for large customers, and a marketing campaign for new customers.
Trap: Avoiding Action – “But It Doesn't Solve the Whole Problem”
One of the other mistakes I see teams making is that when they work on big problems, even if they focus on describing outcomes, the outcomes are too big – and then they decide it's impossible.
Here is an example of such a desired outcome: We need to do a better job running meetings in our organization. What would it look like if it were working? All meetings would start and finish on time and have a clear purpose and desired outcomes defined, the right people would be in attendance, and we'd document decisions and actions.
Then they start to think about all the reasons why this won't work in certain organizations or geographies, or that there is not enough sponsorship, or that there are too many different kinds of meetings to make a new process work.
Then one brave soul will stand up and say something like, “Why don't we start by improving our quarterly business review meetings? Let's describe what those would look like if they were working better.”
Then someone else will shoot that down and say, “But that doesn't solve the whole problem,” or “that doesn't solve the biggest part of the problem.”
Resist this type of reasoning.
Solve the smaller, concrete problem. Then pick another small concrete problem and solve that one next.
Don't let the reasoning of “but this doesn't solve the whole problem” stop you from making progress on a valuable, smaller, concrete problem.
This destructive immune response happens for a few reasons. People can convince themselves that if the big problem is impossible, then it's okay not to try. Why waste time on something that is impossible? But the real issue is fear of actually doing something. Once you commit to defining a specific, concrete problem that can be solved, then it becomes clear what you need to do – and you need to do it.
There is a lot of avoidance of doing that happens in business, because it's easier to pretend to add value by just talking about the complexity of the big problem and sounding smart, and stating all the reasons why it can't be done.
Concrete, specific outcomes drive action. Always beware of people who are experts at avoiding action.
Drive Forward Momentum by Getting Concrete and Specific
What is the difference between an outcome that helps drive action, and an end goal (also an outcome) that does not drive action? The answer is scope and concreteness. Where a big, inspiring end goal is too high-level and vague to drive action, a more tightly defined, concrete, specific outcome will make your action plan very clear.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
