Bad Decisions

I don’t want to say companies make bad decisions… I don’t want to but I just might HAVE to as a certain change is brewing in the case of a company I usually hold near and dear. Keep in mind I could be wrong and there is still time to reverse things but I see the writing on the wall.

“What could be so bad” you ask? Well let’s just say that sometimes, in the interest of saving money, certain executives will make a decision looking at numbers and charts and projections and such, these numbers are all prepared nicely with the best intentions, and they MAKE BAD DECISIONS. They loose sight of what is like to be in the field, dealing with CUSTOMERS (remember the reason we are in business) the ebb and flow of information in the real world. How relationships are built, how people don’t like to disclose some information, and how some people think about large corporations and the face we represent is the companies. Should we not have the best tools, the most streamlined process? How certain changes will complicate and alienate the processes, literally reversing all the good intentions. Or worse.

Don’t get me wrong, I can see the pressure from the other side, to be profitable, to do more with less, to streamline and automate. Just don’t loose sight of what is real behind the numbers: relationships, promises, respect and delivering on what is initially offered.

In certain lines of complicated service oriented business, you want your front line team to have the most info in the best most functional way they can. This is where the game is played people. Don’t make decisions without looking at the bigger picture, that is all I ask.

(piechart photo credit goes to fliker user gatheroses and can be seen *here*)