This is a story on how data can be very persuasive, especially in difficult situations.
I was a practice head in 2004. The healthcare vertical was unwell. I moved there to put out the fires and revive the business. A US based medical devices company was the client. Our team of 30 - worked from India, for them.
The customer was convinced that the India team was the root cause of all its IT woes. The working day for them began by finding faults in the work done by our team, from the previous day.
The India team attended the daily catchup call in late evenings. They hated being micro-managed in this way. Motivation was low.
There was an onsite coordinator from our side, but he had long stopped defending the India team. He probably found it easier to go with the flow and join in on the bash-team-india sessions. Because of this, our people here were always on the defensive.
The team would look on in dismay, as the client worked himself into a foul mood every day. With trust at an all-time low, the client went into all kinds of details. It lead to further chaos.
After I came in, I did nothing. I sat quietly at the back and listened to the daily catch up call, every day for 1 full week.
This team was only about 30% of my responsibility. I consciously put in 70% of my effort into this.
I started by separating emotional baggage from the data points.
After I had introduced myself and pleasantries with the client were over, I volunteered to set up a weekly report from India. Up to now, the only reporting was the daily bashup.
The report was simple. We shared it with everyone who was involved. So one person’s perceptions did not cloud the complete pool. Most items were data oriented. When data was not easily available, tally counts sufficed.
The point was for everyone to know the quantum of work we were putting in. The fixes that went through without a hitch. We even added a count of incidents, where our team missed to deliver because the incoming was inappropriate.
I think, more than the ‘what’ of data to be shared, it was also the ‘how’ - that made a difference.
I have always had a strong respect ethic. Whether the person is the peon or the CEO, they both deserve the respect of simply being.
I shared my requests respectfully. I did not take anyone’s respect away in sharing this.
One step further, I did not volunteer any defensive excuses. Nor did I point fingers. I made it clear I was there to listen and help fix things.
I think my actions spoke louder than my words. Shortly thereafter, I also travelled to their work location in the US and spent 2 weeks there. I was saying, quite loudly, ‘I want to fix this. Do you?’
When you chat over a cup of coffee, it helps the other person decide for herself whether she likes you. Whether she can trust you. I provided those opportunities to my future friends and allies while I scouted around for them.
I found that while they excelled in the products they made, their IT processes were weak. Even non-existent. So I impromptu put together a workshop on process best practices, based on my previous experiences.
They found the workshop insightful. I also got positioned as an expert in their eyes.
They were spending money on IT, but their processes needed work and definition. I pushed for SLA (service level agreements) to which the India team would hold itself accountable.
I suggested that the US team could join in later, if they found it useful. After some hesitation, they agreed to this.
As trust grew, they stepped back from micromanaging. No more screening 5 resumes to add one candidate for the India team.
This gave me also more flexibility to augment the team the way we wanted, as long as we upheld SLAs. Profitability improved. Now it was a win-win.
Over time, this team became 100 strong. This was a marquee client and as word-of-mouth spread and as we continued to deliver, my overall team grew to a 1000 plus in 2 years.
It was difficult, but it was very satisfying.
My lessons -
First, understand what needs to be fixed. Take the time.
Treat everyone with respect. Ensure respect for yourself and your team too.
Use data - simple data - to state situations. In tense times, data does not lie.
Find allies and win their trust with a combo of relationship and competence.
Create win-win. Deliver to them what they want. Deliver to yourself what you want.