Top Management Story

Writen by Hans Bool

Some companies have a set of keywords they focus on when organizing activities. CLIENT, could be such a keyword, meaning to always focus on the client. RESULT and SOLUTION are two other examples. They seem clear, but carry a lot of difficulties with them.

Result is meant to be tangible and measurable. A project that is finished on time meets that criterion. A solution is like an answer to a question; It is an answer to a problem or set of problems. What problems are there? Lets have a look at a few:

• There is a (relative) decline in the demand for products
• Management information is not sufficient. It is not clear what the effect of a marketing campaign is
• Current systems can not handle cooperative actions with third parties
• Etc, etc...

Now, to solve this, you need a solution:

• Hire an extra sales force
• Build or maintain a system that solves the information leak and run more campaigns
• Invest in new infrastructure that makes cooperation with third parties possible
• Etc, etc…

The first solution is rather simple. It is a temporary demand on resources, which is manageable. The second one is already more challenging. Here you have many options. The third solution requires a familiar amount of attention.

If you stress "Result" more than (the type) of "Solution" you may end up with a very short term solution that will benefit for only a limited period of time. Besides you may overlook long term effects (compare with overexposure of sun and long term effects) New or different problems will occur and you have to redo the same actions. You can have a rapid solution. If you reserve too much time for figuring out a (perfect)solution you finally might come up with one, but that took too long. You cannot foresee all market movements and changes.

Result orientation is externally focused. It is measured by the sales of goods and services. By clients. Finding solutions is an internal focused activity. Within the different periods both should level themselves out. The best thing is to constantly level them as a constant point on the agenda; What kind of solutions do we normally choose in our organization.

Follow that line and you have a strategy.

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account