Seven Words That Will Change Your Life: The Creativity of Reframing.
Hyperbole? Hype? No. It's a method I've used to achieve incredible results. It does carry some risk especially in companies where the dynamics are top down or people bruise like an over ripe peach. Here are the seven words. How Can I Help You Fail Today? Most meetings follow the basic four system: Information download, pep rally, GPS (where are we) and scolding. Instead of asking people what you can do to help. Ask How can I help you fail today?
By reframing the "help" question, you get to "real problem" of what or what can't be accomplished. Here's an example leaving political correctness aside:
A leader asks "how can I help you fail today?
Mary: You can help me fail....by setting artificial deadlines. (or not setting realistic deadlines) It's due Friday, but then we have all next week to tweak.
Lamar: You can help me fail...by not giving me all the information you have on the subject until the last minute.
Keith: You can help me fail... by ignoring my requests for adding two temps to help get rid of backlog.
Sandy: You can help me fail ...by not helping us define priorities.
Carmen: You can help me fail ... by being too busy on the day we need your approvals.
Chaos in the boardroom? A leader embarrassed? Authority diminished. Yes. But if the project or customer service is king, let's look at the real dynamics. Underneath all the "good feelings" between the leader and a team is a rising tide of resentment. You can help me fail by not giving me the tools to do the job." What would it mean if you knew the truth? Greater productivity? Yes. Because now you have a stakeholder of the problem, rather than an employee.
Think of it as a psychological intervention. If you are a little anxious about learning or telling the truth, then it means that the organization is failing on some level. Think about Nasa? About Pre 9-11 (lack) of information sharing. About Enron. Seven words. A big opportunity to change the way you lead or participate.
Creativity Central
in Creativity
|
2 Comments
|
1 Reference
References (1)
-
Response: happiness secretYesterday was especially rough. When I got home Heather was still logged on and had IE up so I went to MySpace and she was still logged in there so I looked at her inbox and there was a message from Sergeant Buttrum. I quickly switched back to my user profile ...
Reader Comments (2)
You are coming out of the box like a winner. I just can't imagine you failing at anything.;)
Of course, for many people, price is not a consideration and they are focused on getting the items they want and they don't necessarily have to find the best deal, get the best louis vuitton handbags for the price, or find the discount coupon. For you, we offer some tips to getting the best deal on your vuitton handbags .First, consider a knockoff Monogram Damier . That is, you don't necessarily need the real thing. Many knockoffs are high quality Monogram Damier Leather that still far exceed in looks and quality the cheaper mass-produced bags you can also buy.