(continued) The process began with extensive customer input through interviews and dialogue groups. While every business person knows talking to the customer is one of the essentials of any effective business process, it is easy to allow the content of such talks to deteriorate into “gripe sessions” of blame for wrong headedness. Overtime the conversations dwindle and so does the spirit of understanding. Willingness to listen in a new way to what internal customers value is a critical first step. It requires courage and a sincere desire to hear what is being said. It also requires orchestration and facilitation from internal or external resources who can act as an objective third party for both sides. In this case, the learning on both sides was tremendous and critical to building commitment to a new role, and to begin to glean the first view of what that new valued role might be. The next step was to create a team of employees across a diagonal slice of the organization to participate in the redesign of the structure and roles. A focus on the customer input and emerging best practices across a wide variety of industries and practices helped educate the team to the possibilities of a new role. Intentional focus on organization structure rarely occurs without an investment in a team of this nature, directed to “think of new ways of being.” This group found that Sales processes had a lot to offer in answering the value requested by their internal customers. How so? In a typical account planning process, the account rep is a key member of the customers’ planning process and a catalyst for improving and enhancing the customers business. Business solutions are presented, after careful analysis, and new “products” that can enhance the business are explored with the customer. So too in procurement. Next >>