I gave a talk at the Institute of Directors last Friday and alluded to the application of Motivational Maps to the current dire situation developing within the British mail system, The Royal Mail – its managers and workers. Somebody afterwards asked me to expand on my remarks. Although I am not following the situation closely, and neither am I a corporate consultant – my focus is the SME market – nevertheless I do believe the Maps are highly relevant.
First, though, let it be said: there is no easy panacea, and in discussing how the Maps could help resolve some of the problems we need to bear in mind that once conflicts start many non-rational obstacles arise – including intransigence and the need for victory – that go way beyond what might be construed as rational or constructive debate.
What, then, have the Maps to offer the Royal Mail? Before answering that question we need to identify what is the major ‘driver’ of the Royal Mail as an industry? There are three major drivers and no business/organisation can be equally strong in all of them: Time, Cost and Quality. It is manifestly obvious, for example, that we cannot provide products or services at the minimum cost, in the least time, and yet have the highest quality. In the case of the Royal Mail the key driver is Time – letters need to be delivered by the next day; Costs need to be controlled; and Quality is the least important driver of its core function. So 2 million letters a year go missing is OK; currently, depending on who you read, some 20 million letters are ‘lost’- but Quality is not the issue, so they can get away with that.
Imagine now the widget producer: speed of production (Time) is not the first driver, but second or third. Cost is the key issue – if one can produce the widget for a dime less than the competition, then one is in business.
Finally, take consultancy services as another sector: here the important driver is Quality – if it takes longer, costs more, so be it – but we want the best advice.
Now Motivational Maps depicts an interesting parallel universe with these three drivers. Basically, the nine motivators of work divide into three groups of three: relationship motivators, achievement motivators, and growth motivators. And these also in their hierarchical structure provide a speed and change index. People/team/organisations which have a predominantly relationship profile tend to be slower than the achievement set, who in turn are slower than the growth group. What does this mean? It means that the three drivers (Time, Cost, Quality) are precisely correlated with the three motivational groups (Relationships, Achievement, Growth).
The Royal Mail is not a client of mine and has not done a Map profile, but if we were to ask the question, What is Map profile of the Royal Mail? What would the answer be? Better still: what is the profile of the whole Royal Mail? The senior management team’s profile? The staff’s profile? And finally, and interestingly, what is the profile of the consultants who advise the senior executive?
I am certain we can predict the answers to these questions, which throws considerable light on the current problem. Read Part 2 of this blog next week!!
James Sale
The Mapping Motivation Series 