Truth Tellers Needed!
09/16/02
Neil Minow, Founder of the board watchdog group Corporate Library, has a suggestion for today's CEO: "The CEO is always going to want to turn the board meeting into a pep rally. You've got to say to him, 'Look, I'm a busy person. I don't have time for the good news. What I need for you to tell me is the bad news. Robert Duvall says in The Godfather: 'I have to go to the airport. The Godfather is a man who likes to hear bad news immediately.' That should be emblazoned on every corporate governance policy sheet."
During World War II, Winston Churchill worried that his strong personality and quick wit might stop staff from confronting him with bad news. So, he set up a unit, the Statistical Office, outside his chain of command whose job it was to feed him the worst, most unvarnished facts he needed to hear.
Whether you want to draw on Churchill or the Godfather, every leader has to find a way to get the bad news quickly. Hidden problems become big problems, and, in today's environment of broken trust, such big problems can bring down the credibility of even the best company.
One must balance the ability to sustain the morale of your team in difficult times with an ability to make truth telling a part of your organization's culture. Instead of seeing problems as a crisis, see them as an opportunity to prove you can respond quickly as a problem solver. Make such actions a badge of honor instead of a reason to be discouraged.
How do you make sure that truth gets up the organization for your organization? Use this message to make it more likely that you do find a way to surface the unvarnished truth.
MONDAY'S MIRTHFUL MOMENT
This week's mirthful moment comes to us from Sam Alibrando who received this humorous look at aging from Kathleen Derrig-Palumbo. This may not apply to all of you, but to those it does, well...enjoy! For the rest of you, it will eventually apply to you so you might as well enjoy it as well!
1972 LONG HAIR
2002 LONGING FOR HAIR1972 MOVING TO CALIFORNIA BECAUSE IT'S COOL
2002 MOVING TO CALIFORNIA BECAUSE IT'S WARM1972 TRYING TO LOOK LIKE MARLON BRANDO OR LIZ TAYLOR
2002 TRYING NOT TO LOOK LIKE MARLON BRANDO OR LIZ TAYLOR1972 GOING TO A NEW, HIP JOINT
2002 RECEIVING A NEW HIP JOINT1972 DISCO
2002 COSTCO1972 PARENTS BEGGING YOU TO GET YOUR HAIR CUT
2002 CHILDREN BEGGING YOU TO GET THEIR HEADS SHAVED1972 PASSING THE DRIVER'S TEST
2002 PASSING THE VISION TEST1972 WHATEVER
2002 DEPENDS
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!...