Arthur Ozoigbo, the chief strategy officer of Prosell Consulting Limited, has innovated several concepts to aid marketing and productivity, among which is TRACS, a novel and disruptive concept devoted to attitude and performance transformation. In an interview, the management expert speaks on how TRACS could enhance productivity in the workplace and the centrality of messaging in performance enhancement.
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What is TRACS, and what are the fundamentals of the transformational concept?
The most essential ingredient of its operation are human beings. This is because the focus of the concept is essentially on managers. It is the managers that determine what happens in every organisation. The managers we are talking about, in a generic sense, are from the first-line manager to the chairman of the board. So, wherever you have managers in that organisation, this concept is relevant to that environment. Also, wherever productivity performance is a focus, this concept is relevant.

Manager is the focus of every organisation. That is why the TRACS concept is primarily for managers, the messages he or she delivers consciously or unconsciously. So, the trust concept plays on these messages that are displayed, which are expressed at the conscious level and it is the management of these messages that the trust concept uses to bring about the transformation.

How does it apply in the work environment?
To be able to express that very lucidly, you will look at a situation where you have a manager working with a set of factors of production, including the human factor. Let’s say he’s putting in 70 per cent performance yearly, and then with the same factors of production. A new manager comes in, maybe his or her replacement and the new manager comes with the same factors of production, the same human beings, the same number quality with the same level of motivation of composition, the same technology, the same processes, the same system, the same policies, the same infrastructure, everything the same, and the new person comes in, what does the new person come in with?

Everything has to do with the messages the person delivers and how he or she manages those resources. The messages themselves whether they are directives or instructions or policy statements, they are all messages. Even a larger part of these messages is delivered by body language without being expressed orally. When this new person comes with the same factors of production, different results are produced, either lower or higher, but never do something with previous records. Because the new person comes with a different set of messages, this message is the dominant factor in performance TRACS brings about transformational performance.
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So, instead of waiting for the new manager to do this unconsciously, the transactional concept can bring about transformational performance without any need to change any manager before you can see the results.

If messaging is that important to productivity, why is it always so difficult for managers or supervisors to effect changes?
The holy book says ‘my people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge’. Knowledge is power. But you may need somebody to help you to rediscover yourself and your innate power. So, it is difficult for managers to change their messaging because they are not aware of the power of messages.

Many people focus on the wrong thing instead of focusing on the message. They are not even aware of the importance, profundity and relevance of messages, so they focus rather on the tools of what you know. They focus on your subordinates, you focus on the technology; they focus on their superiors and the macro environment. They focus on political leaders.

But in the same political environment, in the same macro environment, and in the same economy, some organisations are doing better than others. Even in the same organisation, some departments are doing better than others. Most times, productivity changes when a new manager assumes responsibility. With the same resources, performance increases or decreases. It is a function of messaging.

The problem is that people do not focus on this area. It is so important but it looks very simple that people miss it often in life. The most important things as said are very simple. The best ideas are very simple. Maybe because of their simplicity people miss them. People have not realised the power of messages, and that is what makes the TRACS Concept very key and relevant, especially now.

Organisations are talking about the cost of production and scarcity of resources. But owing to ignorance, people focus more on the wrong things than the right and essential things that will enable them to change results. Organisations procure new technology and equipment and superimpose them on the system. But results remain the same because the messaging is not changed.
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If you do not change your mindset, you will continue to change technology but the result will remain the same. They will continue to complain of poor performance as long as they do not work on the messages and mindsets of the people who are supposed to implement the new technology. That is the problem you see in all sectors of the economy – not just in Nigeria but also across the world.

In developing countries, you see people doing copy and paste with technology. They copy and paste ideas that do nothing about the most fundamental element of productivity – messages that are domiciled in the mindsets of the individuals. You cannot change mindsets if the messages remain the same.

What exactly do you mean by messages?
In TRACS, we say that the most important messages are internal messages. This is because it is internal messages that control external messages, which take us to the most fundamental things about TRACS. In life, people talk about synergy. There are two types of synergy. One is intrapersonal, which has to do with the internal message of the individual. The other one is the external one. The intrapersonal synergy is more important and key but management experts focus more on the external. People mostly focus on the superficial synergy, which we often see between two individuals. Sadly, those individuals are coming with what they have internally.

The intrapersonal messages determine the extent to which the external messages work. These are the concepts TRACS highlights and apply in productivity enhancement. Sometimes, people ask, “Why didn’t we know about these before? It is because knowledge is simple. Perhaps, that is why they have missed it.
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If it is that simple to enhance productivity, why do organisations spend millions on consultants and still not get results?
Our key message, from TRACS’ perspective, is that skills are not enough. Look at the banking failures that have happened around the world. Some of the failed banks were managed by the best brains in finance. Some of them were celebrated a few years before the banks they managed failed. Despite their knowledge and skills, they failed. There was a guy who had won Banker of the Year consistently and was often described as the Wizkid of the Nigerian and African banking industry. The bank he managed failed despite his knowledge.

Why did those banks fail? Was it because the managers were not technically sound?
No. They were very technically sound. But they knew only the how-to whereas there was something more fundamental. As you go up the ladder of leadership, technical know-how begins to lose relevance and potency, while messaging becomes increasingly more important.

As the messages are delivered, they also reflect the character of the individuals. That is why, here, we emphasise the issue of character. Character is expressed in messages. And character is formed by the internal messages you consistently give yourself and listen to.

While messages are very key, most organisations focus on how-to, skills and technology. Technology has to do with the how-to. But you need to focus on changing the mindsets and character of the people, that is, the personality of people who implement the messages. There is no way you can achieve optimal results with technology, process or skills if nothing is done about the messages. Yes, you may achieve some results, but you will not be optimal because the fundamental part of the equation has not been added.
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Does the TRACS concept apply to the public sector?
We call the TRACS concept a 360-degree performance tool in the sense that it works everywhere there are human beings, where decisions are taken or where performance is required. Whereas the focus of our retreats is on the workplace or the work environment, the content is useful to politicians in public sector settings, couples in managing their homes and religious leaders.

People have been able to also transform their domestic fronts as a result of its impacts on their relationships with their spouses, children or friends.

Owing to the multiple applications of the concept, we are scaling up to engage people on the possibilities. So, it is important for the organised private sector as well as the public sector, not only in Africa but across the globe.

Can an organisation be so successful that it does not need TRACS?
There is something called the success illusion. Some organisations may be turning in very tangible results. They could even be the best in the industry. The next in line to his organisation may be a distant second. So, it goes around with a swag not knowing that it could do more with improved messages. No matter the industry, no matter the country of location and no matter your performance, with TRACS you can improve. Outstanding is a relative word. The result of yesterday may appear like a child’s play tomorrow.
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