There is one thing I see over, and over, over and… ok you get it. It happens a lot.
Someone thinks they know best and it can often get emotional. Then the focus turns to who is right instead of what is right. It’s a bummer. It can happen just ONE time and it will set the culture in a direction towards failure. I mean the failure cliff, the one you don’t learn from, you die from. Metaphorical of course, no one is actually dying in this post.
The over and over part is the HiPPO. It might be you. It’s the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. Yeah, that person. We know them, you probably just thought of them as you read this. This post is for the HiPPO. Is it you? If you are the owner, CEO or some title that usually means you have a lot of money, even if you don’t, you are the HiPPO. You should just assume you are causing problems, that way you can see the steps more clearly to prevent them.
Here they are, btw, they also work with raising kids.
- When you are thinking WTF? ask – can you tell me more about that?
- When you just want to get it done. ask – what are the first steps towards the final solution?
- When someone does something you wouldn’t have done. ask – what goal were you looking to accomplish, maybe I can help or get you the resources you need?
There are a bunch here, make up your own. The key is that you humble yourself, just assume you are the HiPPO and your culture is not as open as you think.
Oh, 0ne more.
When someone says something that just sounds crazy, bite your tongue for 30 seconds. Seriously, just soft enough to get your own attention. It solves two problems, (1) you don’t say something stupid and (2) the person always clears up what they said if you give them the chance.
A value of our team at 8ONE8 is we can facilitate away from ‘who’s right’ to ‘what’s right’. It usually involves data, analysis of your customer and fifteen years of known practices that work (and also those that don’t)