I go into many businesses and see huge amounts of activity and real talent developing systems, processes and products. The problem is if I ask someone to describe what happens at the sharp end of the business, it is full of inaccuracies and assumptions. As a result, there is a huge waste of talent and resource.
There are many ways to avoid this, all senior people should consider investing time within the distribution. However, not a royal visit but actually there so the staff forget you are there. Listen and observe. Most senior people are fantastic at this but are busy busy busy with other important stuff.
It is vital that you do not rely solely on management updates as often these updates add further confusion to what really happens, as the majority of middle & junior managers are naturally positive and optimistic. A good alternative is to commission evidential mystery shopping research on a regular basis. However do not delegate this totally, spend time reading the results, attending presentations and use it as a key piece of insight.
Mystery shopping programs are not all equal to find out why. For more information, email us.