Jeff Bezos insists on keeping a chair vacant in every meeting. Symbolically, that chair represents the customer. The idea is that you would not say or do anything against the interest of the customer. It also prevents the company from planning one-sided initiatives. Imagine the impact on the organization with this simple act.
I had completed the SSY course long back. It is mandatory to adhere to a few rules. Some of these are:
Eating at least one raw meal every day.
Giving-up tea and coffee completely.
Not blaming anyone for your failures.
Never using the word try in your communication.
They tie a red thread around your wrist on the day of initiation. That thread is a visual reminder of the rules. Every time you pick a cup of tea, you see that thread. I have seen people having headaches and pleading to let them have that cup. I have also seen people who have stood up in the class and confessed that they had broken some rules. But I have never seen anybody who has broken the rules and claimed adherence. That's the power of this ritual.
It is essential to have such a trigger in our organizations too. The best way is to write your commitment and post it in bold prints on the wall or using tent cards on the table. Design and use T-Shirts or a cap. Every time somebody breaks that commitment, it is obligatory for others to point it out.
Metrics:
We always have something that we commit but are unable to adhere to. Identify these things.
Add a ritual and a reminder. That way, if you break your commitment, you are doing it by your will.
Follow the discipline of adhering to the rules yourself. Accept your failures publicly and apologize for them.
Measure how many times you caught yourself and others breaking the rules. Help each other stay on course.
Subodh
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