Today I was talking with someone and for some reason my thoughts and the conversation turned to my previous career in the banking industry.  I really liked my job at the bank for two main reasons.  First, I was involved in commercial lending and it offered me an opportunity to learn a lot about different kinds of businesses.  You should not lend money to businesses you do not know and understand.  I got to learn about all types of businesses, from automobile dealers to asbestos removal companies.

The second reason was that I was able to learn a lot about people, both customers and employees.  Not surprisingly, this was a lot more challenging part of the job - and also more rewarding. 

At the time, the banking industry was beginning to change.  We were trying to change the culture of the bank from customer service to a sales culture.  It sounded very good and certainly made a lot of business sense.  We even had troops of consultants to help us make this change. We were ready.

But no one stopped to ask a couple of important questions.  Are we ready to let go of the past?  What do we need from our employees?  Do we know what we need them to do?

I knew it was not going to be easy when the maintenance department showed up and removed the hands of a clock that was built into the wall of one of my branches.  I had to ask the obvious question: "Why??!!"

The answer was simple: "We cannot remove the clock because it is built into the wall.  We can only remove the hands."

"But why?" I asked.

Straight-forward answer again: "As you know we will pay more attention to sales and less attention to service.  That will mean longer teller lines and we do not want to let our customers know how long they are standing in line."  Could it be this easy? I wondered.

The next morning my employees spent the first hour of their day reassuring our loyal customers that their bank was still financially stable.  It is amazing how much fear missing clock hands could instill.  By noon we had covered our faithful clock with a banner - "Great Rates on Second Mortgage Loans!" - if my memory serves me right.  Problem solved.

The rest was a lot more difficult.  The teller lines grew, but we opened more ATMs, satellite branches and customers began to change their behaviors.  The lines got gradually shorter again.  The biggest challenge was how to change the employee behaviors.  Including mine.  It was not that we did not want to or did not try.  The problem was that no one at the top really knew what those behaviors should look like.  Except that new behaviors were needed to change the bank.

Not only that, the top management had a really hard time letting go of the past behaviors.  They wanted it all.  Go and sell more loans - but make no mistakes.  Bring in a loan, get a pat on the back - if that loan is less than stellar, you are in trouble.  I do not know if you have ever been in a situation like this, but I can tell you, it was frustrating and demoralizing.  "Someone please make up their mind!" became the favorite water cooler topic.

It has been a long time since that clock lost its hands.  However, since then I have heard the same story in its different versions hundreds of times.  I would be surprised if I did not hear it again this week.  The reason is simple.  All businesses want to be more successful and their management knows that their employees determine their success.  At the same time they are often frustrated that they cannot identify, define, and communicate what employee behaviors will create success.

So, how do you do that?  At a macro-level, first, you need a plan.  Most organizations have no problem with this step, although at times you can argue about the quality and the wisdom of the plan. 

Second, you need to clearly determine what behaviors will be required to execute this plan.  This is where it gets a little tricky.  While competencies and skills are fairly easy to define, behaviors are not.  For example, often employees are asked to carry out behaviors that are contradictory.  Have you ever had a job like that?  I think we all have.  Not a lot of fun.

Actually defining the required behaviors is not complicated anymore.  We call it mapping.  You start with the business plan, identify what is needed to carry it out, and map the successful behaviors.  These behaviors can be defined clearly and development plans can then be developed.  The best part is that the mapping will ensure that employees are not asked to do opposing behaviors at the same time - like sell more loans and make no more mistakes.

If your organization is not mapping behaviors already, do not feel bad.  Many are still not.  But if you are not, it may be time to get a little worried because more organizations every day are beginning to map the behaviors; it is becoming a necessity.  It is the organizations with the best execution of their business plans that usually win.  It is the organizations that understand the successful employee behaviors that always win.  They are ones that ask questions like: Are we ready to let go of the past?  What do we need from our employees?  Do we know what we need them to do?

I still sometimes think about that clock without its hands. It was the most visible and real indication that the bank was going to change.  No wonder the change took a long time.  We could not even keep track of it.

Markku Kauppinen is the President of Extended DISC N.A., Inc.  He helps executives to make better decisions about their employees, teams and organizations. Markku may be reached at m.kauppinen@extendeddisc.com