<p>If you´re interested in helping line management to immediately improve operations, gaining credibility, and keeping those pesky external consultants out of the building, here are some areas I guarantee can use your help as soon as you finish reading this:</p>
<p>1. Stop promotions based on merit in the last job. A great sales person does not a great sales manager make (or photographer a photo editor) and, in fact, it´s more probable that two jobs will be ruined. Help managers identify the behaviors and skills needed for the position, then develop reliable methods to find them among candidates.</p>
<p>2. End any evaluation and reward systems based on forced distributions. Ninety-five percent of the organization CAN be performing above expectations, but if the top 5%-the executives-are performing beneath expectations, everyone suffers.</p>
<p>3. End the use of non-valid test instruments, which have proliferated. You´re dealing with people´s careers here, and the fact that an unreliable test determine they are "Medium D" or "JJTN" should never be considered.</p>
<p>4. Develop tools which implement strategy. Most organizations´ strategies are not reflected in the daily, operational decision making. That´s because strategic goals aren´t translated into daily results and actions. If you do that, the place-and you-will shine.</p>
<p>5. Stop isolating aspects of the fabric of the organization-such as diversity-into silly, isolated training programs. Instead, build it into all the development that takes place every day in all disciplines.</p>
<p>6. Shop the business. Everyone becomes so insulated in organizational America that their perceptions are often unrelated to the client/customer experience. Don´t spend money on any issues that DO NOT influence the customer, product, service, or relationship.</p>
<p>7. Abandon any approach that doesn´t manifest itself in desired behavior change. And stop believing that there are "four levels of measurement." There is only one: performance improvement against specified goals.</p>
<p>8. Improve the writing and language skills of your co-workers, who are becoming illiterate. I don´t mean "communications strategies," or some abstruse approach. I mean, "improve their writing and language skills."</p>
<p>9. Cut down the number, frequency, and length of meetings. Audit them, suggest how to condense them and run them better, and measure the resultant productivity increases.</p>
<p>10. Push HR into the line functions. It does no one-especially you-any good in a silo trying to pose as a traffic cop.</p>
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<p><i>Alan Weiss, Ph.D., is a regular contributor whose newest book is from Wiley:</i> The Million Dollar Consulting<sup>TM</sup> Toolkit. <i>He runs The Million Dollar Consulting<sup>TM</sup> College several times a year. Reach him at <a href="mailto:bentley2005gt@summitconsulting.com">bentley2005gt@summitconsulting.com</a>, and go to that web site for hundreds of free articles.</i></p>
