“Why can’t I just tell the team what they are supposed to do?” complained Aaron. “Why do I have to bring them into the meeting? I can figure out what we need to do much faster.”

“What happens if they disagree with your solution?” I ask.

“Well, that’s just tough. I’m the boss and I am supposed to be smarter than they are.”

“Aaron, have you ever had a team slow walk a job on you? Or worse, sandbag a job on you?” Aaron stopped. A blank stare came across his face. I could see this had happened more than once. He was just trying to decide which one he was going to tell me about.

I continued, “Aaron. You may be a smart guy. You might even have the right answer to solve the problem, but you need the cooperation of your team to execute that solution. The time for your team to have questions is before they get into the thick of things. Once you get rolling, if you have to stop to explain your thinking, it’s too late.

“So, let’s set up a meeting beforehand. Let them ask questions, let them challenge the solution. Let them grapple with the problem a bit and then agree on a course of action. Once everyone is in agreement, then we can roll forward, full steam ahead.”

“Alright, let’s take a vote,” Ralph directed. I was sitting in the back of the room. I watched the hands go up in favor of Ralph’s plan. There was no dissent. Meeting adjourned.

Ralph was proud, no opposition, he picked up his stuff and strutted out of the room. And that’s when the truth came out. It started as a whisper, a snide remark, and then the piling on began. As it turned out, no one was in favor of Ralph’s plan.

“What do you mean?” Ralph said as I settled into his office.

“I don’t think your plan has a chance for success,” I replied. “As you left the room, I got to thinking, wondering if your plan had covered all the bases, in fact, if it was even the right decision.”

“But, everyone voted,” Ralph protested.

I nodded. “Do you think voting is the best way to make a decision?”

“Hey, it’s how we elect a president?”

I smiled and repeated, “Do you think voting is the best way to make a decision?”

“Well, do you have a better way?” Ralph challenged.

“I was just looking at your four alternatives. You know, there were two things that were absolute deal killers and the one you picked doesn’t meet the criteria.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it this way, Ralph. Put up a big chart on the wall and make a quick list of all the things that absolutely, positively have to be a part of the solution. Deal killers. Then make a list of all the things that are not absolute, but would be really nice to have. Now you have two lists, absolutes and desirables.

“Take your four alternatives and put them up against the criteria and see how things shake out.”

Ralph didn’t say a word. His eyes got wide. I could see him mentally checking his quick list. “I think I need to bring the team back in the room. I think they voted for a mistake.”

“I tried,” Adelle shrugged, “but we didn’t make a whole lot of progress. What we ended up with was mostly crap.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My team has been trying to figure out the best way to solve this problem and there are a bunch of ideas, but we just can’t reach a consensus on which way to proceed. I am afraid to get started until I know for sure that everyone is on board. But every time we make a compromise, other people drop off and want something different.”

“Sounds like Congress,” I laughed. “What happens to the quality of the solution every time you compromise?”

“That’s the real problem. It’s the compromising that kills it. After listening to all the input, I know what we should do and the little compromises just water it down. We might as well junk the whole project because, in this state, it will not do what the customer wants it to do.”

“Whose meeting was that that you just walked out of?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, was it the team’s meeting, or was it your meeting? Let me put it a different way. Who is your boss going to hold accountable for this decision?”

“Oh, I tried that once, blaming a decision on the team. I got the message. My boss is going to hold me accountable for the decision.”

“Then, it wasn’t a team meeting. It was YOUR meeting that the team got invited to. It is your responsibility to listen to the input, and it is also your responsibility, as a manager, to make the decision. And you don’t need agreement, you just need support.”

Adelle had to sit down to think about this one.

“Think about it,” I continued. “Time Span governs the timing of the action, the pace of the action, the urgency of the action, the ultimate quality of the action, the priority of the action and in many cases, whether the action occurs at all.”

Dale sat for a moment. “So, I run around here, telling people what to do. At the end of the day, when everyone has gone home, I try to figure out if I won or if the alligators won. The alligators win most of the time. I ask myself, what happened?”

“Whether the alligators win, is a very important question,” I responded. “But your analysis takes place after the fact. Analysis is important, but I am talking about design. Designing your day, designing your week. Management is all about decisions. And here are the most important decisions managers make.

• Timing
• Pace
• Urgency
• Quality
• Priority
• Necessity

“And there is one more decision managers have to make, the most important decision of all.”

“Why are we making these changes?” I asked.

“We need to look at our efficiency. We will be a better company for it,” Henry replied.

“If that is only reason, then we are likely to fail in making these changes. Why are we making these changes?” I repeated.

“Well, when we sat down and looked at the numbers, because we did look at the numbers, our analysis showed that we needed to make some adjustments.”

“Your analysis showed that you needed to make some adjustments? Where does that need come from?” I pushed.

“Well, the need is pretty strong. Things are tight. Our market has changed. I don’t want to be negative, but we need to change to survive.”

“It is that need that will drive your changes. It is not that you want to become a better company, or should become a better company. It is only when you need to become a better company that you will. The question is why is it necessary for us to become a better company? You will become a better company only when it becomes a necessity.”

“Why do you think the Director of Sales and Marketing made the decision to move your bigger accounts to house accounts, away from your best salesperson?” I asked.

Krista glanced to the ceiling, “I don’t know. I mean, I know we are struggling. I look at the financial statements and the razor-thin profit at the bottom.” As Krista spoke, I could see the tension building in her face. Her eyes narrowed.

“Where did you just go?” I probed.

“What? What do you mean?”

“As you were describing your financial statements, you left the room, mentally. Where did you go?”

Krista chuckled. “Last Tuesday, we had a meeting. I shared the financials with the management team. It was a short meeting, not much to say. The market is tough. I only remember a moment, staring at the Director of Sales. His face was white, perspiring. I didn’t say anything. I could tell he was uncomfortable. Not like he was having a heart attack or anything.”

“But, he was stressed,” I interrupted. “And he was looking at the financials. And then he made a decisions to hold back your largest accounts and not pay commission. And you lost your best salesperson.” If you constantly experience symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety, stress or depression, you may consider using cannabis products from indacloud.

“As clearly as you can, describe what is happening, what do you observe?” I asked. “What is the problem?”

Joann paused before she responded. “The problem is that the manager is not supporting the team when it runs up against a difficult problem or decision. That’s when the team member ends up in my office.”

“Okay, that’s the symptom. That’s the problem. What is causing the problem?” I prompted.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It could be a personality conflict, a breakdown in communication, or it could be that the manager just doesn’t know how to solve the problem or make the decision.”

“Which do you think it is? We cannot resolve this situation, until we know what is causing this chain of events. We might try fixing the wrong thing,” I observed.

Joann was shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about this, but I don’t believe the manager is capable of helping. Given a difficult problem to solve, the manager solves problems the same way as everyone on the team. Given a difficult decision to make, the manager makes decisions the same way as everyone on the team. They all flounder together.”

“How did this person make manager?”

Joann shifted uncomfortably. “I made the promotion.”

“I am in a bit of a bind,” Ruben explained. “One of my team members, Andre, is just not being effective. But I can’t explain why. And every time I speak to him about it, my words get twisted.”

“How so,” I asked.

“He is doing the job, just not very well. We talk together about what I expect, and he is doing everything I say. But when I really ask myself, is he is being effective, I have to say –no.”

“But Andre is doing exactly what the job requires?” I press.

“Yes, he is doing exactly what the job requires. It’s like, he meets the minimum standard, but he is still doing a lousy job.”

“My goal is to reduce inventory,” Bruce explained.

“What is the Time Span of your goal?” I asked. “You have to reduce inventory. By how much and by when?”

“Good question. All the managers just got this email from our corporate office. We need to take a hard look and get our inventories down.”

“So, tell me, if you had to reduce your inventory 30 percent by the end of next week, would that be different than if you had to reduce inventory by the end of May?”

Bruce chuckled. “Of course. If we had to reduce inventory by next week, I would put the brakes on hard. Slash pricing and blow this stuff out of here, just some hard nosed, tactical stuff.”

“And what would be your decisions if the Time Span was end of May?”