VANCOUVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
August, 2000

Essential Management Concepts
JONNIE MARTIN


A 19th Century Philosopher once said: “It isn’t the things we don’t know that hurt us; it’s the things we know that aren’t so.” Organizations, and the people in them, can so easily get caught up in “wrong thinking” that takes them further and further away from their own success.

Many companies go to market convinced that the public will buy whatever it is they sell, and that ain’t necessarily so. The truth is, for the most part, consumers will buy what they want or need, regardless of what we are selling.

One executive believed that people were NOT motivated by money, and kept employee salaries below market, without bonuses or upside of any kind. Thereafter, the executive spent wasted hours bemoaning his high turnover and low employee loyalty.

Often companies discount the value of training, believing it is a waste of time and money. “What if I train an employee and he leaves,” an executive once told me. The greater danger is that you will fail to train the employee and he will stay…and stay… and stay.

A career soldier once told me that the U.S. military was resplendent with wrong thinking. For example, supply masters had decided that the average soldier’s foot was a size 10, so they purchased more size 10 shoes than any other. Unfortunately the “average” was not a very helpful number, since soldiers needed 9’s and 9 ½’s and 11’s.

Since action follows thought, if we begin with the wrong philosophy or theorem, it is unlikely that we will like the final results of our plan. Most of us remember a number of years ago when computer giant IBM believed that they could corner the market by creating desirable software that was compatible only with IBM hardware. They were wrong in their thinking and created an amazing business opportunity for someone who could give the consumer an alternative. Bill Gates and Microsoft were very happy to take advantage of that opportunity.

Many companies are handicapped by the wrong thinking of their owners and managers. It is a very effective exercise to capture onto paper the underlying beliefs by which an organization functions and to challenge their truth and applicability.

It is also helpful to identify those beliefs or mental models that will serve the organization well. These core beliefs can be of great assistance in guiding the company toward continuing success.

Ineffective or wrong thinking takes on many forms. One of the examples that I often notice in an organization is a tendency to allow negative thinking to stop our forward progress. We say to ourselves “we can’t .” We can’t serve this customer. We can’t make this project profitable. We can’t work with this employee. When you reach “can’t,” it is as if a stop sign appears in our brain. We no longer look for solutions. Rather, our mind shifts to justification of our unreasonable position.

I believe businesses can get a whole lot more done if they move from “can’t” to “gotta.” When we know we “gotta,” then we keep at it until we reach the goal. When we have that positive attitude, we will find a way to go over or under or around the barrier. We do not stop sorting and sifting through alternatives until we find the one that works. When we know we “gotta” do it, then we do. It may sound like a simple, even colloquial phrase, but if we can get the people in our organization to move from “can’t” to “gotta,” we can accomplish amazing feats.

It is easy to get trapped in this type of wrong thinking and I have personally experienced this dynamic. Some time ago, I created a management class that I wanted to present through a college. It was structured into an 8-week intensive, that involved considerable homework and outside reading. I was very proud of the work I had done and excited about the opportunity to teach the class on a regular basis.

My curriculum advisor was also excited, but felt that the class did not fit neatly into the college’s usual structure. She asked me, “Could you teach the course in a different format? How about two four-week classes? Or three three-week seminars?”

“Oh no,” I immediately responded. Having quickly reached “can’t,” I began to justify my reasons. “The reading list is too long and the homework is interrelated…” and so on. I was at “can’t,” and I wasn’t budging.

My advisor asked me to think about it and we would get together in a few weeks to discuss the matter again. Of course I didn’t give it another thought. There was no need to. My mind would not allow it. After all, I had reached “can’t” and a stop sign loomed before me.

When we met a second time, my advisor again asked “Would you be able to teach the course in a different format?” I responded “Oh no…the reading list is too long…etc.etc.” I was still at “can’t” and nothing had changed.

My advisor then said “Well, we are just not certain that we can find a place in the curriculum for a class this size.” “Oh,” I said to myself. “Oh, since you put it THAT way.” Now that the advisor had moved me from “can’t” to “gotta,” I had a whole new perspective. Within 24 hours I was able to present her with three new alternatives. Once I knew I had to come up with other ideas if I wanted my class to be accepted, it was amazing how many new ideas bubbled to the surface.

This is but one way that we trap ourselves into wrong and ineffective thinking. As individuals, and as organizations, we would be well-served to challenge our basic tenets, always looking for effective ideas, and discarding ineffective ones.