LEADERS ARE LIKE PHYSICIANS

Bill (COO) is in the first 6 months of implementing a new product launch and speed is critical to maintaining a critical edge before his competition figures out how the market will shift significantly.

But not everyone is stepping up: deadlines are being missed, meetings are becoming a fertile field for conflict (spoken and unspoken) and IT needs to rearrange their priorities and staffing.

What is the best strategy at this point? Act like a physician to diagnose what is getting in the way.

For every mission critical action there are numerous reasons why people don't make things happen as planned. There is no time for guessing. Here are some examples of what I have encountered:

• They don't know how to do what the task demands - but think they do
• They don't understand why they should do something [a significant motivation factor]
• They think something else is more important
• They think their way is better
• They lack confidence and become risk averse
• They think they are already doing it
• You have not listened to their suggestions for doing it more effectively

Without the right diagnosis, the prescription for moving forward is flawed and the prognosis is not where it needs to be!