Rookie mistake yesterday. On the phone to the Halifax (my mortgage provider) and agreed to get a life insurance quote. I know better than that. 33 minutes later I put the phone down, frustrated that I hadn’t been listened to. Because my mortgage is in joint names we HAD to go through questions about both of us. I explained that, whilst it would be a personal tragedy to lose my wife it wouldn’t be a financial disaster. I could live very comfortably off the sale of handbags. But there was a process.
I stated I didn’t want critical illness cover because I knew that I wouldn’t be covered for the most likely bad health outcome as I have a pre-existing chronic illness. But we still had to go through the questions. It was the process.
This is a common complaint about call centres and a good stick to beat processes with. But it isn’t something wrong with processes per se it is something wrong with this specific process.

Got me thinking about flexibility. How come some organizations are able to be flexible, to change according to circumstances and some are so rigid? Three examples of flexibility, two from the military, one from sport. What lessons are there?

The Nelson touch. “England confides that every man will do his duty”. These were the words that Admiral Nelson commanded be communicated to the fleet before the battle of Trafalgar. The signalman Lieutenant Pasco pointed out that substituting “expects” for “confides” would speed up the process as there was no one flag for the word confides. And so was sent the most famous military phrase (In England anyway). That Nelson should listen and defer to a junior officer was typical of the flexibility that made up “The Nelson touch.”

Prior to any battle, the Admiral would gather the captains of the fleet to discuss the plan. Nelson outlined the broad plan, ensured that the captains understood the objectives and then he allowed the captains to make their own decisions in the heat of the battle. This flexibility allowed the captains to cover each other, to take advantage of opportunities all the time being aware of the big picture.

I’m not an Arsenal fan but love watching them. Then I saw them play Barcelona – wow! It took me back to the 1970s and the Total Football of Ajax and Holland. Led by Rinus Michels off the pitch and Johan Cruyff on the pitch, Totalvoetbal (Total football) was a like nothing I had seen before.

The philosophy of Total Football was flexibility, every outfield player could play in any position. It was all about space, covering space, exploiting space.
“It (total football) was about making space, coming into space and organizing space – like architecture on the football pitch,” Ajax defender Barry Hulshoff once said.
“We discussed space the whole time. Cruyff always talked about where people should run, where they should stand and where they should not move,” the defender added.
To be successful the players had to trust each other, to communicate effectively, to attain a very high level of fitness and have the skill to play in any position

Back to the military, been working with members of the US Marines. The guidebook “Leading Marines” provides a great insight into the working of the Marines. They see themselves as an expeditionary force, going into any situation and having the ability to deal with whatever they face.

“Our approach to leading is simple, yet unique. It has been carefully tailored to the demands of an expeditionary force in readiness that must be capable, on a moment's notice, of deploying literally anywhere and doing whatever must be done upon arrival—attacking, protecting, or assisting. Many times, decisions will have to be made in the rain, under the partial protection of a poncho, in the drizzle of an uncertain dawn, and without all the facts. At times like that, it will not always be possible to identify all the components of the problem, and use a lengthy and logical problem-solving process to reach a decision. In combat, the decision often must be immediate, and it might have to be instinctive.”

How they can do this is the delegation of decision making to the lowest level whilst having absolute clarity of purpose.

“The success of the whole operation was possible only through the local successes of the small units. The small units were successful because individual Marines are team players, trained to handle themselves in any situation and to subordinate their own desires to the objectives of the team”

Success is down to adaptability

“Adaptability has long been our key to overcoming the effects of friction and its components. Although it is synonymous with flexibility, adaptability also embraces the spirit of innovation. Marines constantly seek to adapt new tactics, organization, and procedures to the realities of the environment. Deficiencies in existing practices are identified, outdated structure discarded, and modifications made to maintain function and utility. The ability to adapt enables Marines to be comfortable within an environment dominated by friction. Experience, common sense, and the critical application of judgment all help Marine
leaders persevere.”

Note the common themes from Nelson through Total Football to the US Marines

Trust, communication, skilled, trained, clear purpose, decisions being made at the lowest level.

In the corporate world two organizations for me do these things too. Ritz Carlton and Zappos. Two very different business models. One gentlemen and ladies looking after gentlemen and ladies and able to do whatever it takes to make the client happy. The other a call centre selling shoes and having outrageous fun making videos. But some real similarities too. Both spend a lot of time training, both explain purpose everyday, both communicate really effectively and both allow decisions to be made at the lowest level.

Me, I went on-line via Go-Compare and bought Life cover from Aviva in about 5 minutes.