“THE RULES”
(Servi Rules that is – over the past 35 years we’ve worked with some of the biggest and the best. Many seasoned vets, but also the 1st timers too, and we take the time to listen and understand and LEARN. These are the rules that are the foundation of the ServiSystem. We have a LOT of them and continue to add as we learn and gain more experience. Some are fun, some are silly (‘til you need it), some are just observations, ideas or a mindset that help keep your project on track)
- GOOD — BETTER — BEST
“Never rest until your good is better & your better is BEST!” (I learned this from my junior high football coach, Danny Doyle, Waltham MA — can you tell he left an impression?)
- REVERSE ENGINEERING
& beginning with the ‘end in mind’ —
(so many things work on at least 2 levels — we love engineering, and getting great results. And Stephen Covey has added his share as well)
- MURPHY’S LAWS
(of printing, graphics, marketing… there’s a ton of them)
Those of you who know Lew, know he’ll someday write the book “Murphy’s Laws or Printing”
**You’ve probably been invited to write a guest chapter — Please Contribute!
KEY FINDING: When Murphy has invoked a law or 2 —everyone needs to double & triple their efforts to keep things on track and prevent any additional laws from being engaged.
- RED FLAGS
Warning flags that is — they are actually invisible, but you CAN see them. Especially after you debrief a project. Sometimes they are everywhere — often not seen until too late.
We strive to pay attention to them, identify the situations where they arise, and ask the extra question so we can diffuse the ‘time bombs’ that they indicate.
- HIDDEN COSTS - HIDDEN SAVINGS
The more we know, the more you can share, the more we find. Many of the costs are intangibles, and are very tough to put a price tag on, but you know they exist and are costly — that’s what we call being Fudwhacked.
- FUDWHACKED
(we learned this from Bernie Cronin, a fantastic sales/management coach)
Sometimes it occurs every day, with the complexities and the various people involved it’s inevitable. Stuff happens — you get Frustrated, Upset, Disappointed, Worried, Hesitant, Angry, Concerned, KO’d, Enervated, and Delayed. We’ve all been there, and at Servigraphics, we make every effort to keep you from going back.
- INFIELD WHY RULE
(we got this from Dave Kurlan, another visionary trainer)
You must keep asking ‘why’ questions until you can no longer ask a ‘why’ question. Goes along with ‘peeling back the onion’ and using a doctor’s questioning mindset, and fits in with our ‘never a dumb question rule’ because we have found that some of the offhand comments and answers have yielded the most important insights.
- NO DUMB QUESTIONS
Whether we are asking them, or the client — you gotta ask, you gotta learn, we need to understand! Many a project has gone down a different path because of that “dumb ”question.
- TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
It’s never just the ‘lowest cost I can buy it for’… Will it deliver the ROI intended?, will it take 50 phone calls & 75 emails to straighten it out? Will they even call you back? For every $1 spent for print in your marketing supply chain, there’s another $6 to $10 riding along with it. Additionally, back to intangible costs — Money is trackable, so is Time — What’s your ‘Energy’ worth? (see Fudwacked)
- PEELING BACK THE ONION
There’s always more to learn, one more question to ask, more to share. Sometimes it takes years of relationship development to have a complete understanding and work seamlessly with your client.
- SERVI RULE OF 3 - WRITE IT — TALK ABOUT IT — SHOW IT
Humans communicate with 3 major modes. We put it in writing & detail it, we talk about it to be sure the details and nuances are understood (and they read the email or PO) and we try to show a picture, make a model or construct a proof. Preventing errors & mistakes is the key here, when are things NOT in a rush? When have you been in that meeting & everyone is nodding their head,
and it still comes back wrong?
- THE FRONT OFFICE NEVER TELLS THE TRUE STORY
Everything is always ‘fine’ on the first visit, it’s as people get to know one another and the level of trust reaches the point where everyone is OK with sharing what’s really happening and what needs to be done. Then we know why ‘all those boxes are under that desk’ or ‘how long it took to get that project done’ and ‘it cost how much to ship it?’
- RAISE YOUR HAND
Step up — speak out —be heard — ask the question - reach out — volunteer — give permission — make a difference! We LOVE to help!
- LAWS OF PHYSICS
We can’t break them — they always win. Ink has to dry, the insert has to be smaller than the envelope, relying on Fedex to save the day (every time?) — Follows right along w/ Murphy’s Laws. Let’s be respectful of ‘the laws’, but don’t let them stop you either!
- PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
At what point do the seams go ‘POP’? Welcome to the world of the RUSH JOB!
Is everyone’s back up against the wall? (Maybe we can get you into Tyvek?) It’s the reality
of business — how fast, how cheap, how late can we get it to you? We have the resources to pull
off all kinds of miracles, but if we can help you move further up the planning cycle, automate more, or improve a workflow — we can make your life significantly less stressful (see fudwhacked again)
- THE LAST 10%
That’s the point near the end of a project. Everyone is tired, sick of it, you’re down to the wire… That’s when Servi pushes to stay focused, Re-energize and finish STRONG! Dot those ‘I’s and cross those ‘T’s!
- COVER YOUR BELLY BUTTON
It’s a tough one to explain (and even tougher to execute), but it’s that point in a relationship when you can tell someone what’s really wrong/not right and NOT be attacking them and most importantly be stronger friends afterward. This works both ways in a business relationship, it’s when your supplier asks for your feedback and ‘everything was OK’, and then you never call them back again. Share what’s on your mind and keep the lines of communication open.
- HEDGEHOGS
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably figured out we are ‘learners’ and we do a LOT to stay on top of the latest thinking and concepts. Jim Collins has certainly challenged us to be our best and we like to think we challenge our clients to be their best!
What are we all best at? Best in the World?? What’s our economic driver? What are we deeply passionate about? ** I like to think we are doing it with Servigraphics, Inc.!
- ROCKEFELLER HABITS
Another GREAT batch of info — I’ve been in the Entrepreneur’s Organization since 2001 (and I wish I had found it 10 years sooner) Verne Harnish is the founder of EO, and he has a fabulous website/resource — www.gazelles.com — look up Rockefeller Habits under ‘resources’ and see how many rules you can apply to your company. The site is full of rules, best practices, ideas, etc…
- EFFICIENT VS. EFFECTIVE
Efficiency is doing the job right, Effectiveness is what matters — doing the RIGHT job RIGHT. Getting it to WORK, everytime.
- WHAT THE PROS DO
(this came from an NFL commercial & Mike Kelly — semi famous karate instructor)
“Amateurs practice until they get it right, Pros practice until they cannot get it wrong” Great quote and idea, it fits with; “just when you think you know it all — there’s something you can still learn and get better at with practice.”
- SEARCH COSTS/PRINT SOURCING
This follows up on the ‘hidden costs/hidden savings’ rule. Just opening the phone book and searching Google doesn’t do the trick. How much time do you put into it? What do they do best? Will they call you back? Will you get it on time? Is there a live human on the other end? Have you ever used a Zagat guide? Great info, not cheap to assemble, and verify. Kinda like what we provide here at Servi.
- MEASURE TWICE — CUT ONCE
Everyone has heard this one, makes great sense in our world — especially to the guy running the cutter! One of the best proofing experiences I have had was when I brought Gillette proofs over to Digitas, one of their agencies. The Digitas ‘team’ would swarm over the proof — with rulers, color chips, paper samples, the envelope it needed to fit into, they’d call the phone number, check the web address — great thouroughness!
- PROACTIVE VS REACTIVE
Great rule — tough to stay ahead of the curve on! How do we call 1st to alert you to a problem. Go to the Post Office to get the design OK’d before it goes too deep. Do a press ok! Establish a R&D budget to figure out all the pitfalls before we go to production on a new product. This rule works well with the “Raise Your Hand” rule!
- DEBRIEF
What was the Clint Eastwood movie with the 5P’s? (Not Price, Product, Position… ) “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Perfomance”; but then, do what the Top Gun pilots do — they take the mission apart, analyze what worked & what didn’t and make it better for the next time!
- DO YOU HAVE A GREAT RULE?
We’d LOVE to hear from you! How does it save you? When do you go to it? Please share
THANKS
Lew
|
