What is not being said?

Are you able to read between the lines?

A hesitant pause.

Glib words or liberal platitudes.

The omitted subtext.

Listen with all senses engaged.

The non-verbal messages.

The facial expression.

The body language.

The stance or posture.

The usual mannerisms … or lack of them.

The sideways glance.

The volume and tone.

The emotion … or lack of it.

What you can infer?

What is your intuition telling you?

There is the spoken word …

… and then there is so much more.

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker

“We need to look at the subtle, the hidden, and the unspoken.” ― Malcolm Gladwell

This is the reality.

It was not anticipated.

It is not ideal.

But there you have it.

This is the current situation.

The present predicament.

Warts and all.

This is it!

It can’t be hidden anymore.

Or swept under the rug.

It is now all out in the open.

Reality has arrived.

If you don’t like it …

… then it’s time to create a new one.

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William A. Ward

“To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Individuals are not working together.

Teams are pulling in different directions.

Departments are at odds with each other.

The organisation is misaligned.

Misalignment is waste.

A waste of time, energy and resources.

So, get aligned.

Find common ground and work from there.

Bump up a few levels to find it and then move back down.

If there is no alignment on actions, agree on tactics.

If there is no unity around tactics, agree on objectives.

If the objectives are unclear, agree on strategy.

If there is disagreement over strategy, agree on purpose.

If everyone is out of sync with purpose … well, you’d better start there.

Get aligned before you get going.

“Building a visionary company requires one percent vision and 99 percent alignment.” – Jim Collins

“Every person in your company is a vector. Your progress is determined by the sum of all vectors.” – Elon Musk

How do you ensure you never run out?

What is the process?

Weekly stocktake.

Repeat standing order.

Minimum trigger levels.

Kanban ordering system.

Visual inspection.

Flag when the last one is taken.

Or does it rely on George?

George is a great guy.

Also, George sometimes forgets.

Or goes on holiday.

Might change job.

Could be absent (for a variety of reasons).

Or George could just stop doing it.

And now you have run out.

With a realisation.

George was the process.

“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming

“Authority should be vested in the people doing the work to improve their own processes, to teach them how to measure them, to understand them, and to improve them. Amen to the idea that employees shouldn’t have to ask permission. They should have the right to improve their own work processes.” – Steve Jobs