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The Smart-Talk Trap. By: Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Sutton, Robert I.. Harvard Business Review, May/Jun99, Vol. 77 Issue 3, p134-142, 9p, 2c; Abstract: This article reports that many companies are plagued by a gap between knowing too much and doing too little about problems that face their organization. The authors call this space the "knowing-doing" gap. This gap can be traced to a basic human propensity to let talk substitute for action. Talk, and especially smart talk, is highly rewarded in organizations because speaking with intelligence and confidence has been reinforced in people. Five characteristics have been found in companies that have avoided the smart-talk trap, which include having leaders who understand their work, have a bias for plain language and simple concepts, frame questions by asking "how," not just "why," have strong mechanisms that close the loop, and believe that experience is the best teacher in business. Listed companies that use talk productively include IDEO Product Development, Bayport Terminal, Continental Airlines, Macintosh, and Merrill Lynch. INSETS: The Empty Words of Mission Statements;The Price-and Value-of Advice
http://www.cioinsight.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=30084,00.asp
Notes from a talk by Robert Sutton on The Smart Talk Trap
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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:
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you
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Taboos that prevent and forbid action:
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make
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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.