Stop Being Distracted By The Shiny Things – How To Fix The Real Problems In Business

Are you guilty of “shiny thing syndrome”?

How often have you personally been involved in a process change, but the people using the system or process have not been consulted? The impact of this is distrust, lack of commitment overall and lack of drive to use it. That sure takes the lustre off that shiny thing pretty quickly doesn’t it? Ultimately, it’s the people that run the system, and when the system isn’t working, the question must be asked – what are you doing with your people to help bring them along on the journey?

Some key questions go to the very core of all effective change-:

• Does the organisational culture believe in the benefits of change in the first place?
• Does the organisational culture believe in doing it the same way that the system or process should run?
• Have the people who use the system been consulted?
• Do you fully understand the use cases, various dynamics and the risk to effective use of the system?
• Has a plan on how to facilitate buy in of the people using the system been considered?
• Does the organisation effectively train people in the system and give them ownership and accountability with it?
• Does the organisation believe in constant and never-ending improvement (CANI)? – Tony Robbins, and therefore does the system adapt and grow with the business, and become more effective and efficient over time?

If you’ve never asked these questions then perhaps now you can better understand why new shiny things fail over time, or never take off in the first place.

You can get a new shiny thing in the hope that this improves the business, but quite frankly, unless you think about the people as part of the process, your process is probably going to stay…. “stuffed.”

Engagement is the key here. All the shiny bells and whistles won’t overcome a lack of engagement and commitment to change. Investment in engagement of your team is the most critical element of investment in your business. When implementing a new shiny thing, engagement involves a lot of communication throughout the entire process, training and development and then accountability to the system in the long term. Ultimately, it’s your people who are the champions or the blockers to implementing effective change.

BUT… Here’s a little truth pill.

The way your people behave and engage in your business environment is a direct reflection upon the atmosphere/dynamics/ environment that you, as the business owner has helped to create.

Shiny things never fix underlying problems of poor morale, ineffective communication or lack of training or engagement. In fact, there is a strong possibility that the brand new shiny thing will be viewed with suspicion and on occasion, outright hostility if these other elements are neglected or ignored.

It’s an often overlooked facet of human behaviour that people want job satisfaction, they want to be appreciated and they want to be consulted.

The simple act of involving them in the decision-making process – of making their opinions valued immediately flips the introduction of the new shiny thing from being dreaded to being embraced with eager anticipation.

Just as importantly, this interaction will help you to make better decisions concerning the introduction of new systems, processes, equipment and even policies. You will never get better information about systems than the experience and knowledge available to you from those who are exposed to and using it on a day to day basis.

Finally, consider that the ultimate shiny thing may already be lying within your business’ four walls. It’s the untapped well of knowledge, experience and potential that sits within your greatest asset – your people. All you need to do is take the first step to unwrap it.

What to do next:

I live and breathe helping business owners get the clarity needed to continue going forward, and this is without a doubt my deep passion and purpose; I absolutely love what I do. If you want to have a chat about how I help you achieve your goal, get in touch.

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Tags: Business Strategy teamwork