Some resources
The Smart-Talk Trap. By: Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Sutton, Robert I. Harvard Business Review, May/Jun99, Vol. 77 Issue 3, p134-142
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.
An online version of this article at CIO Insight
A blog posts on itpost that links the idea to Why Great Leaders Don't Take "Yes" for an Answer, by Michael Roberto of Harvard Business School
Sutton explaining the ideas in a short video
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