Far
too often, managers think they have found the solution to this problem
when they see lots of energetic activity: where people sometimes run
from meeting to meeting, preparing endless PowerPoint presentations;
where people have agendas containing a long list of activities; where
people seem willing to abandon the status quo; where people seem to
have a great sense of urgency. But more often than not, this flurry of
behavior is not driven by any underlying determination to move and win,
now. It’s driven by pressures that create anxiety and anger. The
resulting frantic activity is more distracting than useful. This is a
false sense of urgency that may be even more destructive than
complacency because it drains needed energy in activity and not
productivity.
Since people mistake the running-around for a real
sense of urgency, they sometimes actually try to create it. The
frustrated boss screams “execute.” His employees scramble: sprinting,
meeting, task-forcing, e-mailing—all of which create a howling wind of
activity. But that’s all it is, a howling wind or, worse yet, a tornado
that destroys much and builds nothing.
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Do people have trouble scheduling meetings on important initiatives
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Because they are too busy?
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Are critical issues delegated without the involvement of key people?
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Do people spend long hours developing power points on almost anything?
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Do people regularly blame others for problems instead of taking responsibility?
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Are failures of the past discussed not to learn, but to stall new initiatives?
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Are assignments around critical issues regularly not completed on time or with sufficient quality?
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Are highly selective facts used to shoot down data that suggests there is a big hazard or opportunity?
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Do meetings on key issues end with no decisions about what must
happen immediately (except the scheduling of the next meeting)?
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Does passive aggression exist around big issues?
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Do people say, “we must act now,” but then don’t act?
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Do cynical jokes undermine important discussions?
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Do people run from meeting to meeting exhausting themselves and rarely focusing on the most critical hazards or opportunities?