One of the things that I really enjoy on Facebook is the ON THIS DAY memory jogger, where Facebook shares with you photos and sayings and posts and events that you shared, on this same day, each day, through the years that you’ve been on Facebook.
And this week Facebook reshared a quotation with me… a quotation that I actually wrote about last year, and that is so good, I am going to write something new today based on that quotation.
Here’s the quotation:
“By procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally ‘nicely’ regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only persons you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization”. – Colin Powell
When I wrote last year about this brilliant observation from Colin Powell, I focussed on the invalid concept that all ideas have merit and need “inclusion”, when in fact, some ideas will always be more valid than others, and will need to be acted upon more quickly, rather than be debated about.
In the same vain, in a team and in a committee, there will be those team members who have specific skills that the organisation will benefit from by just allowing those team members with those skills to perform their key roles freely, and achieve.
I have seen organisations where the opposite of this thought has been the primary driver from management, and the results in that organisation end up looking like porridge.
Mush.
Because everybody gets a turn at being the quarterback.
But at the same time, the organisation, or the company, or the team suffers considerably because the best quarterback in the team is now playing another [lesser] role while a less skilled person gets their turn at being a quarterback.
Inclusion is one thing.
But it sucks if it diminishes results.
And if it confuses spectators, fans, customers, and shareholders, then the reasons for “inclusion” need to truly be analysed.
Especially when results are suffering.
In your business…
Is the “everybody gets a turn” theory diminishing your results and confusing your customers?
Is that theory causing a reduction of ownership of key roles within your organisation, purely because of a “policy” of rotation.
Powell says it as it is… [my emphases in bold]
“the only persons you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization”.
Be careful … nobody sets out to create porridge…
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Dr. David Moffet BDS FPFA CSP is a certified CX Experience coach. David works with his wife Jayne Bandy to help SME businesses improve their Customer Service Systems to create memorable World Class experiences for their valued clients and customers. Click here to find out how David and Jayne can help your business