There is this inertia that most people in business who thin…

Constant paranoia doesn't mean acting like a crazy person or even a mean and greedy person. It means that you are constantly aware that adverse change can make you irrelevant very quickly. The speed of irrelevance is much faster now and it largely depends on team types.

Some teams can be deluded. They believe too much in themselves because of past glory that it clouds their ability to see future danger. When the unexpected finally happens, they turn on each other and blame themselves and abandon the ship. They have always been living a lie.

Some teams can be totally ignorant of what is happening around them and can have tunnel vision. They end up working on products that have become irrelevant before they finish. They still believe somehow that others will adapt to them and csnf understand why failure happens.

Some teams can have extreme keyman risk. One person knows most of what needs to be done and nothing works well when that person is not in the picture. This type is more prevalent than we can imagine. Once one person takes more initiative, others just become passive.

I have encountered all of these scenarios internally and externally. As much as we can talk about the role of leadership in shaping an changing teams, the environment where these teams reside to make the most difference. I’ve seen the massive difference moving people around makes

Inertia also has to do with place. Once people get into comfort zones physically, they also enter into it mentally. The biggest risk is usually not discomfort but comfort. When people settle into a pattern, it is extremely hard to change them. This is why firing is an option.

Performance systems work when there is consequence. I remember how strict Arthur Anderssen/Anderssen Consulting (eventually Accenture) used to be about firing for performance lapses. It is what made them last for a long time as an institution. If you don't pass exams you leave.

A good performance system should dissociate a manger from the managed. Many people fail to implement those systems because they are looking for someone to take the role. I have found out that having people in those roles can compound problems too if they are clueless.

After struggling to implement OKRs and seeing complete lack of understanding of the concept and commitment, I have also realized that smaller companies need accountability models that everyone is committed to and understand the necessity as well as consequence of noncompliance.

No matter how much you try to shape an internal culture, the external creeps in. To succeed in creating one in our part of the world, people need to have exposure to understand that others don't have ”two heads” as we say locally.

This is a book I will ALWAYS recommend. Buy it for everyone on your team.

There is this inertia that most people in business who think they are successful have that prevents them from acting on things until it is too late. It is why they are caught unawares by change.

I read ”Only the paranoid survives” and I am seeing it play out in real life again.

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There is this inertia that most people in business who think they are successful have that prevents them from acting on things until it is too late. It is why they are caught unawares by change. I read ”Only the paranoid survives” and I am seeing it play out in real life again.

More from Osaretin Victor Asemota

More from Life

You May Also Like

There is this inertia that most people in business who think they are successful have that prevents them from acting on things until it is too late. It is why they are caught unawares by change.

I read ”Only the paranoid survives” and I am seeing it play out in real life again.