Positive Tension is the Key to Success

Tension is usually considered a bad thing.  But as any engineer will tell you, without tension, most mechanical devices won’t operate successfully.  It is, in fact, the tension, that gives devices their power.  One gear turns one way while another turns in the opposite direction.  It’s this design that allows all the moving parts to work.

The same is true in business.  There is a natural tension built in to business processes that keeps things moving appropriately.  Let me give you an example:  the Supply Chain manager wants to keep inventories down and costs down.  That often means ordering far ahead with just in time delivery.  (Rush orders cost money.)  The construction manager wants plenty of inventory on site so that his crews won’t have to worry about slowing down due to inadequate inventory of supplies and materials.  (People standing around costs money.)

These two will have natural tension, because they want different things.  Or do they? 

In a well-run company, the goals of the company ultimately drive the decisions that are made and the behaviors of the team.  Without the over-riding company goal, each department could live in its own world, demanding that the world work the way that is best for that department. 

In our example above, the construction manager would never have a slowdown because of materials, but his inventory costs would be excessive.  If the Supply Chain person had his way, we’d have minimal inventory, which would reduce our carrying costs and add an occasional delay if the just-in-time process broke down.

Only when both parties are focused on the over-riding goal of the company can they come to an optimal solution.  Sometimes, that means a compromise – Supply Chain keeps some buffer inventory stock while the construction department doesn’t get as much on hand as it would like.  At other times, opportunities may arise that require one department to forego completely what it needs for the short term.  For example, a company may need to turn down sales of certain items in the short run (hurting the sales department) if doing so will enhance the overall profitability of the company. 

In my work with executives, I frequently run into this tension issue.  Unfortunately, some start to take these issues personally.  “He just doesn’t understand what I’m up against,” is the battle cry of many.  And, that’s probably true—for both parties. 

In most companies, we have too many silos where people don’t understand what the other guy is up against.  We need more communication, a clearer understanding of the company’s over-riding goal, and a better understanding of what it takes to do each job effectively.  Then, we can move past petty disagreements, and make business decisions.

I see this frequently with accounting and sales.  Sales people often feel like accountants are nagging them to death about “petty details” like receipts and expense reports.  Accounting feels as though the sales people think they are “too good to fill out an expense report,” or that they are trying to hide something.  Truth is, accounting needs the documentation, and sales needs to be in front of customers, not filling out paperwork.  Contrary goals, right?  Maybe, but positive tension makes the systems operate better for the overall good of the company.

If sales spent too much time on arduous paperwork, revenues would suffer.  If they didn’t spend enough time, profits might be suffering without our knowing it.  Accounting for expenses is important, too.

If your company is feeling tension and not seeing it as positive tension, here are a few things to think about:

1.         Are you as the company leader making clear which goals take priority?  For instance, is it more important to meet a production deadline than to maintain lowest cost?

2.         Is your team hearing a consistent message from you?  If they all hear you saying you support their position, silos and territorial behaviors will result.  Focus their behaviors on the over-riding goal.

3.         Does your team share enough information about how their area operates to give others a basic understanding of the challenges in each position?  A job rotation program can help here, but so can open communication and education within the company about the value and challenges of each position.

4.         Are you measuring progress toward the right goals and holding people accountable for behaviors that reinforce the common goal?  If you judge supply chain only on low levels of inventory or pricing, and you judge production on throughput, you may be sending the wrong message.  Find ways to measure contribution to the primary goal.  Incentivize people to act in a way that achieves the goal of the company, not just a departmental goal.

Turning tension into a positive takes good leadership, good communication and lots of hard work.  It may be the most important thing for you to focus on.