Weekly Insight – Speak the Language of the Business

Years ago a General Manager asked us to supply an interim Maintenance Manager for three months. The person we had available had never actually been a Maintenance Manager before. He had worked at superintendent level. I knew he had the technical capability and the maintenance process knowledge required for the role.

Before he went to site, I gave him just one piece of advice.

I said:

“Never talk to the General Manager about availability, more people, more money, or maintenance processes.”

Instead, talk about:

• More tonnes
• More operating hours
• Less risk
• Lower cost per tonne

In other words, talk about the outcomes the GM is accountable for.

Two weeks into the role he realised something important. The primary shovel for the site had a major shutdown coming up. It was scheduled to be down for three weeks, and the planning behind the shutdown was poor. He knew the shutdown could be done faster and better but to do it properly he needed an additional planner for a couple of months and some extra equipment. The additional cost would be about $100,000.

Instead of going to the GM asking for more resources, he asked a different question.

He went to the GM and said:

“Would you like more uptime on the shovel if we could reduce the shutdown from three weeks to two?”

The GM immediately said:

“Of course. What do you need to do that?”

The $100,000 was approved instantly.

The shutdown was completed faster. The shovel returned to service earlier. The production team gained another week of operating hours. It is also essential to deliver on what you say will be done!

From that point onward, the relationship between the GM and the Maintenance Manager strengthened significantly. In fact, the GM wanted to keep him in the role permanently.

There is a simple lesson here.

As maintenance managers and professionals we naturally think about:

• Availability
• Reliability
• Maintenance processes
• Resources and budgets

But senior leaders are accountable for business outcomes.

They are thinking about:

• Tonnes
• Production
• Risk
• Cost per tonne
• Profit

Improving availability should lead to improved business results. But if we want influence at senior levels, we must communicate in the language of the business.

Maintenance is not the outcome. Business performance is the outcome and when maintenance leaders learn to frame their work that way, their credibility and influence increase dramatically.

This idea is central to building influence with senior leaders and stakeholders, which is why relationship building and stakeholder understanding are key elements of my Career Growth course in the Turbo Leadership Coaching App.

Something to reflect on this week:

When you speak with senior leaders, are you talking about maintenance… or are you talking about the business outcomes maintenance enables?