| June
2, 2008
The "Milkshake Problem" In Business
Interview
with Steven S. Little author of
The Milkshake Moment |
Mike
Carruthers:
So here's a guy who goes to hotels, calls room
service and orders a milkshake. Most hotels don't offer milkshakes from room service
so he says, "Well, do you have ice cream, milk and a blender?" and room
service says, "Yeah." So how often do you think he gets his milkshake?
Steven S. Little:
Well I can tell you having run the experiment approximately two hundred and fifty
times over the last five years, about eighty percent of the time they'll get it
wrong. Steven Little,
author of the book The
Milkshake Moment, says when you think about it it's pretty amazing that eighty
percent of the time room service has everything they need to make him a milkshake,
but they won't make him a milkshake. It's
really just an analogy - all organizations matriculate eventually towards growth-stifling
behavior. They put systems and procedures into place that make their lives easier
but not necessarily easier for those that they would really like to serve. Steven
says the problem is seldom the individual. The person who can't sell you that
milkshake is probably just as frustrated as you are about it.
I honestly believe the vast majority of workers do want to do a better job and
do want to serve others. And when they don't perform is when they feel like the
system or organization is not helping them do what they need to do. Smart
companies know they need to empower their employees not just restrict what they
can do. "Fidelity
to a worthy purpose" - Helen Keller said it first, not me. That's what people
want to do - they want to have fidelity to a worthy purpose and if we invest in
individuals and their desire to serve others, everyone wins.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know. | 
