Wednesday, December 31, 2014

The Willingness to Be Introspective



Sometimes it seems as if being a management consultant is like being a doctor who is avoided by the most ill and yet is retained by the reasonably healthy. Just as some people stay away from doctors for fear of getting a diagnosis they might fear, many executives and managers shy away from any independent review, perhaps because they sense they may be part of the problem. To borrow a famous movie line, they can't handle the truth.

Others simply seek glib solutions; those flavors of the month which are justly mocked by employees. They want a jazzy One Minute to Empower the Big Hairy Goals Hidden Behind the Stolen Cheese sort of program. Results are optional. That's not as scary as reality, I suppose, but it doesn't beat knowing what's going on.

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