MANAGING CURRENTLY

We are accustomed to managing to historical information. Most of the reports we see are monthly, and are received two weeks after period-end. Yet we consider them the best source of actionable information, and modify tactics and behaviors based upon those reports.

In today's warp-speed environment, when the life cycle of a sneaker is three-four weeks, acting on month-old information is simply not fast enough. It permits a full month to go by before mid-course corrections can be made, trends can be reversed or reinforced, and timely recognition given for major accomplishments. Managing to past information is not very effective in a high velocity world.

California has been on the cutting edge of many trends, and the "Managing Currently" trend in banking started there as well. The pace of the high tech companies has permeated even banks, and there are lessons to be learned from them.

Managing Currently involves managing to the moment, to the hour. The time unit you manage to is not a month or a week, but a day or even (in retail banking only) an hour. There is tremendous value in this approach for many reasons:

• It validates and creates a greater sense of urgency
• It facilitates instant gratification and recognition for a job well done (and we all know that the closer recognition is to the event, the more effective it is)
• It allows for only a few hours to pass before corrective action takes place, thereby wasting minimal time on unproductive activities
• The quick decision-making pace permits much testing, since trial (and error) are not as costly when you do them over very short periods of time
• It brings management and the field closer together
• It creates intensity and excitement
• It improves communication content, clarity and frequency

How do you execute Managing Currently? You ask your managers to report their results to on a handful (no more than 5, 4 are even better) key parameters every day, using pagers, email and voicemail as the communication devices. Managers report to their supervisor or team lead each evening on the results of the day on specific behavioral parameters (such as number of prospect visits for a commercial lender; profit dollars per banker for a retail banker) and specific result categories.

I know what you're thinking: This onerous reporting must be deeply resented by the troops, it smacks of micro-management, and it must be too time consuming. In fact, people seek feedback and thrive on it. Frequent reporting works extremely well for team members, so long as management acts on it and provides feedback, both positive and corrective. If management does not voicemail the teams back quickly, Managing Currently defies its own purpose and creates frustration among team members. Conversely, if management responds to the information with either positive or negative feedback in a timely fashion, the troops are energized and inspired by it. They receive validation of focus and reinforcement of direction and activities, which fires them up to do even better.

Timely information also allows all management ranks to immediately recognize accomplishments by calling the banker that achieved success and acknowledging their success. This is a powerful tool that links management and the team more closely together.

As we all know, timeliness of information is everything. If your dog poops on the rug and you shove their nose in it three days after the fact, it has much less impact than if the shoving occurs a few minutes after the event; the dog simply doesn't connect the two acts if they don't occur in close proximity. Kids are no different (spoken as a mother of six), and, I fear, neither are adults. They get the connection, but the power of the message is inversely correlated to its timeliness.

This management style changes people's perception of time and its value. It changes the time unit in which people think, and enhances their sense of urgency. It supports a highly nimble organization. A currently managed company can turn on a dime and is a better execution machine than slower companies. In today's world, this is a significant and sustainable competitive advantage.