Grow Leaders

Sometimes you read something and you realize that not everyone thinks like you. I know it but there are times that it really hits me. Seth Godin wrote about those that don’t name a problem if they don’t have a solution. Is it because they feel vulnerable and lack humility? Anyway, here is what he had to say.

Solving problems (vs. identifying them)

There are a number of implications for management in this study.

1. Agree on what management is willing to enforce – if there is not an agreement then don’t bother (Getting full buy in is tougher than most think)
2. Get it fixed to start with – this is what is acceptable and only this.
3. Communicate, communicate, and communicate
4. Enforce it
5. Don’t let it deteriorate – 21 days to change a habit

http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=122211

What you praise can make a difference in the end result:  http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/praise_leads_to_cheating.html

We can set pails out and keep the carpet dry. But does that solve the real problem? Obviously not. We need to get up on the roof  and fix it.

Root cause analysis is a fancy term for finding out what the real problem is. It can be as simple as asking why 5 times or as complex as colleting data and charting it.

What we are looking for by asking why 5 times or collecting data is a behavior, action, inaction, or condition that  needs to change to prevent a problem. If we don’t get to the root of the problem, it will continue to happen.

We can tell someone to get the oil up off the floor but if it is there again later, we have to look deeper. So you ask; why? And get:  A seal is leaking. And ask: Why hasn’t it been fixed? It has been; twice. And ask: Why didn’t that fix it? Because they are of poor quality. And again ask: Why are we buying poor quality seals? Because we are trying to save money? And of course we could continue to ask why until we know what the root cause is and fix it at that level.

For those in HR this is an excellent article on what employees can be terminated for and why

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Headlines/Default.aspx?id=1442818

One of the fun things I use to communicate a principle in Conflict Resolution training is the above image. What do you see? Generally bats or angles. Those that saw bats are evil and those who see angels are the good people.

You are probably looking at this sideways and saying “What!?” At least that’s what I get from most of my participants; along with some snickering and pointing at the “bat” people. After a few seconds, I explain. “No, it’s not true. But what I have done is taken something neutral and attributed a value to it. I have given it meaning where there is none”

We are very capable of finding differences and enemies where there are none. We can make up a story about how bad another person is in an instant. We attribute values to a lot of things and make up stories about how evil another person is. We see someone do something and we are sure about their motives. The fact is we are not mind readers. If we see something we don’t like, we can talk about and try to change the behavior, but we don’t know the other person’s motivation unless they tell us.  

Note: I think the whole Rorschach Ink Blot Test is pretty well discredited but we still believe in spite of the facts.

Seth Godin writes an excellent blog on the value and problem of measuring yourself by others

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/run-your-own-race.html 

Self motivation is and always will be the most important form of motivation. Driving with your eyes on the rear view mirror is exhausting. It’s easier than ever to measure your performance against others, but if it’s not helping you with your mission, stop.

Getting employees to understand the importance of collecting data can be challenging. Statistics are not “sexy” but telling the story of Moneyball just might make statistics more intriguing.  Moneyball, the soon to be released movie staring Brad Pitt, is based on the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.  The Oakland A’s began using non-traditional measures (Sabermetrics) to answer objective questions. The A’s, with their small budget, were able to hire undervalued players and compete against major baseball powerhouses and win.

Sabermetric reasoning would say that runs win ballgames, and that a good measure of a player’s worth is his ability to help his team score more runs than the opposing team.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabermetric

My point to the employees is that we have to collect data. We have to see what the data is telling us about our most important goals.  We then have to make decisions based on the facts and that can be a game changer.

Don’t tell me how hard you worked. Tell me how much you got done.

Just to add to the conversation. Godin demystifies business, relationships and the web in 90 seconds.

http://onemann.blogspot.com/2011/09/social-networking-explained-in-three.html