...
- Why are people allowed to get away with over-relying on jargon rather than actually getting anything done? As a leader, how would you approach this issue with a member of staff?
- Is the 'smart-talk trap' a purely American phenomenon?
- List the 'business phrases/jargon' you repeatedly hear around your office.
National Staff Development Council: Take action to bridge the knowing-doing gap http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/results/res3-04spar.cfm
Why Can't We Get Anything Done?
Stanford B-school professor Jeffrey Pfeffer has a question: If we're so smart, why can't we get anything done? Here are 16 rules to help you make things happen in your organization.
Why Can't We Get Anything Done?
Stanford B-school professor Jeffrey Pfeffer has a question: If we're so smart, why can't we get anything done? Here are 16 rules to help you make things happen in your organization.
From: Issue 35 | May 2000 | Page 168 | By: Alan M. Webber http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/35/pfeffer_Printer_Friendly.html
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/change-management/knowing-doing-gap
The Knowing-Doing Gap
Once you are into the implementation stage of your project you may find that you start to experience the Knowing-Doing Gap. Quite simply you know what needs to be done, you think you have put the right structures and processes in place but for some reason this hasn't translated into the right sort of response. Pfeffer & Sutton (2000) identify a number of factors that contribute to this gap:
Pseudo-action Deceptions:
- Thinking that knowing is sufficient for success.
- Thinking that talking (meetings, committees, reports, etc.) is action.
- Thinking that measuring things is action or contributes to performance.
- Thinking that making a decision is the same as taking action.
- Thinking that planning is the same as action.
Clogging the Gap by giving in to the Inhibitions of Fear:
- Fearing complexity, lack of clarity about what specifically to do.
- Fearing risk, mistakes, errors, and imperfection.
- Fearing competition, focusing on what others are doing and trying to get ahead.
- Fearing the new, the different, the unpredictable, falling back on precedence (standard operating procedures) and so mindlessly defaulting to what you've always done.
Taboos that prevent and forbid action:
- 'Don't make a fool of yourself.'
- 'Don't risk making a mistake, it's too dangerous.'
- 'Don't be imperfect.'
Lack of structure for action:
- No structure for following up.
- No structure for rewarding learning from mistakes.
- No structure for rewarding risk taking.
Personal items predisposing us from taking action:
- Not being action oriented in our person, being inactive and passive.
- Making excuses and letting excuses stop us.
- Discounting small actions.
http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/06/management-phil.html http://metacool.typepad.com/metacool/2006/10/everyone_has_a_.html
Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform. By: Hallowell, Edward M.. Harvard Business Review, Jan2005, Vol. 83 Issue 1, p54-62, 9p, 3c; Abstract: Frenzied executives who fidget through meetings, lose track of their appointments, and jab at the "door close" button on the elevator aren't crazy--just crazed. They suffer from a newly recognized neurological phenomenon that the author, a psychiatrist, calls attention deficit trait, or ADT, It isn't an illness; it's purely a response to the hyperkinetic environment in which we live. But it has become epidemic in today's organizations. When a manager is desperately trying to deal with more input than he possibly can, the brain and body get locked into a reverberating circuit while the brain's frontal lobes lose their sophistication, as if vinegar were added to wine. The result is black-and-white thinking; perspective and shades of gray disappear. People with ADT have difficulty staying organized, setting priorities, and managing time, and they feel a constant low level of panic and guilt. ADT can be controlled by engineering one's environment and one's emotional and physical health. Make time every few hours for a "human moment," a face-to-face exchange with a person you like. Get enough sleep, switch to a good diet, and get adequate exercise. Break down large tasks into smaller ones, and keep a section of your work space clear. Try keeping a portion of your day free of appointments and e-mail.The author recommends that companies invest in amenities that contribute to a positive atmosphere. Leaders can also help prevent ADT by matching employees' skills to tasks. When managers assign goals that stretch people too far or ask workers to focus on what they're not good at, stress rises. ADT is a very real threat to all of us. If we don't manage it, it will manage us.