Thank You Peyton Manning

Now before anyone gets all up in arms let me explain myself. I should also mention that I have not been avidly following the Indianapolis Colts and I am not a Manning devotee. But living in Indiana of course we hear a lot about the team. So why am I thanking Manning.

First I wanted to thank him for showing our youth that you should not “play at all costs”. I know he was playing in pain at least at the end of last season. But even then I don’t remember hearing a lot of hoopla regarding how the pain affected his play. And yes we have been kept up to date with all the other medical updates. He has not rushed to play. Which I know is really hard with the lack of success the team has had this year. There are things that need to be taken seriously regarding your physical health. My son played with young men (high school age) who needed to seek medical attention but didn’t want to sit out even one game. I wonder how they are doing now.

Secondly I wanted to thank Manning for the excellent example of begin a team player. He is active on the sideline doing anything he can to assist the team. He is still actively engaged in watching the plays, analyzing the defense, and giving advice to the quarterback. When I have heard him interviewed after games I haven’t heard him whine about not playing. Or what he would have done if he was in the game. That is the way a team member should support the team no matter if they are unable to play for the season, not having a great game, or are ill. I am sure he has had a lot of down moments but from my seat I have only seen an individual who is working to get healthy and helping his team.

In many offices I see individuals who say they are team players yet they come in sick or they do not perform at the best. They usually have some excuse like “I’ve worked really hard all week so I am going to coast today.” Or they come in sick because they don’t believe that their teammates can cover for them.  Our companies need employees who come in to work and provide their best every day. Learning to work as a team and support each other is a key skill that everyone needs to learn. Manning couldn’t provide the team his skills as a quarterback on the field, but he could provide his knowledge of the game, skill at understanding the other team’s defense, and being present (not sitting on the bench goofing around). I think we should all aspire to be that good of a teammate.

Are Leaders Allowed to Charge Their Minds on Issues?

With all the hoopla around the presidential candidates I have really enjoyed the talk radio stations. Especially when the listeners call in because some of the comments are really out there. Yesterday however one comment really caught my attention. The caller commented about one candidate changing  their minds on several issues from the last election.

So my question to you is "Are leaders/manager/executives allowed to change their minds?" Why or why not. If the answer is yes how should they handle the change?

It’s Time For Action

Well it has taken almost 3 years before the President actually said something that I agree on. Pres. Obama asked the Congressional Black Caucus to “stop whining.” I don’t necessarily agree with the rest of the speech. But I find the complaints about paying way too much in taxes very interesting. We want to get the government out of our live yet we look for the government to:

• Pay for our retirement because everyone expects social security to cover our retirement.
• Pay for people who are not employed for almost 2 years!
• Pay subsidies to certain industries so that they can be competitive in the global market.
• Pay for development of advancement in technology or new technology.
• Pay for research for diseases.
• Pay for natural disasters.
• And I am sure there are much more.

I believe it is time for individual action. It time to stop saying:

• I don’t have time to…
• I don’t like to….
• I really don’t want to….
• It’s not my job….
• They don’t pay me to ……
• I shouldn’t have to….

We need to start taking PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY for improving yourself and your organization. If you are not working then you need to go out and get a job. I find it interesting that out of work individuals that I know could get a job but it isn’t the right job. So they would rather sit at home on unemployment instead of going out and working. That is not what the country needs.

In most companies I hear that there is a lack of trust in the organization. But I think that it goes deeper than that. No one wants to take responsibility for anything. Nor do they want to be held accountable. And as I pondered on the topic I began to think that maybe it is even deeper to that. Is it really a cause of lack of loyalty to anyone or anything?

Loyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause. We have become a society that is not loyal to anything. We are not loyal to our spouse, our company and any more I don’t think most Americans are loyal to our country. 

I believe that if we were loyal then maybe the accountability would be easier to build. But without accountability I do not believe that we can develop trust. We have to be ready to fire people who are not accountable even if they are a good performer. Now you are probably wondering how that could happen. I have seen many times where individuals do not involve others in their work as they are directed to, or they are consistently late, but yet they get the job done. I don’t believe that behavior is good for the company. I would have trouble trusting that individual. I would question his loyalty to my organization. So I would have to let him go. 

I believe as businesses should set accountability structures and hold their people to it. 

We are getting what we asked for…

I have to shake my head at everything that I am hearing on the news these days. But not for the reasons you may think.

Examples of getting what we asked for:

• We believed that everyone should be able to buy a house. The banking industry came up with a product to meet that demand. People who really couldn’t afford to buy and maintain a house didn’t read the contract and the future payments. RESULT: defaults on mortgages and the banking industry stuck with a lot of houses instead of money.

• We asked for cheaper products. The business community has answered us. To produce the product at those prices they have had to computerize, create robot, or go overseas to meet the price desired. RESULT: fewer employees.

• We pushed for an increase in minimum wages. It was passed. Now it the cost for employees has caused companies to computerize, create robot, or go overseas to continue to beat the competition. RESULT: fewer employees.

• In 2008 when companies were struggling and either closed or had to lay off employees we asked for help. The government extended the unemployment benefits. RESULT: higher unemployment taxes that companies have to pay (potentially at the federal and state level), thus increasing the cost of every working employee.

Secondary result: this probably isn’t true for everyone but these are some of the effects I heard from CEOs and business owners:

1)      Employees tell them that they can make more from unemployment and don’t have to work hard.

2)      Employees will work for a couple months and then quit so they can get back on unemployment.

3)      Would rather be on unemployment than take a cut in pay.

4)      They want to start out at the same rate that they were receiving at their old job. (Not at the starting salary/wage.)

So individuals are not working really hard to get jobs.

• According to reports the amount of debt most families are carrying is at an all-time high (they keep raising their debt ceilings). And we are being told that if we go out and spend more it would create more jobs. RESULTS: not 100% sure but would bet that it will increase the debt load of the same families.

• Companies are asked to create jobs. RESULTS: again not 100% but will this lead to increase cost of products or increased debt to the organization.

• We asked for lower taxes. The government has been working different programs to reduce the tax impact. RESULTS: the government has to reduce staff and that causes reduction in services or the ability to perform the services.

• We scream that the government has to do something when: there’s a flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, or any other disaster. WHERE IS THE MONEY SUPPOSE TO COME FROM?

In the last election I heard people interviewed that were sure that Pres. Obama would buy them a house, get them insurance and a job. Now where is that money coming from?

The situation we are in reminds me of a quote by Mao Tse Tung:

“It is well known that when you do anything, unless you understand its actual circumstances, its nature and its relationship to other things, you will not know the laws governing it, or how to do it, or be able to do it well.”

In this quote I believe that he is referring to the natural laws that govern life. The natural cause and effect involved in every interaction. Individuals make decisions or take actions based on their view of the situation. They think they know all the facts or all of the consequences of their actions but they don’t. They believe that they are making “logical” decision and don’t realize that every decision has an emotion connected to it.

When I work with groups/teams I am amazed at their hesitancy to really look at the downside of the proposed decision. It someone will be negatively impacted their answer usually is something like “the good of the many out way the need of the few”, or “it will impact on a few people”. In a local debate the comment was “it will only negatively affect 1 business.” 

So I believe that until we are really able to quit making quick decisions (or believing that there is one answer and your know it) and look at the better decision we will continue to spiral. I feel this is especially important within organizations. Employees, management, leadership, and owners need to work together to find the best solution for the organization. What is the overall best decision. I am sure that the impact will not be the same on everyone but what isn’t the goal for the organization to succeed so that everyone will benefit?

When will we get our pride back and take responsibility not on for our self’s but also for everyone around us. Why is it better to be on unemployment better than working 2 jobs? Why do we hate the government but yet want it to take care of everything?

We have met the enemy and yes it is us.

“Quick Decisions lead to Faulty Solutions”

Effective Teams: It All Starts With Me

Yes I know we have all heard this before right? But when I talk about starting with “me” I am referring to the fact that I really need to understand “me”. I know you are thinking I do know “me” but not to sound philosophical, can we really know all there is to know about ourselves? The reason I believe that we need to start with “me” is because that is the only member of the team we can truly understand and control.

I am not by any means a young person (I can remember the plate spinners and life before cell phones) but I believe I have learned more about myself in the last 10 years than I did up to then. I have learned about what motivates me, what I want to achieve, and what makes me happy. 

When I work with people I have to check on “me” so I know what I need to do for an effective conversation. This check includes answering the following list of questions so I am clear on what will impact me during the conversation.

• My views on the topic being discussed.
• My views of the other people involved.
• How I believe the group will and won’t consider my input.
• How does this fit in with the overall priorities in my current life. (yes current because our priorities can and do change frequently)
• How do I believe the other people in the group view me?
• What am I doing after the meeting?
• What has happened to me in the last 24 hours?
• What do I want to gain from this conversation?
• What do I have to lose?
• Who in the group has an agenda they are pushing.

I am sure that this is a partial list as I find new things that I need to understand. All of these items add bias to my conclusions.

I really thought about this after watched the movie “I Robot”. For those that haven’t seen the movie, he story takes place in the year 2035 in Chicago, in a world where robots are widespread and used as servants and for various public services. The robots were to follow the “three laws”. The “three laws” are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

But the controlling computer began interpreting the laws as its intelligence evolved. It decided that in order to protect humanity as a whole, some humans must be sacrificed and some freedoms must be surrenders to keep humanity safe. The decision was purely logical and didn’t have any feelings or concerns. It was the best decision.

How many times to we hear that we made the best decision. With the robots they looked at the issue without any preconceived idea of what the best decision is. I am not sure that we can say the same thing when we make decisions. We way we are being unbiased. Yet I do not believe that we can be unbiased. We make decisions based on all of our history and experience. So how can we go into any interactions as an unbiased participant?

So what do you do to keep open to others ideas and information?

How Long Does It Take To Build A Team?

No one can say for sure. But what I do know is that it is not a task that you can check off and say it is done. That's why it's usually referred to as team "building". Let me give you an example for the sports world and the next entry will begin to look at how it applies to the work world.

I am a huge Indiana University basketball fan. The men's basketball program began to spiral from when Bob Knight (no matter what you view of Coach Knight is the problems started then) left IU and the completely collapsed during the2007-08 basketball season. Now regardless of what happened and why, Coach Tom Crean walked in as head coach for IU on April 1, 2008 with the following situation:

1.  The school was facing the possibility of severe NCAA sanctions based on the previous year's actives. The sanctions could include loss of amount of scholarships (Which for those that don't know D1 schools, those that you might see in the NCAA tourney, are allowed to give out 13 scholarships. These scholarships are what helps the school attract talented players to their programs. There are hundreds to maybe thousands of other schools that have very good sports programs but are not allowed to give this amount of scholarships for basketball.) to possibly not being able to play in any post season tourneys for a set period of time.
2. Crean came in with worse than a dysfunctional team  he virtually had no team (freshman phenom Eric Gordon opted to leave early for the NBA, DJ White graduated and was drafted, two players (including Jordan Crawford) transferred and three others were kicked off the team). As a result, Crean was left with a roster with only two returning players, only one of whom was on scholarship (the two players combined for 30 points in the previous season).
3. Coach started the 2008-09 season with one senior, five true freshmen, six walk-ons, Having one walk- is an oddity in many college basketball programs. So to have six in a highly regarded program like IU is unheard of.
4. The Coach and his team had very little knowledge of the players. He didn't know what their strengths were and what would be the best way to use them in the team.
5. Normally during recruiting Coaches are looking for players to help either fill a needed role or to provide skills that the team is lacking. Coach Crean didn't have a core team so any recruiting he was able to do was mainly to get talented players.
6. IU basketball fans are fierce. They not only follow their teams everywhere but they expect them to win. So not winning was not an option for the fans. So no pressure there right.

So needless to say the first season was really hard to watch for a fan but very interesting for me. I watched with great interest, admiration, and pride in how hard the team worked. No they didn't win the championship, actually they had the worse record in the school's history (6-25, 1-17conference). What I admired most was the guts and commitment the team showed for their team, their coach, and their school. The team came every night to play.

The next year was better but still not the caliber that the IU faithful expect (10-21, 4-14 conference). This year started with high expectations and hopes. The team started off fairly strong and they have had some strong showings yet they are 12-15, 3-11 conference at the writing of this entry.(including 2 wins against nationally ranked teams) But when you have fans that are expecting 20+ wins and a trip to the tourney it is a tough road. That is not going to happen this year.

Yet there are people who believe that maybe Crean needs to go. They believe that it is taking too long to get a winning team. How long should it take to build a championship team? Especially when you have nothing to start with.

I don't know about a NCAA championship team, but I do know that developing a work team takes a long time. So how do you build your teams? How long did it take? Next entry we'll start talking about how to build your team.

It's All About Me After All

Since May I have been working with a new client. It has always amazed me how much similarity there are between groups. Usually I am told that there is no way I can help them unless I know there business. But it is not about the business. It’s all about the “me” in the organization. That is the part that no one in the organization understands. This is the territory that I travel.

When working with teams, I no longer talk about having a positive attitude. Most people hear “positive attitude” as a platitude and they are tired of hearing that if they are just positive all the frustrating things will go away. The frustration remains because it has not been dealt with plus now they have to smile about it.

Yet it is all about the “me”. Not the attitude but rather the point of view of the “me”. What does the various “mes” feel about change the organization is taking? Point of view is defined as an individual’s opinions or set of beliefs which shapes their attitude. Many times these points of view are interpreted as a negative attitude. When in reality it is because from their point of view they do not agree with the direction.

The issue with points of view is that usually each “me” has already figured out what the fix should be. So any activity that doesn’t match what they think needs to be done (believe me they have been stewing over it for a long time) is not going to work. If I work with a production team, that is fully convinced that the issue is with sales, will not even want to think how their processes may be affecting the situation. “We are not the problem you need to fix sales.”

What many people don’t understand is that what appears to be working may only be working because it is a band aid to help the organization. But if the organization wants to succeed and grow then the band aids need to be removed and the real work of improvement needs to be accomplished.

Changing points of view is actually harder than changing their attitude. Actually you need to change the point of view before you can effectively change the attitude. Otherwise changes in attitude are false and end up negatively affecting the changes you want to make in your organization. People will do things because they are supposed to not because it is the best thing for the organization. So you now have individuals who don’t care but have a good attitude. You want them to care. So how do you change their point of view?

Here is where the work begins. When you think of point of view you may think of writing or movies. At least that is where I learned about point of view. In these fields point of view is important if you want to truly connect to your reader or viewer. But isn’t’ that want you want to do with your employees? Award-winning author Alicia Rasley in her book “The Power of Point of View” explains how point of view functions as a crucial piece of your story--something that ultimately shapes and drives character, plot, and every other component of your fiction. I believe that point of view shapes and drives everyone’s thoughts and actions. How can you find the points of view of your team and how do you shift it that is the question. After all it is all about “me”.

Have you been able to switch the points of view of your employees? Share your success.

Why Would You Fire the Team’s Star?

It was interesting to read today that the University of Indianapolis dismissed their leading scorer. Why you may ask would you let go your leading scorer (who for the record was on target to become the top scorer in the university’s history)?

According to the reporter’s article Coach LeAnn Freeland dismissed her leading scorer because of inappropriate on-court behavior.  Finally, an individual is held accountable for how they act. How many people do you know that are real jerks at work but they are allowed to be jerks because of their expertise or ability to “score” for the organization? 

I know watching a basketball game may not seem similar to watching the actions of people in a work place but I would disagree. Work processes are a series of “passes” leading to a “score”. Some people believe that if they are good enough, the “star” of the unit, then they can act anyway they want. If I am a production manager I can be the biggest jerk around as long as I can make the impossible happen. The more miracles I can make happen the more bad behavior is accepted. 

Why do we let this happen? For a variety of reasons but the two that I see most often are:

• “We want the “scores".
• “I don’t know how to address the behavior.” It is difficult to write expectations of behavior in a form that is easily understand.

As a business owner I understand that it can be extremely frightening to eliminate your prime revenue source, however what is the inappropriate behavior doing to your entire organization? Are you losing other key staff people on a regular basis? Is it worth keeping the “star”?

Holding individuals to behavioral standards is very difficult. It is easy to try to justify their inappropriate  behavior. “Steve only yelled because of ………..” We make these justifications for a variety of reasons; the main one that I hear is that the supervisor can understand why the behavior may have occurred. “If my mother was in the hospital I would be on edge too, so I can understand why he was upset when ………”

Until we start holding people accountable for their actions (the how we do things) and not just their accomplishment (meeting the goals of the organization) we shouldn’t expect their behavior to change. But I find it interesting how the team blossoms when the negative force is removed for the picture. It may take a little while for the organization to totally adjust but the environment of the organization will change immediately. It’s almost like weeding a garden. The flowers will take a few days to get use to the space but then they multiply and become fuller.

Tell us about the inappropriate behaviors in your organization and what is it cost of the behaviors?

Rake Constantly

I find it interesting when companies don’t think they can learn from other companies outside their industries. Especially since I recently learned something watching the landscape company I hired to cut down dead trees in our yard.

As I watched the small crew work, it was a 4 member crew; I noticed that at least one was raking up debris constantly through the process. As I began to watch I wondered if the job could be done cheaper with fewer people? Do they really need 4 people? I know none of you have ever seconded guessed a contractor while there were doing a project.

While I watched the crew I realized that the tree removal was never messy.

• Large branches were cut down. The branches were hauled off and shredded and the mess was raked every time the ground was free of branches.
• Sections of the trunk of the tree were cut off. A small “gator” took the sections to a spot in the back yard where they were stacked (for the family to cut and split). All the debris was raked as each section was mover. 
• The stump was removed, the final mess was raked and the ground was smoothed over the location the tree once occupied.

I was amazed at how fast these 4 individuals removed 4 fully grown (although dead) trees plus 3 other stumps in less than 5 hours. I mentioned to the owner that I was surprised how quickly they removed the trees. The owner told me that they usually use a crew of 3 people but they found that by adding one person to their crew they were able to get more accomplished in a day.

Of course I don’t have access to their numbers, but I firmly believe that if they didn’t have the 4^th member the project would have taken as least 2 more hours. Which I would assume would mean that the company would not have been able to do another contract.

But the bigger lesson for me was what the seeing the cost of choosing to ignore the “raking”. Even though at the time it doesn’t seem to be really important urgent and there will be time to do it later. But that is where I get in trouble because it just piles up.

When working with organizations I find that managers tend to not “rake” up the mess in their interactions with each other and their staff. I’ve heard many times “it is not a big deal, I’ll wait till it is something big before we talk about it.” Until we learn to “rake” the debris and get rid of it, our relationships will continue to get more cluttered. And unfortunately that is usually when an issue becomes a wildfire and burns through the entire organization turning it to ash.

Make 2011 the year you are going to start “raking” up issues constantly before the chaos causes wild fires in your organization.

Expectations - Are They Realistic?

I have found it interesting how we expect everyone to know what are our expectations. Every boss should know how to motivate me? Every sales person should know what I want? All employees should know what I need from them? All my vendors should know what I need? Right. Yet when I ask if they voiced what their expectations are I usually get a response like "They should know".

How are they to know what is expected from them? Are they suppose to pick it up through telepathy? I've seen managers and supervisors let their staff fail because they should know how to do something. Or better yet how many of us expect that our spouses or significant others know exactly what we want or need. That is by far the craziest thing I have ever heard.

I was at a meeting last week that was a tough meeting. After the meeting I was told that some of the staff were not happy with how the meeting went. Why didn't they mention it during the meeting? Why did they tell everyone but the people that needed to know?

I've decided it is because we are afraid to let people know what we really want. If I voice what I want or need other may either make fun of me, tell me I am wrong, or I may actually get what I need. That I believe is the scariest thought for most people. Because if I get people to treat me the way I want to be treated then I have nothing to complain about.

How much time would we save if everyone wasn't complaining after every meeting? What increase in productivity would we see if people were effectively working together? I don't know but I sure would like to find out.

What is Truth?

I had the opportunity to see a performance of the musical “Wicked” yesterday and was struck by a couple quotes.

"Where I'm from, we believe in all sorts of things that aren't true... we call it history.”

“Truth is what we agree on” (this one may be not quite exact)

But it got me thinking about the concept of truth. Everyone thinks they know the truth of an issue. Or they feel there is only one way to look at the facts and that is the truth. When I talk about perceptions, I am really referring to how we interpret the events and information around us.

The show was an interesting idea of how the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz came to be. It also gave you a glimpse of what Paul Harvey may have referred to as “And now you know the rest of the story.” Did the wicked witch actually die or was it a hoax.

So do we really know the truth of any issue? Are facts really the truth?  I’ve always heard that you can make statistic say anything you want 85% of the time. How many times have you heard both sides of a political debate use the same data to tell a different story? I mean is the glass half full, half empty, or do I have too much glass?

I think we need to get away from trying to find out what is true and false but rather what are the views and concerns of an issue. By changing the conversation to views and concerns you change the entire complexion of the discussion. After all it is the views and concerns that need to be addressed.

As Max Planck said “A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” Just think about some of the “truths” of our history that we laugh at today. Who will be laughing at our truths in the future?

Should President Obama have discussed the reasons why he replaced General McChrystal on a national stage?

I've always been told that a leader should praise in public, reprimand in private. Was the President modeling leadership when he told the world why he terminated McChrystal?  I am by no means saying that McChrystal was right in having the reporter from Rolling Stone there to write an article. However, hearing the President say he violated the code of conduct and erodes trust sounds a lot like some of the comments in the article.

What are your thoughts.

Rules: We Don’t Want Any Stinking Rules!

Why do we fight rules? We want everyone else to follow the rules. We will follow rules only when we like the rules. I don’t think I know anyone that follows all the rules. I have been told that there are too many rules so it is impossible to follow them all. Are there really too many rules? I don’t know.


If you think you are one of those people that follow all the rules are you sure? Have you tried to get away from following all the rules for taxes? (Before you answer that do you know all the tax laws?) How about all the traffic rules? It seems that if we’re not going at least 10 miles over the speed limit we’ll get run over. And if they get caught then they are mad at the officer. They won’t admit that they were wrong.

Air travel seems to draw people who don’t like to follow the rules. And they are angry if they are caught not following the rules. I feel sorry for the flight attendants because they are trying to ensure the safety of people who don’t want to listen to them. Do you know why you are supposed to have you feet clear of baggage? Trust me it is not because the flight attendant wants to hassle you.

Yet if something bad happens there is a cry for more rules, more oversight. For example everyone is irate over the BP oil disaster. They want the government to do something. Everyone wants more rules for the oil companies, even though it is in international waters. They don’t want any drilling in the ocean. Yet where will the oil come from? We can’t drill in Alaska. No one wants to be dependent on the middle-east so where is the oil going to come from. Of course no one thinks about how this is going to affect our fuel prices.

Organizations and teams are the same way. They need rules on a variety of issues; from when meetings will occur, attendance requirements, how meetings will run, how decisions will be made, etc. Yet it seems that there is an overriding culture in most organizations to not set rules. Why? Usually because it is thought that these rules are “common sense”.

Common sense, I love when someone brings up common sense. Common sense as defined by Wikipedia is “what people in common would agree on.” So it equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have or should have. In most dictionaries it is defined as “good sense and sound judgment”. So how can it be common sense if the “people in common” haven’t discussed and agreed upon the issue? I believe it was Stephen Covey who said “common sense is not common practice.”

Your teams need common practices. You need to have rules that people will follow. And more importantly the teams need to discuss and understand the practices and rules and why they are important to follow. This will help you also build commitment to the work of the team.

Are your teams rules getting in the way? Or maybe you would like some examples. Contact Margie for a free meeting rules assessment or samples of team rules.

Why Do Groups Make Bad Decisions?

I am told often that group decisions are not the best decision. I would usually agree that a group (not a team) does have a tendency to make bad decisions.

A group is not necessarily a team and conversely a team could be a group. For example right now in the country there is a lot of effort being spent on health care reform. When you ask people what they want they want the best care at the cheapest price. But is that the best for the country? In Washington we have a group of elected officials who are trying to look at the issues but I would argue they are not looking at it from a team approach.

The problem with group decisions making is a dilemma referred to as the tragedy of the commons. Garrett Hardin first published information about this dilemma in 1968. It refers to a situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and solely and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone’s long term interest for this to happen.

To be clear when I refer to a group decision, I’m referring to a decision made by vote where majority wins. I am sure that everyone that votes feels that their vote not only is the best for them and for everyone. The problem is that no one person knows what is the best for everyone. We would all like to believe that when we make a decision that it is also the best decision for now and the future. But is it?

In a fully functioning team, a team where they use a strategic process to solve issues, I believe that a better decision for everyone can be obtained. It will not have the same affect on everyone, but there are very few things that have the same affect on everyone. Will it be a solution for all time, no decisions will always need to be reviewed and adjusted as our society continues to grow and adapt.

Do what does this mean? Does every decision need to be made by teams? No, I don’t believe every decision needs to be made by a team. But I do believe that when we need decision that requires a number of different individuals or groups to implement, then a team should be used to analyze the facts and develop the best solution for the whole.

In order for the team to be prepared to take on the challenge of making the best decision possible, they need to be trained, develop the skills, and be coached and facilitated. Systems and resource need to be in place to support the team as well as accountability measures to track their progress.

Yes having effective teams do require a lot of work and focus. But their decisions can provide you with better decisions for your organization.

“I Didn’t Say It Was Your Fault, I Said I Was Going to Blame You”

When I saw this on the front of a tee shirt while shopping with my son I laughed because I thought it was funny. But then I realized it was only funny because it was true.

How often do you feel that you are being blamed for things that aren’t your fault? Or how often are you looking for someone to blame when it was your fault?

Or the bigger question….why? Why do we have to blame someone else? Why don’t we just take the responsibility of our errors?

It might be because there are many who believe that admitting fault is a sign of weakness. If I was wrong how can I be the boss? The chief cannot be wrong, right?

But to me the real issue is -- why. Why do we spend some much time trying to blame someone? Why not spend the time finding the causes for the issues and solving the issues? Because blaming is easier, finding a solution is….well often it’s scary. What if I am really at fault? What if I don’t like the solution? What if….?

Blaming however ends up causing more problems than you think? In organizations that play the blame game you find a culture of hesitation, resentment, fear, and finger pointing. Everyone is looking over their shoulders and afraid to do anything.

I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to work like that. I find organizations that have weeded out blame are more creative, productive, and let’s face it more fun.

If you are in the blame game how do you get out? Here’s a start:

1. Recognize that you have a blaming environment.

2. Stop looking for people to blame. Instead start asking “How did this happen?” And don’t be satisfied with the “who” (that’s the blaming part) push for how it happened.

3. Accept responsibility for your own failings and errors. Be the role model.

4. Start recognizing individuals that find process issues, especially before they happen.

These steps are just the beginning of a culture change. It will take a while to get the entire organization to shift. You will need to be strong and dedicated. Take time to celebrate and recognize the positive things that happen in your organizations.