TAC 5 Step Process

Return to process.

This process works! Every firm that implements these principles has had the promised results: Increased revenues, profitability, and morale; a decrease in stress; and an increase in a smooth operation and productivity for the entire practice, firm or organization.

The reasons? Simply because we’re giving attention to the basic principles of success in an effective and appropriate sequence. You may be fairly happy with your success thus far and are simply looking for a way to increase that success. Others may be tired of hitting their head against the proverbial brick wall and are looking for the tools to turn things around. In either case, these principles are the answer.

And it’s exciting to us when you succeed. We consider our client’s success our success. And success does occur! Clients have experienced 400% increases in revenue.

Others have had less dramatic increases in revenues of 30% to 60% and some even less. But after going through the process all have found people working much more smoothly, efficiently, and with a higher level of moral accompanied by decreased stress. All this because of the simple yet powerful principles in the process.

We have worked with design firms, hospitals, a fire and water/industrial cleaning and restoration company, physician’s offices, dental offices, printing firms, and others. The process works for any type of organization. Since the steps we walk you through are the basic laws or principles that govern success for any group of people, the process will work for you too.

Where does the success come from?

What we are teaching and the practices we implement come from simple, age-old truths. What causes such dramatic success then? Our research shows it is how these principles and processes are applied. Basically the magic comes from three things:

1. The caring, engaging delivery of our consultants. We become a part of your team. We don’t just give you information. Rather, we ensure success by giving you the specific implementation suggestions unique to your firm.
2. The sequence of the steps. Waive found the sequence of these steps very important and difficulty in implementing a step when a previous step has not been fully launched. Each step is important and sets a foundation for the next step.
3. Focusing on and giving attention to all the principles that are sometimes taken for granted or left undone. Often, especially in recently successful firms, people forget to give attention to the basic laws of success. This will eventually cause a decline in growth or success. Our process continues to focus on the basics while implementing other necessary tools and practices.

Though we do ala cart training, consulting, coaching, and assessments, our preference is to do the complete 5-step process. This process helps to ensure success because of the length of time allowed for us to ensure implementation. Plus it is a systemic approach causing long lasting success. It is not a quick fix.

So the process works. Let me tell you more specifically how it works during each step. The dynamics and processes are the same for small and large firms. A larger firm has more complexities than a small firm does, however. This usually translates into more time needed for each step in larger firms. Because of the size of a firm or the complexities of a large organization, there also may be some differences in implementation. I’ll explain those differences later.

How the process works during each step

Step #1: An Assessment of Current Reality

The first step involves getting a clear picture of current reality, reporting it clearly so everyone understands the current reality with its inherent strengths and weaknesses, then developing a sense of ownership from everyone toward enhancing the strengths and decreasing the weaknesses. The first process we use to accomplish this is to perform an assessment of the firm.

The assessment of your organization includes objective and subjective data gathering. An instrument called the QWEScan (Quality of Working Environment Scan) scientifically measures the amount of productive and counterproductive effort engaged in your firm. This results in a bottom line number of how efficient you are working as an entire team. This instrument has shown some firms to be working at below 40% efficiency. Our process has helped turn that around so the firm begins working at 80% to 90% efficiency.

The subjective aspect of the assessment includes one-to-one interviews made up of a cross section of people in your firm, including leadership and every major department or level segment. Further, data is gathered from focus groups made up of everyone else in the firm divided into small groups. In large firms, the focus groups are made up of representatives from the rest of the organization. The time to implement this assessment phase is determined by the amount of people in your organization. Sometimes, when the firm requests it, we will also do data gathering from a cross section of clients or customers. This provides a complete internal and external assessment.

The results from all of this data are synthesized into a report delivered at a meeting (or meetings) attended by everyone in the firm. A lengthy educational process occurs instead of a data dump. One of the end results from this meeting is to have everyone understand the presence of the strengths and weaknesses in the firm. Additionally, everyone needs to own these strengths and weaknesses. Everyone needs to accept responsibility for changing them. No longer is it just a leadership issue; it is an entire team issue. Reality concepts such as everyone is the face of the firm and everyone’s work effects everyone else’s work are fully taught and bought into by the attendees of the meeting. In addition to everyone’s understanding and ownership of the details of the report, there is a sense of "we" as people leave the meeting. No longer is anyone able to say it is a he, she, or they, issue, the issues are ours!

There is always a sense of energy and motivation that occurs after this first step. People tend to have a sense of cleansing that occurs from getting all of the negative information off of their chest. Further, things that are not usually talked about are openly talked about and owned by everyone, which lessens the burden for those who feel like they have been carrying these issues all alone. A sense of willingness to work on these issues and the heightened sense of hope, motivation, encouragement, and energy are the wonderful side benefits to the first step which focuses on a full understanding of current reality and a sense of shared ownership towards dealing with that reality.

Step #2: Interpersonal Training

After people understand current reality and what they have to do with it, there is a need to learn the interpersonal tools necessary to work together towards dealing with these issues. These interpersonal tools fall in three major categories: 1) Communication, 2) teamwork, and 3) leadership/management.

It has never failed. Communication has always been one of the issues that come up when asking a firm what could enhance your success. Communication has these different dimensions, however. People need to understand how to communicate, their needs to be a willingness to communicate, and then there has to be a clear information flow system that supports the communication process. During the communication-training module we train in these three areas. At the end of the training session, which is typically one day in length (though the specific time frame and implementation of the training can vary depending on the size of the firm), people are excited and motivated by a simple process that dramatically enhances communication.

Team training results in people understanding the need to have shared responsibility and accountability in all that is done. People learn how to be accountable to each other as well as to the client, customer, and their leader or manager. There is a clear understanding of how true team dynamics can result in synergy. Further, people understand the difference between true team dynamics and various models that typically come to mind such as the family model, a community, or a sports team. Each one of these examples or models has pros and cons when it comes to team dynamics. Your staff will learn how true team dynamics supersede these models to reach a higher performance and fulfilment. This training session typically lasts a day unless the firm’s size or other restrictions limit that application.

We typically spend a half-day, though more extensive training can take a day, with leaders and managers of your firm, teaching them the necessary leadership skills to add to the usually present management skills. In the 90’s we need to lead people and manage process. This subtle, but powerful, addition to the supervisory role dramatically effects people’s motivation, inspiration, and creativity towards doing their job. Further it enhances productivity.

At the conclusion of step #2, there is an alignment of people’s interpersonal skills, which creates a greater sense of oneness toward a common goal. This step alone has caused some organizations to become more successful already and see changes in their bottom line. After this step, a staff member of one medical office took the initiative and found a way to save $500.00 a month by making a small adjustment on how some ordering was done. Multiply $500.00 a month and you have a major portion of that persons wages for the year. The initiative came from this person understanding individual responsibility and the need for shared initiative that was learned in the team training. In another hospital three departments found ways to save monies that translated into a minimum of $500,000.00 savings for the hospital in a one-year period. A COO of another hospital said they saved a million dollars through implementing team dynamics.

Step #3: A Visionary Strategic Plan

After we understand current reality, have a shared ownership of that current reality, and are able to work together without the typical interpersonal issues that dramatically chip away at our organizations success; we now move toward developing a shared Visionary Strategic Plan. We define where we are going together. We create our future.

This process involves a task team made up of the leadership of the firm plus representatives from other areas of the organization. The task team does the legwork but the dynamics of this step encourage the creation and ownership of a shared vision and strategic plan from everyone in the firm.

How this works is rather simple but complex in it’s facilitation. Individuals are encouraged to write their vision for the firm with specifically assigned parameters and ingredients. They are encouraged to dream and create a wonderful stretch toward enhanced success. The individual visions are synthesized into one that is circulated for input and comment. After sufficient input has been received, the vision is brought to closure and includes the major desires and a synthesis of the individual visions that are appropriate for the direction of your firm.

Once closure on the vision occurs there is a need to develop strategies and measurable goals to accomplish the vision. Developing a strategic plan that accomplishes the goals supports these measurable goals. All this is translated into a yearly business plan that includes specific accountability trails; who will do what by when. The accomplishments of the specific steps in reaching your vision are formally measured quarterly while improvement is looked for on a monthly basis. This kind of implementation and measurement ensures constant movement toward your Visionary Strategic Plan.

When you develop a shared vision like this it aligns energy, effort and resources. New hires are exposed to the corporate vision and hired based on their willingness to buy into the direction of the organization. Every one rallies around the shared vision so the future becomes a current reality. At that time a new vision is created for the next level of growth and direction.

The complexity in developing this vision is directly related to the amount of people in the firm. Each phase of this process in step #3 needs to be carefully brought to closure. A rushed or dictated vision is not a shared vision. People will usually give greater energy toward a vision they have had a part in creating. Then they can feel a sense of ownership of it.

The process in step #3 often takes three to four sessions of work, each separated by four to six weeks. This allows for time to do home work and to live with the suggested piece, give input to that piece, then work toward synthesizing the new batch of input. Each session can take anywhere from a half a day in small firms and up to two days per session in large firms. At the close of this step there is a clear direction for the firm that aligns all of the marketing efforts, the decision-making, the efforts and energy of your people’s work, and your resources.

Step #4: Organizational Systems and Structure

Once everyone understands and owns current reality, is able to work well together with good interaction and interpersonal skills, knows where they’re going by having developed a shared visionary strategic plan; it is time to focus on efficiency and productivity. Step four specifically focuses on these issues. Here is where we look at how people work together, how efficient they are. The results of step four have people working together to do the highest quality work in the most efficient, productive way possible to obtain a win-win-win between the customer/client, the team member and the organization or business. Further, in this step we develop relentless accountability. People understand the importance of being intensely accountable to each other as well as to their leadership/management.

During step four we look at every process, procedure, and system. All of the ways people work are challenged toward greater efficiency. We collectively find the best way to get from point A to point Z in a given area of work. It is always enjoyable, and quite beneficial, to watch people take something they have been doing for some time, challenge it, and come up with a better way to achieve the end results. The creation of more efficient systems and the challenging of dysfunctional systems produce greater productivity and profitability. It also increases the quality of work.

In short this step is where the increase in profitably, productivity, and the hard-core numbers begins to be seen. The creation of better systems accompanied by the concept of relentless accountability is what causes this to happen.

In this step we reveal the truth: if you will always do what you’ve always done you will always get what you’ve always gotten. Step #4 eliminates the inertia of the past that often dictates our present and future. People become more proactive instead of reactive. There is a sense of control and responsive decisions rather than crisis management and reactive decision-making.

In addition to developing efficient systems there is a need to have a supportive organizational structure. The accountability trail within the organizational structure will ensure continued productivity. Also, this is where the concepts of leadership and management are embedded. In addition the organizational structure is created or adjusted to support efficient systems. The organizational structure is not created just to honor people or to find a position for those who have been in the firm for some time. The emphasis in step four is efficiency, productivity, and accountability toward doing the best that can be done to accomplish the organizations macro and micro goals.

Step #5: Marketing

Once people understand and own current reality, are able to work well together in dealing with that current reality, have created a shared vision towards a designed future, and have become organized and efficient in there every day work; it then becomes time to focus on marketing. During step #5 we find, create, or focus on the specific reasons clients or customers buy from you. We create unique reasons and benefits for your customers or clients to obtain your products or services. In addition we collectively develop a marketing posture that involves every one in the firm, from the people doing sales or marketing work, to those who are doing the day to day production work.

A marketing plan is a specific out come of this step. This plan includes measurable goals and results in increased business for the firm.

Return to Process.