Who Is Your Customer? (Part III--the saga continues)

The purpose of this final article?on the topic of process customer is to clear up any confusion for those who may have thought that in Part I and/or Part II of this 3-part “Who’s Your Customer?” series I suggested that the overall context and alignment of the internal processes within any organization (The big Picture) are not important. The Big Picture most certainly does demand attention. The question, however, is who’s responsibility is it to monitor and manage it?

Some argue that unless process owners at all levels within an organization have a clear understanding of where their internal process sits in the overall external customer experience the organization cannot succeed. ?While, in some cases, it may be helpful if internal process owners understand the context in which their processes fit into the fabric of the business, I strongly disagree with this opinion. The context and choreography of the internal processes of any organization, after all, is the output of another process that benefits the business—the senior management process—and the responsibility of Executive Management. It is another function within the business altogether that requires a specific aptitude that is gained from specific training and experience.

Let’s take a page from the playbook of one of the most successful organizations on the planet—the United States Military. A sniper, for example, who trains day in and day out on how get into position undetected and how to suppress a target from more than a mile away certainly does not need to know why he was assigned a particular position or target in order to increase his proficiency at the sniping process. From my own personal military experience, I know that this soldier (as well as every other soldier) is aware that his orders are not frivolous and that they contribute to the accomplishment of the mission and the success of the unit and the military as a whole. He trusts in the orders of those officers that are appointed above him—those responsible for managing the command and control process (which is synonymous with the senior management process in a civilian organization).

If the sniper is ordered to the wrong position or to engage the wrong target, there is a breakdown in the command and control process—not the sniping process. If, on the other hand, the sniper fails to avoid detection or fails to suppress the assigned target, there is a breakdown in the sniping process. While it is imperative that the officers (Executive Management) who are responsible for the command and control (senior management) process in this scenario have a clear understanding how the sniper’s process fits into the overall scheme of maneuver, to require the sniper to obtain the same level of contextual understanding would be to decrease the sniper’s opportunity to train and become more proficient at the sniping process for which he is responsible.

I am not arguing that an organization should get granular to the point where the organization looses sight of The Big Picture. After all, I have yet to find one employee in any organization who cannot identify who the company’s external customers are (whether that individual is trained, qualified, and has the authority and responsibility to restructure processes to meet the external customer’s quality expectations is an entirely different story altogether). I am stating that remaining too superficial and failing to help internal process owners understand who their internal process customers are contributes significantly to dysfunctional internal processes that ultimately lead to poor quality in the products or services that are offered by the company to its external customers. The responsibility for how those internal processes fit together and correspond with one another (The Big Picture) resides with Executive Management. The problem is not that there aren’t enough people looking at The Big Picture; the problem is that there aren’t enough people looking at the pixels that they are responsible for within The Big Picture.

Rich St. Rose is the President and CEO of Amelioration Incorporated (ameliorationinc.com), a company that provides operational excellence consulting and training services. If you have enjoyed reading this article and would like to keep similar articles coming, please remember to click the “Like” button and follow Rich St. Rose on LinkedIn. Also consider leaving a comment and/or sharing the article so we can keep the discussion going.