Maybe It's Time To Bury A Few Things At YOUR Company

In the category of The Walking Dead, here are a few lingering beliefs that continue to haunt the business world – and like a zombie, these paradigms infect otherwise healthy victims with their poison. Here’s a couple of examples…

·      Fallacy -People are motivated primarily by money. Fact – People are motivated by a wide variety of things – but it’s the intrinsic rewards that propel us. 

·      Fallacy - There must be a defined hierarchy or everything collapses. Fact – Hierarchies are often the reason for collapse – especially the bloated ones.

·      Fallacy - Leaders are special.  Fact – Leaders are like all the rest of us – but they’ve learned a few things that most haven’t.

·      Fallacy - Leadership is always good. Fact – Some of the worst leaders in human history were (still) leaders – but very bad human beings. 

·      Fallacy - Septic people can be worked around. Fact – Working around cancerous people is an exercise in futility.

·      Fallacy - None of us can cope without a leader in charge. Fact – Some of the most impressive work teams are effectively “leaderless”.

·      Fallacy - There is a defined and specific set of qualities that distinguish elite leaders. Fact – There is an endless array of qualities – the “pick and choose” crowd is simply wrong. 

·      Fallacy – Leaders are born and not bred.  Fact – Leaders are both.

·      Fallacy – We all know a great leader when we see one. Fact – We only know a great leader when he or she has helped us to become more than we would have without them.

·      Fallacy – We source great leaders by tapping into great achievers.  Fact – Sometimes it’s the great individual achievers that do the greatest damage to others.

·      Fallacy – Training is the best single investment any company can make. Fact – Training without the coaching that follows is arguably the single greatest black hole.

·      Fallacy – Strategy should always be built by senior executives. Fact – Strategy is everyone’s business – unless you want its execution doomed to failure from the beginning.

·      Fallacy – Culture is top of mind for all companies.  Fact – Culture is (at best) an afterthought for most.  But the words make for great wall posters.

·      Fallacy – Artificial Intelligence will make our lives easier. Fact – Used poorly, AI is replacing human ingenuity and creativity.  Like Frankenstein’s monster, it has the potential to do both.