Passion and Capability, Chapter 3

Our meeting with him was picture perfect!

It was focused on identifying the issues and identifying those individuals who could best help in the resolution of them.

It was everything that is written about in the annuls of Process Improvement...but seldom, if ever, really experienced!

A plan was established and I walked out of "marathon man's" office absolutely elated...

As soon as we were out of earshot of "prying ears" I was met with a cynicism that I NEVER saw in him before or since...

"What you experienced...will not last!...it is as much facade as is his claim to being a winning marathon runner...and he (by his own admission) has never ran more than 1/2 the distance..."

"He needs...as well as his department...to face reality...and come to grip with (and take responsibility for), the delusion that they created..."

"He and they...think that they are something that they are not!"

"...at least...not yet..."
  
"So your challenge is not as much about finding solutions at this point...but on finding a way to get them to see reality...your time will be best spent in this arena..."

For the next three days there was an energy focused on change that was never before seen within this organization...

Then it waned...

During that time...I thought about what he he told me...

I used the "Genius of the "AND" tactic" throughout these "pivotal" days...which meant I worked twice as hard as I had originally intended...

"The Genius of the "AND" tactic" for those who have not spent much time with me...is a simple and effective way to accomplish what they need and what you need at the same time...

For this...it meant that

1 - I intently listened to their ideas for change...and improvement...documented them on the appropriate forms...

AND...

2 - I never missed a chance to ask..."how do you measure that...or how do you know?"  This set the stage for developing measures...and graphs...and gain acceptance on the data's representation of reality...

In the evening...I wrote out...in a concise manner...a recap of the meetings...

..."bulleting" all of the recommendations and the source...

I also "recapped" all of the data sources and created "draft" graphs...asking for review and verification/confirmation...

At the end of the first week...I called a meeting to review the consolidated findings...

It was well attended and represented...everyone who needed to be there was...and each brought with them a few "body guards!"

The review of the potential opportunities went quickly...everyone simply nodded...related to their suggestions...and most of the others provided support...

The closing question from the entire group was...when can we get started...

That question provided the perfect opening to the review of the performance graphs...

This was when I realized that the consolidated psyche of a group of people can be bi-polar!

At the lead was "marathon man!"  The one who claimed to fully support this effort...

Every chart...was wrong...even after they had confirmed the representative nature of the data...

This was when a unified claim of "witch hunt" arose...

What I thought was going to be a "cake-walk" turned into a cage fight!

Not only did they attack me...but each other!

I was not about to let down and "shred" the evidence!

I stopped the group and reminded them that our purpose was to make things better..and if the graphs were misrepresented...make a suggestion for improvement...

The pendulum then swung into another dimension!  (This is why I felt like I was at a bi-polar convention)...

The meeting then took on the nature of eBay!  People began "trading" metrics and negotiating charts..."I'll use this one...if you use this one..." 

I was dumbfounded...and decided that the best tactic was to simply...let nature take its course...

After three of the longest hours of my life...the meeting adjourned...

And everyone left sad!

I was concerned...the meeting appeared to be an absolute failure...I wanted the masses roused to action...singing praises of the effort...what I got was akin to a funeral dirge!

I clean-up the room...shut off the lights and walked slowly from the conference room...

I needed to reflect on the progress...I felt that I was a failure...

As I rounded to corner...he was standing there...

"You look like you just lost your best friend...rest assured that I am here!"

"I know...That meeting was..."

"AN ABSOLUTE SUCCESS!" he interrupted..."I know you didn't notice me...I hid in the back corner!"

"What do you mean a success...?" I asked

"You my friend got the group 80% of the way to success...when I have time...I'll explain...but rest assured...you did exactly what you needed to do..."

This was one of the very few times in my life that I was totally confused...

My confusion was amplified by the fact that he immediately left to "take care of his fires" leaving me totally alone with my thoughts...

I went back to my office...sat with my back to the door and took a stance like I was intently working at my PC and...I thought...

...I thought about how the week started with the "marathon man" and him being totally oblivious to reality...it was...as if he was in total denial...

Then how he and "the mob" got totally angry with my being there...and attacked my credibility and that of their data...That kind of anger was totally uncalled for and unprofessional!

Most confusing was the mob's negotiating.  Trading and bargaining their performance measures?  I had NEVER seen behavior like that!

And to wrap up a meeting in sorrow...the last time I experienced something like that was when I had to carry the message that I was "shutting the place down!"

They were a "bi-polar" group!  More mood swings than is at in a drug-free asylum!

They went from...

Denial...to...
Anger...to...
Bargaining...to...

Sorrow...

Why can't they just accept it?

Then it hit me...like being hit with a foam stress ball!  In fact...it was a foam stress ball that hit me...and I turned to find him standing in the doorway...with a huge smile...

"Death and Dying?"

"You got it!" he smiled..."Next week you'll see real acceptance!"

"I can not wait for the weekend to be over..."

"You need the weekend...they need the weekend...it is part of the equation!"