178 Leading with NLP
I remember going into one company to do some training in
communication skills and was struck by how everyone had
their own little cubicle, cut off from everyone else. The com-
munal coffee room had just been demolished and replaced
by a coffee machine in the name of more efficient work. But
a system works as well as the parts work together.
Secondly, remember people do as well as the system allows
them to. When you find a problem, look at the deeper level
- how is it maintained in the here and now? This takes away
blame. Remember that too often we do not match people to
the kinds of jobs available. Some work is intrinsically de-
manding and needs high-calibre people. Other work might
be better designed, so it can be done well by anyone, thereby
releasing the creative talents of the people involved to more
important matters.
Thirdly, step outside the system periodically to see how
well it is working. Stepping outside and seeing the structure
and the rules in operation means that in that instant you are
not subject to them and have the possibility of change.
Lastly, beware the obvious solution. Look more deeply.
Question the assumptions that drive your decisions. For ex-
ample, conventional wisdom says that growth is good and
expanding revenues will bring higher profits, but this is not
so in every case.
Remember what happened to Gucci, an international
name in luxury leather goods. In the mid-1980s the com-
pany launched a range of lower priced canvas goods and
marketed them aggressively in large department stores and
duty free shops. It also licensed its name to be used on
watches and perfumes. The idea was to increase sales and
thereby increase profits. The first half worked. Sales did in-
crease, but the cost was high. Gucci lost its luxury brand
image and lost sales on its main expensive lines. The net
result was an increase in sales but a loss in revenue. The com-
pany attracted many new customers, but lost the more
profitable established ones. Here is a salutary example of the
importance of anticipating side-effects. If the company had
taken second position with its customers and considered the