Why Catering to Exceptions Can Be Detrimental to Your Business

Dealing with exceptions both in personal life and in business is more often than not, the norm. The caveat for business leaders however, is having the propensity to identify the difference between what your expectations of the norm are, as opposed to what they are often masked to be. Hopefully, your “ideal norm” caters to the majority circumstance, rather than the exception—and here’s why.

Efficient companies put processes and best practices in place for a reason—increased productivity. When an exception comes through the door—whether it is a client’s preferred service method or a unique financial situation—the task often requires more time and energy simply because it does not follow suite.

As a business leader, it is important to coach your team to strategize, think and plan for the majority and not be clouded by the instinctive, “well…what about client X?” question. Having this understanding is critical to running a successful business, because the minute a process is altered due to one exception, a snowball effect of modifications occurs and before you know it, the original best practice is forgotten.

The best way to avoid muddled processes and capitalize on efficacy, is to clearly identify what your company’s preferred best practices are, which clients or customers follow suite (should typically be 95%) and which clients or customers do not (the remaining 5%). Doing so, will provide your team with a clear line in the sand to determine where to focus their efforts and where to simply handle the exception for what it is, and move on.

While the ability to adapt will always be a key ingredient to business success, knowing what your expectations of the “ideal norm” are, and most importantly, sticking to them, will propel that success forward in more than one way.

So, go ahead and make your expectations known.