System Thinking: Build Systems, Not Dependence on People

The high performing organization are

systemsdriven

>> and the talent driven organization

believes in the superman's theory. Let

us just get the right people alone. But

you see if you get the right people and

you don't put systems in place whenever

they leave you say [music] things like

they've carried my business knowledge

away. We have to start all over again.

And the problem is your over reliance on

talent more than system. A case in point

is

um we had this lady a while ago let me

call her lady B.

>> Okay

>> this girl very amazing but guess what

whenever any customer calls in she

records I don't know she has a recorder

in her brain. So most times when you

want to retrieve anything she gives it

to you without documentation.

So for so long anybody that they put in

that department always feel I cannot be

like this girl. This girl is so good to

a level I cannot play this role. So at

some point I had to assist that system

to say no for every customer that call

calls in you must document them. Meaning

that if you want to retrieve also there

must be a system that will tell you in

two days time this customer asks for ABC

I must remind the customers. Call the

customer not by you know not by making

sure you're reminding by art but by

system that mean there's a system you

put in place that's reminding you not.

So all you need to do is to train anyone

to be able to use the system. That means

anybody coming now can remember why

everybody will have to document and when

you document when you want to retrieve

all you have to go is to go back to the

system and bring it out. So what we have

is most businesses [music] are not

scalable

because most knowledge are in the

talents. So for you to evolve we must

constantly

systemize. Let's say for example you

want to recruit then you have to you now

got someone that the person said is the

greatest recruiter how does he recruit

just looks at people's face and suddenly

you just pick the right person that's

not that's not scalable even though that

person said intuitively I can pick you

know we know we can bring that intuition

what are those things you've put in

place together what are those things

should we look out for people that have

been in this role before what exactly

were the folk what are those things that

made them try oh they used to call

customers 10 times and talk to them this

way. So what you're trying to do is that

anyone you bring into that role must

talk to customer 10 times and must talk

to them in this way. Meaning that we can

duplicate success if we systemize. So

it's easy for us to make average people

great.

Of course there's no way when you lose

your talent that um there won't be a

temporary shaking because those guys

have been around for a while. But you

see systems will make you bounce back

fast. Why? Because whatever, let's say

example, someone that constantly engages

customers and there's no [music] system

tracking what they've been saying, what

they talking about, what then nobody can

follow up with that client because

there's no system that's tracking every

touch point for the client. So even when

that person leaves

since there's a system capturing those

touch points all along continuity is

easy but you see when there's no system

it's just like when there's no your you

cannot easily retrieve knowledge like

let's say for example you in a

department of ours you have different

things that only one person can bring

out [music] not that there's order that

if I go ABC when I click this place I

can't get it and it's been documented.

So whenever anyone changes the process

of doing things and the result change

that person must go back to update the

system to make sure it's captured. The

processes that you use that give you

this result even when it's about I dress

this way and I look this way then this

what I did we must capture that

knowledge. Now if we are very um high

when it comes to knowledge capturing

[music]

knowledge management then it's easy for

us to move on and continue it's more

sustainable than when you don't have

anything like that I rely on that key

man alone so when we lose 20% of course

you will it will give a temporary

shaking but because almost everything I

document is documented [music]

whatever they do the SOPs are there

standard operating procedures are there

already the things they were doing the

processes are captured then all you just

need to do is to train people you know

using those SOPs using those systems and

your service delivery or whatever you're

doing will come back to the same level

over the shortest time the shortest time

so when you have talent talents discover

new ways and they itemize it they

document it and other average talent

start following suit the same way and

they start having extraordinary result

too So talent discover the new ways of

doing things. They document it. They

systemize it. Average people start

following that same thing and they start

doing well again. Just like in school

days, I remember when I was in school, I

used [music] to believe that some people

are just wizards that when they don't

read, they just achieve. You know, in

those days very talented, but you just

have to get your own rhythm. All I know

is the exam will only test what you

know. So if I know it even when I'm not

talent in the not a talent in quotes but

so I can make sure that whatever note

I'm given

I go through my notes learn it know it

master it and the exam is going to test

you based on what they've taught us. So

automatically that proverb that says um

hard work what beats talent when talent

don't work hard I started acing my

results why even though I'm I don't have

this magnetic brain but all I know is

the exam will test what you know either

you have magnetic brain that you learn

faster or you have non magnetic brain

that you learn slower the most important

that before the exam whatever document

or whatever hand out whatever knowledge

I need to go through I know it then it's

almost a given that will also A star

exam. So that syndrome of know that um

thinking that only talents are strong

that brought you from heaven this this

it must be if he's not there from heaven

it cannot be there is a lie. Everything

is behavioral. If you can follow you

know follow the path of great men you

will also be great. So it's not a

function of they were great from heaven.

We must demystify that mystic

conversation.

The first thing I want to encourage

everyone to do is to make sure you have

your SOPs. Document all your processes,

your body of work, your SOP, your

processes, [music] your practices, your

policies, whatever people do to achieve

must be documented. You must be robust

when it comes to that. And you must also

put um in place um performance

infrastructure.

Whatever everybody is doing, you must

put on you must put in system that can

make you hold them accountable and also

those system of visible. So there are

two things you must target under your

performance infrastructure. Visibility,

accountability meaning that whatever

anybody is doing, we can all see it. And

accountability is you can hold people

accountable for result. How sometime we

do that you having scorecards, [music]

dashboards, metrics, meetings, you know,

you see when you do people that have

learned something about agile practice

and scrum, you do daily scrum. Let's

track whatever have been done in a

couple of minutes. Tell all of us what

were the goals you were meant to achieve

in the last 24 hours. Have you achieved

it? What were the impediments? So it

promotes team learning when you put in

performance infrastructure.

And the last thing I feel that you said

three

>> the third one will be that

um you must never design your roles

around people. Design your roles around

goals. So this is what uh we want to

achieve as an organization. Now the job

you are designing should be designed

focusing on the competency required

to achieve the goal

not the competency of the team you have.

Sometimes people start structuring roles

to um to to also allow the incompetency

of those people the role um the role

holders. So you must ensure that your

roles or your jobs are designed to

achieve your goals and you now start

getting people that have the right

competence because I see people say Kem

has been with me for long. He doesn't

have the competence. Ah, but she's our

HR now. But he doesn't have the

competence. Ah, okay. Since he doesn't

have that competence, let us make sure

HR don't do this. Let HR only do this.

So, you have reduced the function of the

HR to the competence of chem. So, at the

end of the day, it you're you're

draining your goals because your goals

require people that can do certain

things. So now if you want to really use

chem you can now see the chem's

knowledge gap and see that for chem to

perform maximally chem must build

capacity and competence that align with

where you're going. So all of these

frameworks must be put in place to

ensure that your roles are designed for

the goals and not based on the people

occupying the roles. Let the people fit

into let them be the one you're bringing

into the role, not the role to the

people.

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