Monthly Archives: November 2014

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Are You Getting Beaten By the “Tyranny of Small Decisions”?

In 1966, Alfred E. Kahn wrote an essay entitled “The Tyranny of Small Decisions.” Khan was an economist and his essay was predominately focused on economics. However, the concept defined in the essay applies to each of us and can profoundly impact business and business leaders.

So what is the tyranny of small decisions? In a nutshell, it is what results when a person, group of people, business or organization make a number of small decisions over a period of time. These decisions are not bad decisions on their own but, taken together over a period of time, the result of the decisions are diametrically opposite from the outcome desired.

For instance, take the super busy executive running his business day to day without a clear set of values or a defined vision, mission and goals. This person is going to make decisions each day that seem correct and make sense at that moment but the sum of these decisions could add up to a disaster over the long term. Without the long term view of the business and a proper focus on what is to be achieved, the executive will make “firefighting” decisions that may take care of the issues at hand but destroy the business overall.

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How Do Leaders Get Their Organizations From Vision to Action?

“Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, Encourage the Heart”  Kouzes and Posner

 

I attended the annual CII conference in July this year and was really impressed with the quality of the presentations and tools that were offered. Construction Industry Institute, CII, was initiated by the University of Texas and is a collaboration between academia and industry to research some of the tough issues that industry faces and to come up with practical approaches and tools to deal with these problems.

Every year, CII selects a number of these tough problems and creates research teams comprised of academia (professors and grad students), representatives from owners, construction companies, engineering firms and suppliers to research these problems and come up with potential solutions. Each team has 2 years to do its research and to compile the results along with tools or guidelines to help address the problem identified.

Every year, CII holds its annual conference and the research teams report out their findings to the conference attendees. I would highly recommend membership in CII to anyone that is involved in engineering or construction.

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Why Are You So Focused On Your Competition?

“The competitor to be feared is the one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” Henry Ford

I find it very interesting that about 100 years ago Henry Ford, the inventor of the mass production factory, understood that focusing on your competition added no value to your business. In fact, he knew that focusing on your competition takes your focus off your own business. Focusing on the competition causes you to chase others rather than leading your organization towards achieving your goals, mission and vision.

So if Mr. Ford identified the secret about what to focus on as a business leader 100 years ago, why are so many business leaders today so concerned about what their competition is doing?

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How Much Are Poor Listening Skills Costing You?

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James the Great

I cannot even count the number of times that I have broken this rule! Listening seems so easy . . . just sit there with your mouth closed and ears open without jumping in with an opinion or advice. Turns out it’s not that easy for people like me!

Listening is definitely something that takes patience, practice and discipline to do properly. However, it is incredibly important for every leader to master the art of listening. The benefits of listening to those around you can be huge while the downside of not listening can devastate your relationships, career and business!

When you are quick to speak and you listen very little, you will steamroll over the great thoughts, ideas, solutions and feelings of all those around you. If no one gets a chance to fully explain their thoughts before you interrupt them with your advice and opinions, you will begin to isolate yourself from the full potential of these people. You are slowly choking off their willingness to engage you in conversation and this means that you are choking their potential, your potential and the organization’s potential.

When you fail to listen to someone, you;