The ‘Not Operational’ Conundrum

For the given article, let’s assume that the design we are talking about is implementable, and is within the boundaries of logic.

I recently realised that every time my team and I discuss any design of a website, an app, a logo or a store with a client or other stakeholders, there’s an inherent bias against the possible implementation of the design solution in the first instance. Quite often, the word operational is used in this context -

‘I don’t believe this design is operational; this design is not operational for me to implement in the store; I am thinking of the operational aspect of this on my business; while good in the first go, it should also be operational.’

It is imperative for a designer to think from a business owner and strategist’s view-point to make their designs even more meaningful. I agree that if the process of design creation is not the right mix of strategy and creativity, we run the risk of making a solution that is not viable and desirable. But, it’s also important to understand what really is the mindset at play when the first response is to believe that a design presented is probably not operational.

It’s less to do with the design and more to do with a person’s bias against people and their skills.

The client usually calls the design not operational when they believe that their employees might not be able to adjust their routines to implement the new solution; or your superior calls the design not operational when they believe that the person in-charge might not be able to implement the solution in a given time-frame.

In both these cases, it is not the proposed solution in question, but the people in their ecosystem whose skills are being questioned.

I have often noticed that people run with the assumption that the other person most definitely would be incapable of doing more than what he or she is perceived to do. For instance, a well-thought out new content solution is rejected by a client because he believes that his internal content team cannot produce the amount of content expected within the concerned timeframe. Or your website developer is not trusted with the development of your beautiful looking and perfect UX-carrying website design because he’s just not ‘capable or experienced’ enough to do that. In both cases, the skills of the people are in question, and not the solution.

In my experience, I have performed best or better than my own expectations when there has been no judgment of skills or the capability of my team. Recently, my work partner and I managed to make the most unexpected changes to our Shopify-themed website and explored new avenues in coding and development partnerships. This was possible because both of us, despite negligent coding background, sat with our laptops and continuously experimented and executed.

We basically functioned from the perspective that ‘this might be possible.’ We didn’t even have to worry about the confirmed possibility of our task implementation. It’s usually possible to successfully learn and/or execute tasks and solutions with a mindset that believes in the full of possibility of skills, both of people around you and your own.

I truly believe that organisations and companies can become more efficient and better performing when they start focusing more upon their people, and their skills and hard-work. For me, a few pointers can get this mindset up and rolling(these are also lessons I have learnt while working with a colleague who has this stellar mindset of possibilities):

1) Talk to them, and not for them

The best way to truly assess the possibility of implementing a new solution is by talking to the people who will be in-charge of it. Instead of operating from a perspective that it’s not possible because XYZ won’t be able to do it, ask XYZ directly about the possibility. Chances are that they will take up the challenge and perform better and get you closer to the objective, if not meet the objective. It gives them the opportunity to present their view-point to you and also helps you understand what resources and support are needed to better your company’s performance. Every time someone asks me for my help or thoughts on something, my instant response is to see if I can help in anyway, and not to say a direct no.

2) Believe in them

You need to forget all your preconceived notions and beliefs you have of people and their skills in the workplace. You need to assume that the person you are talking to is capable of working hard and delivering. It’s a herculean task, and you too would have let down someone in the past or present at your workplace. But, rest assured, people love inculcating trust in them. Once you showcase trust in them, they feel positively obliged to deliver. If you show them you trust them, they will most often deliver. You need to give them some freedom to fail. My senior colleague let me present at all the meetings without interruptions, irrespective of who was in the meeting room, only for me to perfect my style and making the right impact. It was his belief in me that still gets me excited for every meeting or even a 5-minute chat with a prospective client.

3) Listen to them

Don’t let failures hamper your excitement. Our excitement and enthusiasm makes us perform better at whatever work we do. If someone you’re working with has failed at meeting a certain objective, instead of only pointing out the low points or mistakes, take learnings out of the failure, and make sure the same mistakes are not repeated. A website I had worked on last year had multiple development issues, which were out of my purview, but it allowed me to take learnings out of the project and ensure the next website in the same sector that I am working on right now is developed more seamlessly and smoothly. It also gives the person a chance to note the mistakes or errors and share with the larger team to avoid similar mistakes.

4) Train, and get trained

Training, once we join a company or start our own company, becomes understated and underestimated. The truth is that we need to continuously train ourselves, whether it’s courses, or meeting the right people and taking some learnings from them. If you believe a new solution is difficult because it requires a new routine, then train the people who will be in-charge. Give them the opportunity to try their hand at it, before assuming it’s beyond them. My grandfather operates from this mindset for his company’s support staff and today a peon from his company is a film editor. This kind of a transformation is possible when we too are open to the idea of learning on a regular basis. Only then do we realise the power of training regularly and how it can impact performance.

I think if we keep it simple and follow these 4 rules in our interactions with our colleagues, whether junior or senior, we might be able to come up with easy-to-implement innovative solutions on a regular basis. And more importantly, we will get to do it with a bunch of highly committed, enthusiastic bunch of colleagues.

So, let’s not worry about what’s not operational next time. Let’s focus on making everything operational!