility causes you to have too much and then pass it on to another department, find out from the people
work to do, making it difficult to do your duties in a satisfactory who get the paperwork after you in what form they want it given
manner, the additional responsibility can undermine your power. to them. Details that may appear trivial to you may have a big
But if you can find a way to assimilate the responsibility into your impact on your fellow employees. Would they like the paperwork
work schedule by working smarter, having the additional assembled in a certain order? Do they want it stapled or do they
responsibility and working knowledge will increase your power. want you to use a paperclip? Is there a certain time of day they
It’s best to always convey a can-do attitude to your supervisor want you to give it to them? Would they prefer that you give
and peers. Even if you know a task assigned to you is unfeasible them the paperwork once a day in a large batch, or do they want
with available resources, it’s often best to respond initially with a several small batches throughout the day? By modifying how
can-do demeanor, and even attempt to do the task. You may you do your work, you can make their work easier.


You may wonder why you should care about making someone or projects for your supervisor’s supervisor, or other managers
else’s work easier. of greater seniority.
When you start a new job, you will need to learn who has
Earning Respect real authority and power, and which people you will do work
When other employees see that you do good work and that you for, directly or indirectly. Even if your other bosses don’t give
are making their work easier for them, you will earn some of you instructions or orders directly, try to discover their
their respect, which will increase your power. They will be more expectations of you. Again, think of your direct supervisor, and
likely to support you and less likely to undermine you. anybody else you do work for, as your customers, and focus on
Earning the respect of other employees takes time and sincere providing good customer service.
effort. Some people will never appreciate what you do for them,
but most of your fellow employees will eventually learn to respect Learn what is important to your supervisor and others in authority.
If you don’t know what their expectations are, ask. Do not
you if you treat them the same way you wish to be treated. Over
presume to know what your supervisor thinks is important. Many
time, this pool of respect will become an important source of
power for you. managers lead by whim. What may be important to your
supervisor one day, might be irrelevant to he or she the following
As you advance to more senior management positions, you
day.
should try to nurture a culture in which employees treat each
A lot of what is important to your supervisor may have little
other as internal customers. Setting an example, over time, will
to do with work. Even if you disagree with your supervisor about
make it easier for you to gain acceptance of this. On the other
the importance of what you have been asked to do, meeting his
hand, if you do shoddy, careless work, or if you ask employees
or her expectations will give you greater freedom in how you
to do something that you are not willing to do, they will have less
perform your duties.
respect for you and will be less cooperative in implementing your
If you do not keep your supervisor satisfied with your
requests.
performance, your supervisor will want to supervise your duties
Your Most Important Job Duty more closely. This restricts your freedom and power. On the
other hand, if your supervisor is satisfied with your work and
Your primary job duty is to keep your supervisor and the other
feels you are supportive of his or her position, it makes your job
superiors (your other bosses), satisfied with your performance.
easier and increases your power. It can also make it easier for
In most jobs you will have more than one boss. You will
you to decline doing unethical things your supervisor may ask of
likely have a direct supervisor, but you may also do some work
you.


Some tips on managing a demanding and unethical supervisor Time Management
are discussed a little further in ‘Time Management’, and again in Sometimes your superiors may make excessive demands of you.
Chapter 6, starting on page 81. On top of your regular duties, they may add additional tasks and
projects that will require more time than you have available.
No one can keep their supervisor entirely happy all the time, so Many senior managers overlook the value of employee time.
it’s important to learn what things are most important to one’s They often pile non-productive work on employees, and it seems
supervisor, and prioritize. If your supervisor is unreasonable, they don’t understand that they are wasting a valuable resource.
antagonistic or unethical, you may wish to find another job. If
The higher up a manager is in an organization, the more power
you can tough it out and, with time, build up your power they have to squander employee time with non-productive
foundation, your relationship with your supervisor may improve projects.
to a tolerable level. Time is a constrained resource and should be treated as such.
Managers should be using their time to increase company income,
One mistake I made early in my career was arguing with my rather than wasting it on fruitless projects or battling problems
supervisor because I disagreed with how he was managing the created by senior management.
division we worked at. Even though he was clearly mismanaging
the operation and behaving in an unethical manner, I did not handle
Prioritize and schedule your duties and projects by listing what
the situation constructively. I openly voiced my opinion of his
needs to be done, and when, based on your supervisor’s
performance, thus creating a lot of conflict between us. This
expectations.
conflict with my supervisor undermined my position, and I was
If you are working on an important project, trying to meet a
not one of the employees offered a transfer position when the
deadline, and your supervisor gives you a new project he or she
plant was shut down.
wants done right away, explain that the other project is also due
Had I focused on meeting the expectations of my supervisor
right away; then ask your supervisor what project they need done
and not worried excessively about behavior over which I had no
first. Ask this in the spirit of good customer service and a desire
control, my job would have been easier and less stressful. I to take care of your supervisor’s needs. Often your supervisor
would not have been terminated and could have left the company will have forgotten about the other duties or projects already
on my own terms.
assigned to you and may tell you to put them on the back burner
because they are no longer a priority.


If your supervisor feels you are sincerely trying to take care of If you get promoted to a position of greater influence or power,
his or her needs, your supervisor will likely be more willing to try to keep your ego in check. People who acquire too much
help you resolve the conflict of priorities. power, too fast, often don’t know how to manage the additional
leverage, which can lead to self destructive behavior.
As you get accustomed to your regular duties, find ways to do
them smarter and faster, to free up time for those unexpected Choosing An Industry
projects dropped on you. Having more time to work on the As mentioned before, the longer you stay with the same company,
unexpected projects will help reduce the pressure and stress of the greater your chances will be to increase your workplace
getting them done on time. power. If you leave one company and start working at another,
you will lose a lot of the power you accumulated at the first
Selling Yourself
company.
Your ability to sell your ideas to management and to other
One way to conserve more of the power you have
employees will greatly impact your power foundation. People
accumulated at one company is to stay within the same industry
who are good at selling usually have a lot of power within a
when you switch jobs. Staying in the same industry will allow
company. This is one reason why many CEOs rise from sales
you to use more of the working knowledge you obtained in your
positions.
previous job. That working knowledge will be an important
It is a good idea to study up on some sales and negotiating
source of power for you at the new company.
tools. Even if you are somewhat introverted and not comfortable
with aggressively selling yourself, there are sales and negotiating
Early in your career, try to find an industry that interests you. It is
techniques that can be used subtly, yet effectively. The use of
hard to know what industry will maintain your interest unless you
leading questions can be a very effective sales tool and will be
have some experience working within it. Unfortunately, it can
discussed in greater detail in chapter 5.
take several job changes to find an industry that truly interests
Ego Check you.
If you are a currently a full-time student without much work
As your power increases, don’t swagger. Insecure employees
experience, seek out opportunities for work experience in the
may feel resentful or threatened by your increased power. They
industry you plan to labor in after you graduate, maybe as an
may try to attack and undermine your power, creating additional
intern or a volunteer. The earlier you get real-world experience,
conflict you won’t need. Ignoring you or speaking critically of
the sooner you can acquire working knowledge, to help you
you to others, are some of the ways they may attack you. These
determine if you really would like to work in that industry.
types of attacks are usually best responded to by ignoring them.


Part II
The Art of
Leadership

After you have worked for a company long enough to develop a
sound power foundation, you should be in a position to instigate
some change and improve the company’s productivity.
The amount of change you can invoke depends on the amount
of power you have built up, as well as the amount of knowledge
you have of change management tools.

At this point in your career you may be managing a department
or function, leading a small company, or running your own
business.

33


CHAPTER 4
Cornerstones
For Effective Management
The most effective and productive senior managers I have had
the pleasure to work with, were not effective because they had
business degrees. What they each did have, that allowed them
to be effective, was several years of experience in their industries,
respect for their employees, and the know-how to use a few Leadership
management tools sensibly.

To be an effective business manager you need 3 things:
Adequate working knowledge, including a detailed
Leadership is about motivating and directing people to achieve
understanding of company processes, products or services,
desired results.
as well as your customers and market place.
Leadership skills to motivate and direct employees, People are the most critical and valuable resource of a company,
suppliers and customers. and often the most expensive. Labor is usually one of the largest
A ‘toolbox’ of management tools that are readily usable. costs of a company and consists of wages, payroll taxes, worker’s
comp insurance, plus any benefits, such as a 401(k) plan or health
In the previous chapter you learned the importance of increasing insurance.
your working knowledge and how to build your power Since your employees are a valuable and expensive resource,
foundation. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 will teach you what you need to it is important to get the most out of them. To increase company
know to be an effective leader and overcome barriers to change. productivity, some managers may simply try to coerce employees
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 will show you how to use some to work harder. This may create some short term improvement
fundamental management tools to improve an organization’s in productivity; however, these improvements will be limited and
productivity in a direct and effective manner. temporary.
To get permanent improvements in productivity, smarter
processes are needed. An effective leader will create a culture
of ongoing improvement — a culture in which employees are
motivated and directed to develop smarter processes.

35

36 Power, Politics & Conflict Leadership 37

If done properly, having employees develop smarter processes Support & Develop
will not only improve productivity. Giving employees a challenge An effective leader will support the team by ensuring members
they can overcome, can increase their self-esteem and improve have the resources needed to reach their performance
morale. measurement goals.
A leader should develop team members so they are able to
Roles of a Leader work smarter and advance to more challenging positions. This
Assemble a Team involves training, and empowering the team to utilize their
Leaders need to assemble a team of people. More often than experience and knowledge in improving company processes.
not, a leader will be put into a position where the team is already
assembled. If this is the case, the new leader needs to evaluate Qualities of an Effective Leader
the team and reassemble it where needed. This involves replacing In order to be effective in the long run, a leader must possess
members who leave the team, replacing members who cannot, certain personal qualities and skills. If they are missing these
or will not, contribute to the team effort, and expanding the team qualities and skills, they may do more harm than good.
when needed.
A leader also organizes and orchestrates the team. This Adequate Working Knowledge
involves assigning responsibilities and duties in a sensible manner, An effective leader understands the company or department they
making sure each team member’s skills match his or her are leading, at many levels. Leaders with the best working
responsibilities, as well as making sure members are coordinated knowledge of their company usually started at a lower level,
and moving together in the same direction. worked for the company for several years, and eventually
ascended to their leadership position.
Determine Direction
Since a leader determines the team’s direction, he or she needs Confidence
to communicate this clearly and often to all members of the team. An effective leader has confidence in what he or she is doing.
One way to keep team members on the same course is to make Confidence is necessary to prevail over the various obstacles a
key performance measurements part of the company culture. leader will encounter. Confidence goes hand-in-hand with
Chapter 8 covers performance measurements in greater detail. adequate working knowledge of an undertaking. If you are unsure
about what you are undertaking and have low confidence, you
can easily be thrown off track by employee resistance and other
obstructions.


Having confidence doesn’t mean having an excessive ego and a Ethical Behavior
feeling of superiority over those being led. Many CEOs who do For this book, ethical behavior is simply defined by the Golden
not have adequate working knowledge of an undertaking may Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
rely on their arrogance to overcome employee resistance and Effective leaders treat other people as they would like to be
other obstacles. With or without confidence, a leader who lacks treated; they are open and honest with employees and don’t have
adequate working knowledge will likely lead the company down hidden agendas. They understand the motivational value of being
the wrong path. open with employees.
Effective leaders are able to own up to their mistakes, and
Ability to Motivate can admit it when they don’t know something. They contribute
Some people seem to have an innate gift for motivating others. to the wealth of a company rather than being parasites that suck
For the rest of us, the ability to motivate people in an ethical wealth from the company.
manner can be acquired from practicing certain behaviors and
skills: Unethical behavior often accompanies ineffective leaders. Leaders
who do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to be effective,
Confidence, gained from experience and working
and those who abuse their leadership positions to line their own
knowledge.
pockets, frequently obtain their positions via unethical behavior.
The ability to empathize with other people and treat them Unethical behavior includes personal misrepresentation,
with respect. cooking the books, hiding mistakes, pretending to know
something one doesn’t actually know, telling others what they
Using various motivational tools explained in greater detail
want to hear instead of the truth, and undermining of peers.
at the end of this chapter.
An unethical leader may try to deceive the team with illusory
Managing Conflict
behavior. He or she may dress up in expensive suits and drive an
An effective leader is able to manage the conflict he or she expensive car to give the allure of success. They may dress
encounters. Conflict can quickly undermine a leader’s power, casually and talk in a folksy manner, to induce other to let down
making work days difficult and unproductive. The ability to their guard.
manage conflict is essential to getting things done. Chapter 6 is Some people will eventually notice inconsistencies and detect
devoted to managing conflict. the deceptive leader’s façade. Unfortunately, others will ignore
the inconsistencies and accept the façade as fact. When people


are told what they want to hear, they are inclined to accept it as find out. An effective manager doesn’t need to know everything,
truth, even when it’s an obvious lie. but he or she does need to know where to get knowledge when
they need it.
Reputation
Employee perceptions of a leader are an important source of Behavior Types
power. Leaders that have a reputation of doing quality work will As a leader, you will need to understand the different types of
encounter less resistance when they ask the same from their behavior you will have to work with, and how to manage and
employees. utilize them to their greatest potential. The following are specific
If you treat employees with respect, you will get more workplace behaviors and should not be used to label an entire
cooperation when you ask team members to treat each other person in the real world. Nobody is perfect. To some degree,
with respect. If you ask your team to do things that you aren’t we all exhibit the following behaviors, the positive ones as well
willing to do yourself, they will view you as a hypocrite and give as the negative ones.
you more resistance and less support.
Adult
Acknowledging Your Shortcomings
Adults are reliable, self-motivated and handle conflict well. You
As discussed above, it’s important to have good working can give them a task or project and it will get done with little
knowledge so you can handle whatever it is you are undertaking supervision. They show up to work as expected, on time. They
without making a lot of mistakes. But even the greatest knowledge know how to handle or diffuse the conflict they encounter. In
will not guarantee you error-free work. When you do make a other words, it isn’t necessary to spend a lot of time supervising
mistake, don’t be afraid to admit it, learn from it, eat a little humble them.
pie, and move on. Adults have an inclination to improve their area of
Do not try to cover up your mistakes with lies or BS. In the responsibility. Adults are usually not obsessed with controlling
long run, employees will respect you for admitting your mistakes. others.
On the other hand, if you are caught trying to cover up your
mistakes, you will lose a lot of the respect others may have for An adult employee is a great resource. There are many adults
you. working in companies today; unfortunately, most companies do
The same thing applies when you don’t know something. If not know how to utilize the potential of this resource. Too often
you are asked about something you don’t know, do not try to CEOs and supervisors over-control, confine and demoralize adult
BS your way out of it. Just say you don’t know, but that you will employees, stifling that potential.


Adolescent can occur when they get into too much trouble and are scared
Adolescents are not very reliable or self-motivated. They may straight or when they get religion and discover that their corrupt
complain excessively, and be frequently tardy or absent. They ways are also destructive to themselves and their loved ones.
may foster conflict and cannot be counted on to complete The most ruthless or talented of the corrupt often rise to the
assignments without supervision. top of our organizations. Their operational styles vary. They
Adolescents need to be closely supervised and should be may act like pompous thugs, bullying people to get what they
limited to positions that have clearly defined and documented want; or they may be friendly and smooth talking, using flattery
job descriptions. They should be limited to making structured to get what they want from others.
decisions and trained how to make those decisions.
Adolescents can be a useful resource for a company, but the If you suspect an employee is behaving dishonestly, don’t jump
cost of supervising them needs to be considered. Adolescents to conclusions without hard proof. Monitor the situation and
are not beyond hope. They often mature with time and good review management controls to make sure adequate controls are
mentoring by a supervisor. On the other hand, an adolescent in place to prevent such activities as theft of company property,
who is not adequately supervised can become a costly liability. supplier kickbacks, or misrepresentations of performance.

Honesty Competence
An honest employee is one that is adverse to lying, cheating or A competent employee is one who has the knowledge and skills
stealing to get what he or she wants, and behaves in an ethical needed to adequately perform his or her present duties and
manner. responsibilities.
An incompetent employee is one who doesn’t have the
Corrupt/Liars knowledge and skills needed to carry out his or her duties and
responsibilities, even though they have been in their position for
A corrupt person is one who will lie, cheat or steal to get what he
enough time to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.
or she wants. The corrupt that advance to positions of power
Managers who fear conflict will often accommodate
can become destructive parasites that negatively impact a
incompetence rather than confronting the problem. This drags
company’s wealth. Sometimes they are so destructive they
down the company and demoralizes the employees who work
destroy the organization.
around it. Effective leaders understand that the cost of
With this type of person you need to watch your back. You
accommodating incompetence is too great, and will confront and
can’t fix them. Sometimes, however, they fix themselves. This
remove it.


Some options for removing incompetence: upon how well they like the candidate. Their prejudice can make
Train the employee to give he or she the necessary skills failure out of success, and vice versa. Some employees
and knowledge. Whether this can work depends on the understand this and use BS and flattery to advance to better
requirements of the position and the abilities of the employee. positions. In summary, most people don’t rise in organizations
due to their abilities but, rather, through their relationships with
Modify the job duties of the position or relocate the employee the right people.
to a position he or she can handle.
Terminate the employee and replace that individual with a Reaction to Conflict
person who has the necessary knowledge and skills. Taking Some employees fear conflict and avoid it at almost any cost.
away a person’s main source of income is neither a pleasant The lower their perch in the organization, the greater the likelihood
or easy response, but in some cases it may be the best of their being bullied into submission. Leaders who fear and
resolution for both the company and the employee. avoid conflict will allow a destructive amount of conflict to exist
in the organization. This is costly for the organization and is
Sometimes employees who do well in one position are moved to demoralizing for its employees.
a higher level position because of their good performance; yet in Some employees instigate conflict in a destructive manner.
their new position, they find they cannot handle their new This is often done to undermine those they believe pose a threat.
responsibilities. This is sometimes called the Peter Principle, which When management allows employees to instigate conflict,
states that people rise to their level of incompetence. instigators can become a destructive force in the company.
This may be true sometimes, yet when a person advances to On the other hand, employees who understand the value of
a position where they fail, they may still continue to advance in managing conflict are able to confront it when needed and
the company. Sometimes the people making promotion decisions diffuse or resolve conflict before it becomes destructive.
are higher up in the organization and are out of touch with what is
actually happening at lower levels. They don’t detect, or are not Type of Person Typically Promoted
interested in knowing about, incompetence at lower levels.
When companies are making promotion decisions, the decision-
Sometimes there is an unreasonable hope of promoting individuals
makers generally consider five criteria. Notice that these are
out of incompetence.
similar to the criteria used for hiring decisions, except for one
Unfortunately, many in leadership positions do not know how
additional criteria.
to fill positions with people who have the right knowledge and
skills. Many leaders make a promotion or hiring decision based


Candidate is believed to have an acceptable level of skill For lower level employees, you can initially hire a promising
and knowledge. This often depends on the perspective and candidate as a temporary employee for 30 to 90 days to determine
prejudices of the decision-makers. if he or she has the four qualities. Tell the employee up front that
Candidate is accepted as part of the company culture and is the position is a temporary-to-permanent position, and state the
not considered a threat to the decision maker. length of the temporary status.
For most lower level positions the most important qualities
Candidate is dependable. are adult behavior and honesty, if the employee can be trained to
Candidate does not complain excessively. be competent. For managers, it is important that they have all
Candidate is liked by the person making the final decision. four qualities.
For management positions, do more than one interview for
each candidate, and meet the candidates in social settings, such
Type of Person You Should as for a drink or dinner. Do comprehensive background checks
Hire or Promote on the finalists. Perform these activities until you feel confident
As a leader, if you want to have team members that produce that you have a candidate who meets the four criteria.
results under minimal supervision. You should look for four traits:
Having employees who possess the four qualities will make your
Candidate exhibits adult behavior.
work as a leader easier, more pleasant, and can dramatically
Candidate is competent or can be trained to be competent. increase your productivity, your power, and your ability to foster
Candidate behaves in an honest and ethical manner. change in the organization. Effective leaders know this, which is
why they hire the best employees available. They are not
Candidate manages conflict well.
threatened by an employee who may in some ways be smarter
or more talented than they.
It is to a leader’s advantage to find a person having all four of the
Many managers and CEOs would feel threatened hiring
qualities listed above, even if it takes extra time to find such a
someone they believe to be superior in talent. Some managers
person. For inside promotion decisions, you may already know
are so insecure that they hire people they expect to falter in their
if a candidate has these qualities. When hiring somebody from
positions. They may believe that the failure of someone below
outside the company, even if you do a comprehensive interview
them will divert attention from their own shortcomings.
and background check, you will not know for sure if a candidate
has all of the qualities until you begin to work with that person.


Motivating Employees Reducing inventory and production lead times.
Motivational tools can be classified as either reward or discipline. Reducing operating costs.
Sometimes referred to as ‘carrot or stick’. There is a need for
both types. Rewards need to be carefully tailored to produce the desired
improvement. Many companies give their department or senior
Discipline managers annual cash bonuses, based on bottom-line
Discipline is best used for enforcing minimal behavior requirements improvements.
for employees: Giving praise and recognition for the smaller improvement
steps by simply telling an employee, “Good job.” is important for
Reporting to work as expected. maximizing the productivity of employees.
Fulfilling basic job duties. Celebrations for recognizing department or company wide
Working in a safe manner. improvements, like reduced injuries, provide recognition for
Not stealing from the company. employees, and promote feelings of pride and belonging.
Not harassing other employees.
Peer Recognition/Peer Pressure
Discipline includes counseling, verbal warnings, written warnings,
Peer pressure combines reward and discipline. When others
time off without pay, termination or, in the case of grand theft,
are made aware of your accomplishments, you may feel a boost
having an employee arrested and terminated.
to your self-esteem. On the other hand, it can sting when your
Always document in writing any disciplinary action and the
peers are informed of your failings.
cause of the disciplinary action. If the employee’s behavior does
One way to create peer pressure is to set up key performance
not improve, you will likely need the documentation if you have
measurements for each department, and then periodically
to further discipline or terminate the employee.
publishing, for all employees to see, each department’s
performance based on the measurements. Besides creating a
Rewards healthy level of internal competition, the use of performance
Rewards are effective for fostering improvements such as these measurements keeps employees focused on improvement goals
listed below: while promoting a culture of ongoing improvement.
Reducing workplace injuries. Peer pressure can also be used to motivate individual
Increasing sales and market share. employees within a department. For example, if your company
Improving on-time performance. has several sales people, you may want to post the amount of


sales generated by each salesperson so it can be seen by everyone Periodically discuss with your managers their personal goals. If
in the sales department, who is performing well and who is not. a manager wishes to make more money, develop an incentive
plan according to which he or she will earn bonuses or salary
A lot more about performance measurements in Chapter 8. increases when they implement improvements that make the
company more profitable. If a manager would rather have an
Retaining Employees additional week off every year, find a way for he or she to earn
Productive employees need incentives to stay with a company; that additional time off.
thus, praise and recognition for their accomplishments are critical. Let’s say that a production manager wants to take an
Giving them opportunities to increase their income through additional week off during the year. Give that person a process
performance bonuses or promotions can reap long-term benefits improvement goal that will increase company income, as well as
for the company. Additionally, understanding and supporting these a cross-training goal that ensures the operation can function
employees’ personal goals will boost their morale and increase normally in his or her absence. The improvement in profitability
the likelihood of retaining these valuable people. should be greater than the cost of giving the manager an additional
week off.
Aligning Employee and If most employees desire better health insurance coverage,
create an improvement goal that will increase company income
Company Goals
more than enough to pay for better health coverage for the
One approach to motivation is to tailor reward programs to an employees. If the goal is met, give the employees better health
employee’s personal goals, in order to align an employee’s insurance coverage.
personal goals with company goals. An effective leader stays in touch with the team members
and should have some idea of what’s important to them. To help
Everybody has different desires and goals. Don’t assume that remove any prejudice or inaccurate assumptions, surveys can be
the only thing employees want is more money. Yes, some used to better quantify what employees desire.
employees may want to make more money, but others may desire
more time off. Some may wish to move to a different position or Tailored incentive programs need to be set up carefully to ensure
relocate to a different part of the country. Others would rather equitable treatment for all employees. Goals and rewards need
have better medical insurance coverage. to be clearly defined and documented. The goals should be
Individually tailored incentive programs can be set up for quantifiable to avoid ambiguity. It should be clearly stated how
key managers, and a general tailored incentive program can be the incentive arrangement furthers the goals of the company. The
set up for all the other employees. goals need to be attainable, so that failure isn’t inevitable.


Volunteers CHAPTER 5

Volunteers are people who work because they choose to, not
because they are obligated to do the work or are compensated
for it. Optimum performance from employees requires the exercise
of their own free will. A manager usually cannot simply coerce
employees to perform at their potential.
Change
To some degree, you need to think of employees as volunteers.
This will help you to understand how to motivate them to go
beyond the minimal requirements of their positions and live up to
their own potential.
People usually do volunteer work because it gives them a
The movement from ineffective business practices to effective
feeling of satisfaction from having done something very important.
business practices requires change, as does the shift from good
Volunteer workers feel that the work they do is even more
to better business practices.
important than money.

Successful volunteer organizations support their volunteers’ self- After you have been working for awhile in your career of choice,
esteem. If the volunteers do not feel valued by the organization, you will learn that organizations have many barriers to change.
they will likely leave the organization. Some barriers, such as the laws of physics or economics, are
often beyond our control. Other barriers, those created by human
To get employees to perform closer to their potential: behavior and political forces, can be overcome with patience
Treat them as being important, because they are important. and the right tools.
People tend to resist change even when the benefits are
Treat them as being needed, because they are needed.
obvious. The amount of resistance to change in an organization
Let them know that their jobs are important, because they is proportional to the amount of change attempted and the span
are important. of its impact.

Serving others by doing volunteer work is a good way to develop
your own leadership skills.

53

54 Power, Politics & Conflict Change 55

Some reasons why people resist change: Execute the plan.
People fear the unknown. Monitor feedback on progress. Adjust the plan as needed.
If the plan was properly thought out, it may only need minor
People don’t like to leave their comfort zones. When they
adjustment.
are comfortable doing something in a particular way, they
are reluctant to change to something that is different or will
require additional effort. Organizational Change Requires
Power and Good Leadership
When people feel they are being forced to change, they may
feel like they are giving up power to the person leading the Your ability to invoke change in an organization is directly
change. proportional to your power in that organization. If you are new
to a company or if you have a weak power foundation, you may
only be able to implement small amounts of change at any one
Standard Problem/Opportunity time.
Solving Process Nevertheless, even after you’ve been with a company for
Identify and define the problem or opportunity. Find the several years, you may hit a wall while attempting to change
root cause of the problem. Clearly define the opportunity something. In that case it may be best to defer the change, take
and how the company can benefit from it. some time to increase your power foundation, and attempt to
complete the change later on.
Decide what needs to change. A company consists of
people, practices, assets and capital. Of those four things,
Changing something in an organization often means asking people
find the element that needs to change. Most often, it’s a
to give up something they are accustomed to in exchange for
practice that needs to be added or modified.
something foreign. It also means asking them to make an additional
The tools to be discussed in chapter 9, will help pinpoint the effort to implement the change. Motivating people to accept and
opportunities for improvement that should be given priority, implement change requires power and leadership skills.
as well as determine what needs to change. Assess your power foundation relative to those people who
Decide on your objective: what to change to, and where will be participating in the change implementation. If you feel a
the company wants to be after the change. need to increase your power, increase your working knowledge
of the areas involving the desired change.
Develop a tactical plan to implement the change.


Power of Position fail. Confidence can be secured with adequate working
An employee’s position within the organization will greatly knowledge and a sound change plan.
determine his or her formal authority to invoke change. The higher
up you are in an organization, the greater your ability to invoke Conflict Management
change, and the broader will be the impact of those changes you Conflict management skills are needed to diffuse and resolve the
implement. different types of conflict that arise when people resist change.
Chapter 6 is devoted to conflict management.
Unfortunately, many CEOs squander that authority. An ineffective
CEO will sometimes have the entire company working on a change Emotional Resistance
program that wasn’t properly thought out. When the results aren’t Emotions often outweigh objective reasoning when a person is
as rosy as expected, the CEO may devise another change making a decision or is taking some action. In a situation where
program, jerking the company in a different direction. These someone refuses to accept change and seems to ignore the
large-scale changes can impact a company for the worse, obvious benefits of change, try to ascertain the emotional reasons
sometimes to the point of bankruptcy. for resisting the change. If you can discover the emotional reasons
At the other end of the spectrum are the CEOs who haven’t for his or her resistance, you will have a better understanding of
built up a sound power foundation and, therefore, struggle to what you will need to overcome in order to complete the change.
implement even minor change. For example, if the person has a fear of the change, try to
understand the reasons for his or her fear, and find a way to
Acceptance reduce it. Being empathetic of the person’s fear will help you to
Long-term employees can feel threatened when a person new to find a way to lessen it.
the company attempts to change the organization. Acceptance
by your fellow employees is beneficial when you wish to invoke Organizational Change Requires
change that requires their participation. As mentioned earlier, it Adequate Working Knowledge
may take a year or more of working within an organization to be
Changing an organization is an involved process. To successfully
accepted as part of that organization’s culture.
invoke productive change, one must have sufficient working
knowledge of the realm in which the change will occur. When
Confidence
contemplating changes to an organization, make an effort to
You will need confidence to stand your ground — against those understand the details of what needs to be changed and get input
who are resisting the change or want to see your change program from the people who will be affected by the change.


Too often, managers do not make an effort to understand the enduring vision of what the company could potentially be — a
details of what needs to be changed or get input from those vision that won’t erode with time and setbacks.
affected, and their change programs result in wasted effort and
expense without creating the desired benefits. Opportunities for Change
Opportunities for change can come and go in a matter of seconds.
Working knowledge is not the sole province of management — You should be prepared to recognize these opportunities and to
every employee of a company has ideas about what to change take advantage of them.
and how to change it. However, they may not have enough Let’s say you’re in a meeting, and the senior manager leading
working knowledge to formulate an effective change plan; and the meeting turns the discussion toward a problem that concerns
even if they do, they may lack the power to fully implement it. him. Many people throw in their two cents, incomplete ideas or
An effective leader knows how to turn good ideas from comments on what is wrong. You, on the other hand, have had a
employees into productive change programs.
solution in mind for some time. It’s simple and would be effective,
but it involves change.
Organizational Change Your challenge is to present the idea vividly, simply and
Requires Commitment directly — how it will work and why it will solve the problem.
Change can be harder than expected to implement, and a change
program that’s not fully implemented is unlikely to be a productive Comprehension
one. Managers often start change programs but are unable, for Most people can only grasp new information in short, logical
one reason or another, to put them into effect. They may partially steps. Problems with complex origins may be difficult to explain
complete the change program and then abandon the program. without losing your audience.
This is a waste of company resources and employee time. If you can show the root cause of the problem using a simple
Pursuing a change program to its completion requires commitment fishbone diagram, (see Figure 9-2 on page 148) it will be easier
from management. to get others to agree on the root cause, and the correct solution
will be more obvious.
Organizational Change
Requires Vision Leading Questions
Long term changes to a company require tenacity. Many By asking a series of leading questions, you can lead others to
unexpected barriers will arise, and these will take time and effort acknowledge a problem or opportunity, find the root cause of a
to overcome. Overcoming all of these barriers requires an problem, invent a solution, and develop a change plan. You’re


more likely to gain consent and acceptance of your plan if their Response: “We would need a forecast of the parts the
own thinking produces the same conclusion. Here are some production department will need each week.”
simplified examples of how to use leading questions:
Developing a change plan:
Acknowledging a problem or opportunity:
Leading question: “What information do we have that we
Leading question: “Are all customer orders being shipped could use to create a forecast?”
out on schedule?” Response: “We have the customer order backlog that shows
Response: “No.” the products ordered and when the products are scheduled to
be shipped to the customer.”
Leading question: “Why not?”
Response: “Sometimes production doesn’t get all the parts Leading question: “How can that be used to make a forecast
needed to produce the orders on time.” of the parts production will need each week?”
Response: “When a customer places an order, we can use the
Finding the root cause of a problem: bill of materials data file to generate a list of the parts needed to
Leading question: “Why is production not getting the parts build the order. Since it takes two days to build and ship most
they need on time?” orders, we can schedule the parts as being needed by
Response: “A lot of reasons.” production two days before the scheduled ship date.”

Leading question: “What is the most common reason?” Continue this process until every root cause have been found,
Response: “We don’t order them on time from the supplier.” and a sound change plan for each has been developed.
Sometimes another employee will suggest a change that you
Leading question: “Why not?”
agree with. Again, you can use leading questions to turn that
Response: “Because we don’t know what parts production
employee’s suggestion into an effective change plan.
will need week to week. It changes depending on what our
customers order.”
Below are more examples of leading questions:
Finding a solution: How long does this stuff sit around waiting to be worked
Leading question: “What do you need to be able to provide on?
the production department the parts they need, when they need How will that increase sales?
them?”

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