Making Decisions Now!
07/14/03
Rick Wagoner, President and CEO of General Motors, knows the importance of speed to market: "Our reputation for being bureaucratic wasn't entirely unearned. Now we say it's better to be 80 percent right fast than 100 percent right slow. At meetings we have one hour to decide what we're going to do, and who's going to do it. ... In the old days, when we had a concept car, we'd wait until it appeared in one of the car-buff magazines and then see if any readers wrote in. Now, we show concept cars on a Webcast and use an Internet tracking service to get feedback. With the SSR car, we were hearing the next day that we had to build it."
Taking one hour to decide what to do and who is going to do it! Don't you just love even thinking about that. It's been said that the greatest gift a team can get from a boss is a canceled meeting! People run around yelling--"Free time! I'm free!" Do your meetings get the right things done? Are your agendas focused on strategic issues, real business goals, and accountability or are they exercises in frustration? Making decisions faster may result in some mistakes, but course-corrections can get you back on target when you are on the move! How much due diligence is necessary? When does it become an invitation to team procrastination? Where are your decision-making habits creating bottlenecks you can no longer afford? This week, streamline and focus a few of your meetings, or cancel them. Either way, your team is going to be a lot more excited!
A PAULSON QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"This week, streamline and focus a few of your meetings, or cancel them. Either way, your team is going to be a lot more excited!" --Terry L. Paulson, PhD, CSP, CPAE
MONDAY'S MIRTHFUL MOMENT
Dr. Loren Ekroth (www.conversation-matters.com) provides this week's mirthful message--Selections from Washington Post Style, in which you were asked to take any word, add, subtract or alter a single letter, and redefine the word. Enjoy!
Guiltar: A musical instrument whose strings are pulled by your mother.
Bigmoidoscope: A very scary doctor's instrument.
Idiotarod: An annual Alaskan race in which morons pull huskies sitting on sleds.
Sitcoma: Typical TV fare.
Dummary: An unnecessary explanation of a patently obvious concept.
Teim: Well, okay, now there's an I in team, but . . .
Rescute: Saving the attractive women, children and puppies first.
When you keep your eyes open for mirth, you just may find it! Hope this kicks off your morning and helps get your mood adjusted for the week. Now, get busy MAKING CHANGE WORK and have some fun along the way!...