I have spoken with and consulted with many proprietors who end a meeting with their staff by saying, “Well, I HOPE we’re moving in the right direction.”
When I hear these words, I jump up and say, “Hope is not a strategy.”
“What is a strategy is what we discussed here for the last two hours. Is there anyone here who doesn’t think this is the right way to go? I don’t want to hear later that you had concerns that we didn’t discuss. What else do we need to talk about? Please speak up now.”
If no one talks as they might be apt to, I go around the room and ask,
“Shirley, please point out any holes, no matter how small, in this strategy that might prevent the team from achieving the results we are looking for.”
Then I go on to the next one, but not in order, just at random. You don’t want prepared answers. It’s just their gut feeling… especially after two hours of discussing it.
Another way I get everyone to understand that it will take work and not hope to achieve the goal is when I say,
“We seem to agree that we should go ahead with this program. I want to hear a rigorous proposal about why we should not move forward.”
Finally, I go back to the owner and say,
“Jeff, you said you hope we’re moving in the right direction. I understand, but I don’t want to hear later that you had concerns we didn’t discuss. What else do we need to talk over?” Is there another direction you would like us to explore that you think is better?”
If you want to move your team forward, please remember that the questions you ask are just as important as the answers you get.
Just sayin.
Leave a comment