Add VALUE with original thinking

… that doesn’t go against the flow 

Dominant thinking – A prevailing pattern recognized as being established, successful, or a logical way forward.

 

With many things in life, there is a dominant way of thinking, a prevailing idea, or an accepted “norm”.

‘There’s often a good reason for dominant thinking … it’s because something is working and if it ain’t broke …don’t fix it.’

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ‘tweak’ it a little every now and then, something that’s clearly demonstrated in the following example:

 

The ‘ULTIMATE’ guest experience.

I sometimes stay at an independent hotel that enjoys one of the highest guest satisfaction ratings of any hotel in Australia. The accommodation is upmarket (but nothing exceptional), the restaurants are always booked solid (although the food is not the reason why), the bars are always busy, and the facilities are always in demand. It’s a popular choice with both business clients and tourists alike. You might say that it is ‘the place to be seen’ for those who care about such things, and I can attest to meeting many diverse and interesting contacts there. As you’d expect of such success, the prices are ‘eye-watering’, ha, ha.

On a recent stay, I had the great pleasure of being invited to dinner by the owners who wanted my ‘thoughts’ about their operation. They were rightly proud of their achievements. Despite having little experience in hospitality and hotel ownership, they’d created a differentiated product that had captured the premium market. Their secret … ‘We have the best trained and friendliest staff of any hotel anywhere’, was the owners’ claim. And it was the truth. ‘We don’t need to advertise for staff. All the best people want to work here. We have a formula that works.’

If I were to use the dinner invitation to openly challenge the hotel’s operation, more than likely, I wouldn’t be invited to dinner again. However, the accomplished lateral thinker can’t help him/herself and questions everything.

“Why do so many hospitality staff want to work here?” I asked.

Instead of answering the question, the owners invited the maître d’ over and posed the question to him instead.

‘To advance my career,” the maître d’ answered without hesitation. “This is a great opportunity for me”.

After the maître d’ had left, the owners confided in me that their best staff were regularly ‘poached’. It was a ‘challenge’ to train new staff fast enough to replace those leaving to take up elevated positions (promotions) with their competitors. Their highest-performing staff rarely remained more than a few months before being tempted away. They couldn’t match the promotions and money offered by their competitors.

Rather than suggesting a change to the hotel’s operation (a high-risk strategy), I asked the owners if there was some way to turn their staff’s ambitions to the hotel’s advantage … a relatively subtle and non-threatening review.

“You could offer staff automatic written references at the end of every 12 months of service”, I suggested. “A detailed breakdown of their training and work experience that will help propel their careers.”

The ideas we discussed over dinner were about creating better long-term career prospects for those who achieve yearly milestones. Rather than trying to hold on to staff, help them to realize their dreams in exchange for employment longevity. The owners instigated the changes even before we finished our stay.

TAKEAWAY:

No matter how successful, popular, or dominant prevailing thinking might be, there will always be alternatives, and more than occasionally, superior alternatives.

Lateral thinking encourages you to deviate from the herd. Recognize dominant thinking for what it usually is … the best ‘currently available’ alternative.

Always question the norm, move out on a tangent, and look for any untapped potential. 

 – – –

 

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