Corporate Newsletter: SureWest
Issue 7: Loyalty to the truth
July 23, 2002
Hola, CIA agents! Last week we took the first step to achieving our personal vision -- we painted a picture in our minds and then wrote it down (you did write yours down, didn't you?).
Today we focus on reality... but seeing "reality" isn't as simple as it sounds. After all, with the philosophy of relativism so dominant in our society today, the concept of reality itself gets fuzzy.
>> THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
"They say it's all relative, you know. There are no absolutes like reality or truth. Everybody sees things differently, so reality is a myth..."
It's true that everybody sees the world through a slightly different filter of personality, values and culture. But even so, looking at the facts as clearly -- and honestly -- as possible is an essential part of reaching your vision.
Loyalty to the truth is vital when you're trying to improve things. If you don't look at accurate info when you're analyzing the situation, your results will fall short of your goal. Imagine this scenario...
Imagine that I have a recommendation report due Friday. I optimistically guess that it will take me one hour to write -- even though it's always taken me at least three days in the past. Next, I procrastinate until Thursday at 3:00pm. I then discover that there are several key metrics that I need that are only available on a certain report. It takes two days (if I'm lucky) to get the report.
By promising the report by Friday, but not starting until Thursday afternoon, I just hamstrung my own efforts. I wasn't honest with myself about how long things take. And my recommendation report is late -- again.
The results? My boss gets frustrated with me and chews me out. And then I get upset and blame the people who provide the reports: "It shouldn't take me TWO DAYS to get the information I need!" I lodge a complaint with their manager. Tension grows between our departments.
>> WHAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM HERE?
I might be tempted to say that the other department's horrible customer service is the trouble. My personal vision to finish a recommendation report on time has been shattered by their bad processes.
But I need to exercise the muscle between my ears and leap beyond my first self-protective viewpoint. Is the two-day turn-around for reports really the problem? A quicker turn-around time would help the situation. But it's not the solution to my problem. It's not the current reality or truth that I need to see in order to improve the situation.
The reality I need to face is that writing a recommendation usually takes 2-3 times as long as I optimistically guess. I need to admit that I procrastinate, and that procrastination has a negative effect on my performance and quality of work life (can you say, "stress"?).
If I don't learn to make more accurate estimates and stop procrastinating, then this problem will raise its ugly head over and over in many other situations. As I mentioned in the July Line Chatter article, "Moving Your Own Cheese", we should proactively identify the areas where we can improve our own processes. This is especially applies to areas where we are avoiding the truth. It's much less painful to perform self-correction than to have someone else point out the problem!
>> OTHER CULPRITS & UNLIKELY ALLIES
I've focused this newsletter on areas where we are avoiding the truth of current reality, but avoidance is not the only reason that we may miss the truth. Our mental models (the subconscious way we look at the world, the invisible filters we use to process information) often include assumptions or blind spots that may miss elements of current reality. That's why "two heads are better than one" -- my mental models are different than yours, and you may see things that I miss.
Past decades of studies on business, management and leadership have even shown that your greatest "enemy" (the person who always challenges your assumptions, the one who constantly questions your ideas) can be your greatest ally, if you learn to value the viewpoint he or she brings to the table.
In fact, the next time you're looking for solutions to a problem, try brainstorming with someone who thinks very differently from you (someone you often disagree with). If you both put the company vision first (and, if need be, put aside any hard feelings from past disagreements), you'll get ideas out of your brainstorming session that you never could have discovered with someone of like mind. You will find that disagreements become less threatening when you look at them as opportunities for a fresh perspective, ways to achieve a more robust solution.
>> YOUR MISSION
What areas of current reality have you been avoiding? As you identify areas of avoidance, ask yourself "Why?" (For example, I might offer my boss optimistic turn-around estimates because I want to look efficient and productive.) Then face reality with unflinching honesty and ask yourself, "Now that I see the truth, how can I improve this situation?"
The truth may require us to work hard to effect the change, but avoiding the truth doesn't help us improve the situation at all. Often we feel threatened by the truth, but we must understand that our avoidance doesn't do ANYTHING for us! (Shutting your eyes doesn't stop an oncoming train!) Our avoidance actually prevents us from solving the problem. (Face the terror of the oncoming train and simply MOVE out of the way -- your salvation may be only two steps away!)
"A wise person is hungry for the truth."
-- The Book of Proverbs
See you in the hallways, change agents!
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Some ideas and definitions used in this newsletter were found in the "Fifth Discipline Fieldbook" by Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross and Smith (ISBN 0-385-47256-0)