Are comparisons odious or helpful? I was interested to read reports (since glossed over) that Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, had resented the suggestion that they could learn from the experience of former US police commissioner Bill Bratton, who is particularly well known for implementing zero tolerance policing. However, zero tolerance is only part of the story.
Even more important is Bill Bratton’s insistence that the police must break out of a ‘blue cocoon’ (where they only ever mix with their own kind) and the emphasis he places on information as the key to crime reduction. In other words, Bill Bratton is a keen advocate of learning. He might not describe himself as a champion of learning, but I do.
Even if Bill Bratton’s approach to policing wasn’t all it is cracked up to be, there would presumably be much to learn by comparing the methods used by police in England with those used by police in America. The worst that could happen from an honest comparison is that we emerge convinced that we are already doing the right things and have nothing further to learn. It is far more likely that a comparison of methods would be helpful to both parties.
I have first-hand experience of people resisting an invitation to learn from ‘outsiders’. A while ago, when my publishing company was stuck in the doldrums with virtually the same turnover for a number of years, I had the idea of inviting a colleague to come and conduct a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ review.
The colleague in question had a good track record at helping small businesses to grow, but knew nothing about our publishing or our niche market. I saw this as a plus. He knew about growing small businesses and we knew our products inside out and the way we promoted them. Put all this knowledge together and it could lead to a breakthrough, or, more probably, to some significant tweaks to our practices.
I floated the idea of inviting in a fresh pair of eyes at a team meeting and met with staunch resistance: ‘He knows nothing about publishing, what could we learn from him?’; ‘He doesn’t understand our target audience’; ‘The businesses he has helped aren’t the same as ours’; ‘We’ve been doing this for years, what can he suggest that we haven’t already tried?’. Eventually I sold them the exercise on the basis of suck it and see. I argued that if we drew a blank it would only have cost us a few days worth of fees, and some time, and they could enjoy saying ‘I told you so’.
As it happens, the consultant came up with a couple of helpful ideas that we successfully adapted and implemented. But even if he hadn’t, I still think the opportunity to compare our practices with those of the other businesses he had worked with was worthwhile. But then, I’m a learning junkie so I would say that wouldn’t I?
Do you seize opportunities to learn from comparisons? Do you benchmark your practices? Or do you believe that comparisons are odious?