Bob Suh offers plenty of insight and recommendations for fixing a sales teams’ ability to forecast. In my experiences, forecasting is also an issue for veterinary clinics and retailers, second only to the lack of inventory management disciplines. The root causes of most inaccuracies are not faulty algorithms but all-too-human behavior, writes Suh. He identifies these five most harmful behaviors:
- Withholding bad news
- Maintaining two sets of books
- Hoping against hope
- Using conveniently fuzzy definitions
- Failing to ask the obvious questions
Source: Harvard Business Review, March 19, 2019. Link. There are some promising ways to redesign systems to acknowledge and address the familiar human behaviors that distort results. Such as these techniques:
- Personalize and benchmark decisions
- Provide adjustable algorithms
- Continuously track probabilities
- Apply the test of time
- Detect who is gaming the system
- Reward accuracy
Also see: To improve your team, first work on yourself, Harvard Business Review, January 29, 2019. Link.
Teams are complex systems of individuals with different preferences, skills, experiences, perspectives, and habits. The odds of improving that complex system in a meaningful and sustainable way are higher if every team member, including the leader, learns to master these three foundational capabilities: internal self-awareness, external self-awareness, and personal accountability.
INSIGHTS: These two articles will likely press some hot buttons for salespeople and managers. Remember, doing the same things and expecting different results remains a good definition of insanity. Whether animal health pros work in veterinary clinics, retail stores, distributors or manufacturers, solid forecasts and mastering team accountability is important so we can provide value for animals, animal owners, business owners and our growing industry.