Ok, I am back! Last time out, I talked about the importance of developing client management  techniques within your organisation. Why was this important? Let me remind you. Managerial  talent in China is both hard to find and expensive to acquire. Therefore, developing the type of skills needed to deal with the increasingly complex challenges posed here in China is vital to  ensuring your organisation remains successful. This idea works on two levels. First, from a HR  perspective, it helps you manage your organisation’s HR needs with greater efficiency. Second,  by nurturing your top employees and helping them develop key management skills, you will ensure  you do not need to take the costly and complicated approach of trying to bring in someone from  outside when you need to fill your next managerial vacancy – you might just have the perfect  candidate already!

In my last article, I introduced my first two techniques –inspiring and making peace. These were inspired by the work of Michael Carroll, author of Awake at Work. The two new techniques I will introduce here, also take inspiration from Carroll’s work. I genuinely believe that by using all of
these, you and your colleagues will be better equipped to deal with the challenges posed by any clients or customers you may face – both internal or external.

#3 Attract Clients to Share
With this technique, we are inviting others to offer solutions and to share responsibilities in order to solve a common problem. Let me give you an example of this that I witnessed back in the US. I
had just finished high school and was looking for some part-time work before I went off to university. So, I arranged for an interview at a bottling plant in my city. However, things did not quite go to plan. I arrived at the plant in the middle of the afternoon and parked my car outside the greying, white exterior of the building. I then walked into the reception area hoping to be pointed to the HR  department. However, I was astonished to find that there were no signs of life. The receptionist’s desk was unattended and the telephone was ringing without answer. I stood for a few moments waiting for someone to appear. Perhaps they had taken a bathroom break or been called into an important meeting, I mused. After around five minutes, I began to realise that it was unlikely anyone would appear in the near future. So, I opened a heavy metal door at the rear of the room and stepped onto the production floor, where I asked for directions. People in stained white jackets unenthusiastically pointed past the production lines towards a series of unmarked offices.

“Invite others to offer solutions and to share
responsibility in order to solve a common
problem.”

After tip-toeing through a field of broken glass, I finally found HR and was ushered into the recruiter’s office. As I surveyed my surroundings, I noticed stacks of messy paper all over the desks, open filing cabinets with folders sticking out and an overwhelming smell of stale coffee. Upon being offered a seat, I saw the chair was torn in places and covered in stains. I remember feeling that I desperately did not even want to be in that room, never mind work for the company. I can barely remember the following hour of the interview because it was so boring and I was so keen to leave. The recruiter who interviewed me seemed disinterested and unhappy to be working there himself. When I left, I knew I would never return, and worse yet, I even stopped buying the company’s products.

Two years later, I read in my local newspaper that the bottling plant had witnessed a dramatic transformation, and that a new supervisor had completely changed things around. The plant had been losing money for almost five years. This meant that the employees I encountered were enduring troubled times. They were not getting paid regularly and conditions were poor. This had caused the receptionist and cleaning crews to quit, leaving the production staff with the task of cleaning up after themselves – something they were clearly not comfortable with. It was company policy to replace uniforms every quarter and to regularly paint the exterior of the building. However, budget cuts meant these had been ignored. The employees were upset at the poor conditions and disappointed that management didn’t seem to be doing anything to change things. Naturally, this brought about a sharp decrease in motivation. Sales continued to fall and nobody knew how to save the company.

The new supervisor changed everything. Rather than growing depressed and de-motivated by the miserable circumstances and frequent cost-cutting, he decided to approach his internal clients
asking them to share their thoughts on what they believed would increase sales. They suggested many of the simple things that had been overlooked during the company’s downturn: cleaning the work area, buying new uniforms, giving the facility a new paint job, filling the vacant positions and producing organisational charts and targets. The supervisor shared these ideas with management. Unfortunately, they lacked the budget to act upon them. So, he took the proposal to a series of investors and persuaded them to invest in rebuilding the plant and redefining the company’s product. Fourteen weeks later, the plant had its picture in the newspapers and was being talked about all over town. As a consequence, sales increased dramatically. By looking for solutions and sharing responsibility, the supervisor helped all the stakeholders benefit: the operators not only kept their jobs, but they enjoyed an increase in salary; management exceeded quarterly targets and received bonuses; the investors saw a healthy return on their investment and customers still enjoy the drinks the company produces. It would probably not surprise you to learn that the supervisor is now the plant manager.

#4 Destroying the Client First:
I would like to end with a technique that you should only ever use when you absolutely, positively have to, and only then as a last resort – the ability to destroy. I am sure you will recall from my previous article that I compared dealing with problems and potential conflicts to going into battle. The two examples I gave in the last edition focused on laying down our arms and looking to make peace. Destroying clients is different – it is a far more combative approach. In some respects, it can be very effective. However, the problem is that, all too often, we misuse the technique. This can result in us behaving in ways that others would perceive as rude and uncooperative

Examples of destroying a client are all too common in modern business. For instance, your colleagues in sales and procurement may well be familiar with some of the most common approaches to destroying. Here is an example. A former colleague of mine worked in the sales department of a company that operated as a supplier to a major US multinational. He was unlucky enough to experience the destructive approach first-hand. Just over a year ago he received a call from the multinational’s procurement manager. He needed a big order and he needed it quickly! My ex-colleague was keen to take the order, but was unsure if they could complete it in the rather short time-frame that was being asked. He communicated this to
the procurement manager. To his surprise, he was told that if he could not complete the order, the multinational would look elsewhere both for this contract and for future contracts. This astounded my ex-colleague. He realised  that he had no choice but to pull out all the stops to complete the order. However, he was far from happy with this.

From then on, relations between the two companies were never quite as smooth as before. This sprang directly from the procurement manager adopting a destructive approach. By employing this technique, the manager had been successful in one respect – he got what he wanted, when he wanted it. However, we can also see the downside to the destructive approach. Whilst he was successful in the short-term, his direct and combative attitude alienated my ex-colleague and his company. In the future, they began to develop their client base and chose to cooperate less with the multinational.

Even though destroying clients can have such a negative impact, surprisingly, it is still a well-used technique. For example, have you ever heard any of your clients or colleagues utter some of the following phrases: “do or die”, “make or break” or “take it or leave it”. I would imagine you have. This is the vocabulary of someone intent on destroying. But, why do we hear this type of vocabulary so often? Why are so many people intent on destroying? Part of the problem
is this popularity. Because we see examples of destruction so regularly, many of us think it is an effective approach to dealing with our clients. However, this overlooks the fact that even though destroying can bring short-term success, it can also damage long-term relationships.

“Even though destroying can bring short-term success, it can also damage long-term
relationships.”