#77: When culture becomes dangerous
I have stressed the importance of organizational culture quite a few times on air, so let me for once argue against culture.
Your culture is meant to smooth the way things are done around here by defining what is acceptable and ‘normal’. However, because your culture aims to stamp out the unacceptable and the ‘abnormal’, it can force conformity in thinking and behavior.
Therein lies the danger: your culture can inhibit creativity, innovation and change.
Note that unacceptable or abnormal behavior can be perceived as ‘normal’ in a different context. This is so because ‘abnormal’ behavior is defined as such by those in a group who are powerful enough to make the definition stick.
History shows how often abnormal behavior has triggered beneficial change. Therapists and coaches thus run the risk of delaying or inhibiting social change and paradigm shifts by trying to cure abnormal behavior.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#76: Perceptual errors at work - part 1
Why is it important for team leaders to understand and manage perceptual errors? Because perceptual errors result in us interpreting reality incorrectly. This leads to ineffective responses and inappropriate behaviors, which in turn reduces team effectiveness.
Here is the first perceptual error to watch out for. It’s called the false consensus effect. We tend to assume that others behave or think like us to a greater extent than is actually the case. For example, smokers tend to believe that a greater number of people smoke than the actual number who do smoke.
Why do we do this? Firstly, we like to think that others agree with us, because this means that we are "right". Secondly, due to a general lack of diversity in the work-place, we tend to work with people who already share our views.
You can counter the false consensus effect by simply having people around who think differently.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#75: Hearing your own echoes
You can be sure that the people in your organization understand the most important rule of organizational life: Keep the boss happy at all cost. Why? Because the boss decides on salary increases, bonuses, promotions, and so on.
The kings of old showed how those in power react to bad news: the bearer lost his head. Hints of what we can expect from those in power have conditioned us to pass on good news rather than bad; – to tell the king what we think he wants to hear; – to leave the bad news to someone else; – to let a colleague be the one to lose her job.
The result? The poor boss at the top, must make decisions of great import based on a steady stream of good news.
So be warned: If you listen only to what your subordinates or advisors tell you, then you are most likely hearing your own echoes.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#74: Perceptual errors at work
People don’t behave according to strategies and instructions; instead, they act on their perceptions. And yet, many managers ignore the power of perceptions and fail to manage perceptual errors. Perceptual errors are mistakes we make in interpreting reality and lead to ineffective responses and inappropriate behavior.
What causes these errors? Mental laziness. We all do the minimum amount of mental work we think necessary. For example, to deal with the information overload, we use mental short-cuts and simple decision-making rules to quickly make deductions and draw conclusions. The problem with using mental short-cuts is that we make up our minds without considering all relevant information. No wonder we misinterpret reality!
In my work, I see first-hand the impact of perceptual errors on team effectiveness. So, over the coming Saturdays, I will discuss a few common perceptual errors to watch out for.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#73: We, the enemy within
We know that success comes from listening and paying attention to customers. And we know that paying attention to what our competitors are doing can uncover potential opportunities and threats.
For the same reasons, we also know that we should pay attention to the people inside our organization, but we don’t, ... not really. Most of the attention we pay them is in the form of instructions, rules and regulations.
To get things done right, we rely more and more on policies and procedures instead of on our culture and values, .... on the way we do things here. No wonder we spend so much time and energy neutralizing internal forces, while almost ignoring customers and competitors.
When we fail to see our repetitive internal struggles as odd behavior, we have become what Jung called the enemy within. And we remain the enemy within as long as we deny that we created our obstacles to success.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#72: Change your perceptions or change your job
According to many long term surveys, most people express fairly positive views about their jobs. Can this really be true? Yes, if we take cognitive dissonance into account.
You experience cognitive dissonance when you notice an inconsistency between your attitude and your behavior. For example, when you admit to being unhappy in your job, your behavior in going to work is inconsistent with your feelings.
Inconsistency is an unpleasant state. So, when you admit to being dissatisfied with your job, you will be under pressure from this feeling of dissonance to do something about the uncomfortable state.
We all tend to take the path of least resistance, and so it will be easier for you to change your perceptions about your job than to find a new job. That is why I won’t be surprised if you tell me that you are happier in your job than you actually are.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#71: A disturbing side-effect of competition
For me, one of the more disturbing side-effects of competition is the belief that size beats all. Why is this disturbing? Well, in business terms, size equates to the capacity to produce output in volumes great enough so that each unit you produce costs less than that of your competitor. This is efficiency in action.
Here’s the rub: 'sunk costs'. Once you have invested millions in a facility that can churn out huge volumes cheaply, you will be very reluctant to write-off that investment and produce something different, even if your customers demand it.
You're sunk in more ways than one, because an obvious side-effect of increased output is a need to find more customers. The outcome? Increased competition! And increased competition means that you must invest to become more efficient than your competitors.
Am I the only one who smells a treadmill here?
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#70: Blogs share too much nonsense
Back in November I said that the path is from data to information to knowledge. I pointed out that information, when widely and freely available, does not automatically lead to knowledge. It just leads to more information, more widely and freely available.
Here is some information to support my point: Blog tracking firm Technorati reported in November that one-hundred-thousand new blogs were being created every day. According to the research firm Gartner, blogging is set to peak during the middle of 2007, when the number of blogs will level out at about one-hundred-million.
The problem lies with the contents, not with the concept: blogs share too much nonsense. Far too much information converted into a little knowledge means that wisdom remains in short supply. But there is hope for wisdom: According to Gartner, two-hundred-million people have already stopped writing blogs. Maybe I should join them.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
