Cube 2.14 Blog

Organizational development articles on topics like change management, human resources, transformational leadership, customer service and more.

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You’re Never Too Old To Be Your Dream – Haiku Deck

DO WONDER IF YOU’RE TOO OLD TO PURSUE YOUR DREAM?

For some reason we are conditioned to believe that as we grow older the likelihood of us branching out or trying things that we might have always wanted to becomes more limited. What if that wasn’t true?


You are never too old to be your dream – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/uY9W9rB2yp

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Forest For The Trees – Successful Change Blocker #401

One of the biggest impediments to successful change in any organization is the belief that there is no real need to change. This phenomenon is called “forest for the trees.” It is the incorrect belief that there may very well be issues going on around you, but you don’t need to do anything about them.
 
It stems from the belief that the practices of the past led to the successes of the past.
 
However, it was usually either by mere coincidence or lucky timing that success has occurred. This is true in many industries (e.g. homebuilding, higher education), all with the incorrect notion that it was somehow their doing that success occurred, when, in fact, it was the alignment of many factors.
 
When those factors (like the economy) shifted, they were unable to shift with them. They were so unwilling to update their practices, that even in the face of altering landscapes, they march forward as if nothing had changed. Hence, “forest for the trees.”
 
More specifically – not being able to “see the forest for the trees” is the inability to view the big picture. It happens when people fixate on details, or let their emotions prevent them from seeing a decision or action in a larger context.
 
HERE ARE THREE SUREFIRE WAYS TO HELP WITH THIS AILMENT:
 
1.    Show Reality
 
It is nearly impossible to argue with facts. Although facts can be interpreted many different ways, their certainty is hard to question. When there are fewer customers, smaller market share, or declining sales, it is difficult to argue that those things are not happening. In order for those afflicted by “forest for the trees,” it is imperative that they are bombarded with statistics that show them the reality of the situation, and not be allowed to make assumptions that contradict the data.
 
2.    Make Them Responsible For The Success of The Change
 
Nothing makes people more accountable for the success of a change as when they become personally responsible for its implementation. Sometimes the best way to get individuals on board is to have them “in the trenches” of making changes. With hands-on experience, they will begin to grasp the full scope of the change, and more importantly, see the problems of the “old way” first hand. Ideally, this experience will help them understand the necessities of the change, make them all the more likely to get on board.
 
3.    Let Them Prove You Wrong
 

The mark of a true leader is a willingness to be incorrect.
 
To truly test the necessity of a particular change, invite those opposed to it to prove you wrong. In exploring for evidence on why a change does not need to be implemented, it is likely that the “naysayers” will uncover the very evidence supporting the need for change.
 
In the worst case scenario, your employees will prove you wrong, finding solid evidence that a change does not need to happen, and by doing so, they will have saved your company time and money, shown their value and independence as employees, and given you an opportunity to show your commitment to the team by relinquishing your opinion in the face of compelling evidence.
 
Difference of opinion is not necessarily a bad thing at all – especially when we are willing to go the extra mile to collect information and present a case for consideration. Part of maintaining quality leadership is being willing to have an open dialogue with your team about changes – and why some people may be opposed to them. If opposition is strong, it will be to everyone’s advantage to explore the reasons presented, and let the evidence (not the opinions of individuals) do the talking.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Does Counting Coins Make You More Money?

Technological advancements just keep on coming, and all the while, we tout them as “more efficient” and “better.” In many ways, though, the technologies seem to only take care of “keep the lights on” tasks, mundane or routine undertakings that once “wasted” precious human time.

Are we really any more productive though? What do these technologies do to our ability to collaborate and innovate?
I recently took a trip to the grocery store with a year’s worth of change, and after about 30 seconds of dumping coins into a machine, I was given a total and a receipt for my 10 kilos worth of coinage. When I was younger, I would bring this same pile of change to the bank, and wait patiently while the teller spent 10 minutes counting it out. During this time, my parents would chat casually with one of the bank employees.
 
While this wasn’t a huge transaction, or even particularly important business for the bank, manually completing the task allowed time for relationships to be built between my parents (the customers) and various bank employees (the business).
Now the automatic coin-counting machine has replaced the teller for this task. Yes, that bit of technology frees up some time for the teller and allows him or her to “get more done,” but at the end of the day, is it really making any more money for the bank?

Getting More Done With Less
 
With all of these technological breakthroughs, most of us are able to be very self-sufficient in the workplace. We can accomplish dull tasks more quickly and more accurately than in years past. With that tech-based efficiency, however, we’ve adopted this idea that the same amount of work can be done by fewer people – and therein lies the problem. It’s true that technology allows us to be more “productive,” but what are the underlying costs to the organization?
 
A recent client of mine, an information technology group, reduced its team of database engineers from 55 to 45 employees. Because they are exceptional people with state-of-the-art technology, they were able to maintain the same level of customer and project support even with the reduction in staff. There was no noticeable drop off in performance or reliability. There were, however, some unintended consequences:

• The team has little to no ability to take on new projects
• Team member get over 400 emails every day, and that’s not including phone calls, instant messages, and texts
• Career development is stagnant – not intentionally, but because there is no time to dedicate to it
• Database interruptions, though rare, now take almost 30% longer to resolve

While the current workload wasn’t impacted, the reduced workforce left zero bandwidth available to take on anything outside of their narrowly defined roles. Customers were mildly disappointed in this lack of expandable service, and other IT teams found the group difficult to work with – because the level of stress (with no prospect of relief) has the team stretched tight like a drum.
 
Now What?

Instead of looking at how to get more done with fewer people, organizations need to start asking themselves, “what’s best for the company?”

In an emergency, sometimes layoffs can’t be avoided, but it’s worth considering that a team with adequate resources and enough members is far more capable of scaling to meet demand. When every member of a workforce is operating at maximum capacity, there is no room for additional polish on a task, no room for an expanded market share, and perhaps most importantly, no time to devote to solving problems and innovating within the company itself.

Instead of looking for ways to do more with less, companies should simply be look at how to do things better. The push to “increase productivity” is a false measure of success, because efficiency is not necessarily akin to quality. Productivity is not just accomplishing more with fewer resources, or in less time, but rather the collective result of taking on greater workloads, improving efficiency, and delivering a higher quality result at the end of the process.

There is an assumption that technology has made organizations more productive, but is this really the case?

They may be able to get the same amount of work done with fewer people, but what about taking on more work?

What about coming up with innovative solutions to customer issues? What about fostering relationships?

At what point does squeezing efficiency out of a company become strangulation?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Do Managers Stop To Look In The Mirror?

Why do some people in leadership roles feel the need to manage with fire and brimstone? Is there a benefit to this iron-handed method of establishing dominance and letting everyone know “who’s boss”? Is it all just posturing for the power hungry?

This type of leadership is both an abuse of (perceived) power, and frankly, awfully ineffective. A real leader derives authority naturally, not from a title or a position.

What would happen if managers took a step back to examine how others see them?
 
They might realize that fear and subservience do NOT equal loyalty, and leading from a place of dominance (instead of encouragement or collaboration) only yields the bare minimum effort, and worse, fosters disdain and dissent.
 
If team members are supposed to be the ones getting all of the work done, driving solutions and coming up novel ideas, what does it say if the leader doesn’t seem to care about the team?
 
People in leadership roles of all kinds should constantly be aware of how they are seen. Do your team members look forward to your presence, or duck out of sight when they see you coming?

Leaders are supposed to pull the best work from their teams through inspiration and motivation, not through intimidation and the crack of the proverbial whip.

What is the best example of leadership you’ve seen in your organization? 
 
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

3 Steps To Simple Employee Centric Organizational Culture

It’s wordy and sounds a lot like an organizational structure that involves an obsessive amount of hand-holding.
 
You hire your employees hoping that they will get the job done fast, efficiently, and without you having to stand over everybody’s shoulder. In many cases, worrying about customer retention and satisfaction is a huge part of any employer’s day.
 
But what about employee retention?  
 
One of the easiest ways to promote productivity and excellent customer service is by creating an organizational culture that is employee-centric. Plain and simple: creating a team of employees that feel appreciated and motivated will propel your business into new and exciting territories.
 
1. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE STARTS WITH A TEAM OF ALL-STARS
Employee-centric businesses hire with extreme caution. As the resumes start pouring in, they take time to find someone that is not only qualified, but that seems to exhibit the values of their company, products, etc.
 
Find your team of all-stars.
 
When interviewing a potential employee, consider the following:
• Will this person contribute positively to our work environment?
• Does this person understand the underlying values of our company?
• Will this person be easy to work with and to motivate?

2. DEVELOP COLLABORATION & EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION
Employees want to know that their ideas matter. Does that mean that every potential “what if” will make it to the drawing board? Probably not.
 
But letting employees branch out and work on teams to develop existing ideas could lend a much needed fresh perspective. Your employees should feel comfortable coming to you with suggestions for improvements.
 
When your employees do something extraordinary, make sure to compliment them on the spot. There are plenty of ways to let your team know that they are appreciated. While it may seem most helpful to focus on areas of improvement, taking time out of your day to let people know what they are doing well will inevitably reform even your weakest areas of performance.

3.  KEEP EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION HIGH!
Figure out what motivates your employees.
 
Beyond the obvious bonus, are there ways you can encourage and challenge your workforce? Would coffee on Monday mornings make the beginning of the work week more bearable? Does a certain employee want to try out a different department or educate themselves regarding a different aspect of your business. If it is something you can accommodate, why not give it a try?
 
Obviously, every company will have to find their footing when it comes to creating a healthy and employee-centric organizational culture. Reassesing company values is always a good place to start. When you find a positive and hard-working employee, find ways that will motivate them to stay. Happy employees will create a happy business and happy businesses tend to be successful businesses.
What motivates you to get to work and do an awesome job? What are some ways in which your company could improve its retention?
 
Jeffrey Fermin is Officevibe’s cofounder and is in charge of all marketing efforts and business development for the company. Jeff has the pleasure of engaging with the Officevibe community where he talks, tweets and blogs about company culture and employee engagement. Reach him @JeffFermin

Support More Success – 2014 Three Words

WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE THE NEW YEAR SUCCESSFUL?  RESOLUTIONS?  GOALS?
 
What about creating your very own mantra?  
 
Chris Brogan does every year. He takes 3 words and makes them his drivers for the year.
 

In an effort to tell bigger stories, I’ve found that the concept of three words allows me to think in more dimensions about what I want to do with my life and it lets me apply lots of tangible goals instead of what most people do when they focus on just a finite task. It’s a bit like turbo-charged goal planning. – Chris Brogan
 
The concept is truly incredible. (Please click here to see Chris’ 3 words and read his article, its really good)
 
The economy has really cranked up and it looks like the job market is beginning to turn around. Things are fun and interesting and tenuous and scary all bundled into one. In honor of that, the 3 words I chose for 2014 are Support More Success.
 
SUPPORT – 
Look for opportunities to help others reach and exceed their goals…starting with my wife.  Give away help and connect people to get them closer to what they want/need. Do this without any expectation for reciprocation or “in order to”.  Live this year with the belief that there is more than enough to go around.  But doing this, I will focus on the things I really want to do.  Make working more like play…just have fun helping others.
 
MORE – (REPEAT FROM LAST YEAR CAUSE IT WAS SO AWESOME)
Ensure that there is more than enough to go around. There are always enough pie for everyone. That goes for my wife, business, friends, time and my community. Looking to develop business opportunities that involve my great network (and all those new friends that I have “created”). Focus time to make more relationships that are lasting, full of joy and mutually beneficial. Be more to my wife and partner. Allowing her to have the more she couldn’t before.
 
SUCCESS – 
Take risks to exceed my goals.  Not stupid risks, but step out to make the things I and others want a reality.  Reach out to people in every corner to make sure that the lofty goals for myself and others are met.  Don’t worry so much about what others think about me or what I am doing, just do. Talk less, listen more, and seek out success.  Avoid lingering or wallowing in what doesn’t work or what could have been.  Be enthusiasm for others success.  Laugh a lot because that’s what successful people do!
 
So for this year, I want to support more success in every aspect of my life. Expanding opportunities for others, growing friendships and striving making the world a better place in every action I take. The only thing that its missing is an awesome theme song!
 
I’d love to hear your 3 words for the year or hear about your BHAG for 2014.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Misunderstood Notion Of Perfection

After a very interesting conversation with my wife, I decided to explore the balance between perfection and completion.  She believes that there is such a rush to get things done that there isn’t a focus on right, good or correct.  As usual…it seems like she is on to something.
 
There is a zeitgeist in business today that believes done is good and even a mantra:

Done is better than perfect“.  But is that so? 
 
Is it really better that products should be pushed out than if they are correct?  No, not really
Although Apple is known for it’s outstanding products, the operating system launch when they replaced Google Maps with iMaps was an unmitigated disaster.  They were met with a huge backlash from users that were upset at the unannounced change.  iMaps was not as useful and had less features.  Some newer Apple customers responded by dropping their Apple products entirely.
 
But there is a dichotomy at play.  Although products and projects need to be correct, do they need to be perfect?  That depends on your definition of perfect.
 
The adjective perfect is defined as:
Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.
 
Perfection is defined as:

The condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.
 
PERFECT MISUNDERSTOOD

To often the notion of perfection is misunderstood.  Managers, leaders, teachers, etc. search for the holy grail of imperfection or flawlessness.  They push for a final product that has:

• The exact right word
• Phrasing that makes people weep
• User interfaces that have customers raise their gaze to the skies and see the face of their god (gods or whatever)
 
Essentially, they push for “Unattainable Flawlessness”. That is not only unrealistic, but a HUGE waste of time.
 
BUT WE NEED TO GET THINGS DONE!

Anyone who’s ever developed a product, worked on a piece of art, slaved over a project for weeks or months with looming deadlines and an audience to impress – anyone who has ever put themselves through this torturous process knows how hard it is to stamp the final seal, to step away from a project and call it “finished.”
 
The need to polish every imperfection and pour over every last detail is hard to resist, but does it really do any good?
 
• Particularly for a company developing new products, holding back a product release because it “isn’t perfect” is just foolish. Here’s why:
 
• It won’t be perfect anyway; there will always be something else to tweak or improve.

“Sometimes it’s best to launch a product before it’s perfect.”
 
AND
 

“Psychologically, work teams will become more expedient and start to think of the project in smaller chunks rather than as an insurmountable giant.” – Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Vice President of Community and Co-Founder & Head of Behance
 
• The longer you keep it from customers’ hands, the longer the company has to wait for real user feedback (which will likely call for more changes).
◦ Google, Apple, Microsoft and many other organizations frequently launch products to get them out on the market.  Then they collect user data to make them better. Sometimes they even come up with ideas that make the product function more effectively than originally planned!
 
SO WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?
 
The people behind the product may feel like any imperfection will raise questions about their overall ability and quality of work, but this is usually not the case at all.
 
Small flaws in the first run of a product (or even a service) are almost expected, and through review and customer feedback, the imperfections can be addressed and resolved through subsequent versions. This is the regular course of action – so the delays in first-round release do little but stretch out the time needed to process feedback and get later, more finely tuned versions into the hands of the public.
 
It’s a problem of overprotection on the part of the company. In an effort to have a successful launch and highly satisfied customers, they actually delay product releases, disappointing customers and giving the company name a much worse blemish than an imperfect product ever would.
 
BUT IN THE END THINGS SHOULD BE “PERFECT”
 
Products should be in “final” shape before it ever hits the shelves or is rolled out:

• Spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, etc. should be correct
• Products should work as expected
• Parts should not be missing
• Customer service should be aware of changes and anticipate customer needs
 
There has to be a balance between done and perfect.
• On one hand –
◦ Spending too much time looking for every last flaw is a waste of energy, and delays getting the feedback that really matters. Get it into the customers’ hands, and they’ll find the imperfections for you.
◦ On the other –
▪ Customers have an expectation that the product or service will work as advertised.  Don’t let things go out that don’t function as expected or show the organization in a bad light!
 
BUT THE GOAL SHOULD NEVER BE FLAWLESS.  WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

What The Current Stalemate In Washington Can Teach Leaders And Teams

As 2013 has ended, America has witnessed the least productive Congress and most almost financial crisises in its history.  

Since all failures can help others to learn, what does this government failure teach us?

1. Being positional is a path to disaster. – Regardless of party or beliefs, being unwilling to see the other’s point of view or even consider that there is a middle ground is not just unrealistic, it leads to inaction. This inaction is the fastest path to failure.

2. Letting a small group dominate the majority means inaction – When the loudest voices from the smallest group control the conversation, nothing can get done.

3. When nothing gets done, people lose faith in leaders – It’s better to take an action that needs to be corrected than do nothing.

4. No one wants to hear why things are getting done, they just want results – It’s easy to point out why things didn’t happen.  Point the finger and say its someone else’s fault. But in the end, people want to see progress.  If the lights go out, does it matter who’s fault it is BEOFRE you get the lights back on?  No, not really.

So thanks Congress and the White House.  You’ve taught some valuable lessons on how not to lead.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

There Is Never A Better Path Than Transparency

We live in a world of carefully cultivated image – where spin is everything and companies go to great length to carefully shape and craft their identity- for customers and employees. So much work goes into shaping messages and meticulously selecting what the public can see – and what has to stay under wraps.

What are organizations afraid of revealing?
 
That they don’t know the answer to some questions? That their product isn’t as good as they claim it to be? Something worse?
 
If these hidden truths came to the surface (as they so often do), the damage to a company’s reputation is potentially devastating. For the sake of example, what’s worse?

• Johnson & Johnson acknowledging that there were potentially fatal issues with their product Tylenol.  Taking it upon themselves to remove it from the market until there were assurance that it was safe. Creating a whole new level of safety for the entire industry. Johnson & Johnson handled this tragedy with transparency.  Not only ensuring the problem was rectified quickly but that the public viewed them as trustworthy. Their market share (number 1 at the time) actually grew when Tylenol came back on the shelves.
 
• Suppressing negative real negative issues with a handful of models of it’s cars braking systems, Toyota has still not recovered its position as the number one car manufacture in the world.  Worse than that, there are ongoing lawsuits and lingering investigations still pending against Toyota.  There are some that believe the company worked to systematically cover up the issue.  Unfortunately, once a company has been found to actively hide issues or blame customers for faulty products their reputations are hard to repair.
 
While both of these routes lead to a solution, one is transparent and one is not. One works with the affected customers, and one all but ignores them. Even though the customers eventually receive a solution either way, one of them actually fosters a sense of trust for the company.

Transparency is, without a doubt, always the best route. It won’t always be easy, and it certainly can be embarrassing and painful from time to time, but the gains are countless. People make mistakes, and customers understand that. They don’t get mad when companies mess up, they get mad when they won’t admit – or worse – don’t do anything about it.
 
The same goes for internal transparency: mistakes happen, humans make errors, things get mixed up – but veiling the truth from employees will only make them feel on the fringes, and less a “part of the team.”
Ultimately, employees will begin to mistrust leadership and anything that comes from corporate communications.  Leaving the most important asset any company has collectively rolling their eyes at anything from “corporate”
It’s all about trust here. If a customer (or an employee) can trust a company to do the right thing, to mean what they say, and to follow through with claims and promises, they can forgive mistakes and errors – because they know the company will own up to those too!
 

 
If companies and managerial leaders spent as much time problem solving as they did problem hiding, and let the rest of the world in on the issue at hand, there would be so much more room for innovation, creativity, collaboration, and the building of relationships that actually make a difference in people’s lives.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Build With Positivity And Possibility

When someone (anyone) proposes a solution to a problem, presents a new idea, or introduces a new design, the natural tendency of onlookers is to immediately begin deconstruction, looking for elements that won’t work and reasons why a proposed method/design/idea might fail.

Why would we ever do this to ourselves?
 
Doesn’t it seem logical that pooling a bunch of negativity at the base of a fresh, vulnerable new idea would eat away at the support structure? What could possibly be productive about shooting an idea down before it even gets off the ground?
 
Now this may seem like a radical approach, but it shouldn’t be: instead of immediately looking for the shortcomings in an emerging solution, look for qualities worth admiring, elements worth building upon.
 
Even if there’s only a shred of viability, that’s what should be noted first. If nothing else, it will get whatever team is reviewing the idea thinking in the right direction – after all, the goal is to find and create solutions, not to dwell on things that won’t solve the issue at hand.
 

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” ~ Unknown
 
When you can get a group (or even an individual) looking for the positives first, it opens the gates for collaboration, for the snowballing of ideas that will yield the best possible results. This is the behavior of building rather that destroying. Instead of picking apart each other’s ideas, we use them to generate ideas of our own. It’s the classic “Yes, and…” mentality, most famous in improvisational theater. It means going with the flow, exploring the path laid in front of you by a fellow collaborator, and above all, making an effort to build instead of destroy.
 
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson
 
Just imagine how this might affect the morale of a team, if everyone’s immediate reaction to a new idea was to find its most praise-worthy points, looking for what will work instead of what won’t.
 
If this process is repeated long enough, there will be so many good ideas floating around that the best solution is bound to emerge. The next time someone proposes a new idea, look for possibilities not problems.

This doesn’t mean that every idea is golden, or that there won’t be less-than-perfect elements to a proposal, but when we allow ourselves to go straight for the downside, we may overlook a subtle opportunity that just needed a little encouragement.

Try positivity for a change – it will make all the difference. 

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

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