You see, before the Management Team Meeting, Wilfred Brown sat in another meeting. This meeting was behind closed doors. It wasn’t secret, but the doors were closed. This meeting was a meeting of the Board of Directors. In this meeting, Wilfred Brown was given his marching orders. The Board made its decisions, decided direction and set its goal. These were not operational directives, but strategic milestones well into the future.

So, Wilfred Brown arrived at the Management Team Meeting, knowing the goal assigned to him by the Board of Directors. Wilfred had noble intentions of creating an atmosphere of teamwork. He held a deep belief in the importance of his management team participating in the largest problems and making the biggest decisions.

But, in the end, (of many meetings), the decisions, made by the executive team, would fall short of those directives determined by the Board. And it would not be the team sitting in that next Board meeting. It would be Wilfred who would be held accountable for the decisions made in the Management Team Meeting. Often enough to disturb the team, Wilfred, reluctantly had to step in.

So, what was the point of this Management Team Meeting?