I’m usually the last person to give up on anything. I hate it. I’ll try to think of a myriad of things ranging from the impossible to “f*** that” in order to move something along that I believe in or really want to do/try.
At some point, we simply have to admit that a particular thing is not working and move along. That’s it and that’s all. Sometimes, we can’t patch things up. We simply have to take the pieces we’ve put together, break them down in to the most basic elements, and use those elements to build something that may end up looking completely different from what we originally envisioned and this needs to be accepted with enthusiasm.
This last thing is the thing I’ve seen become the stumbling block that a lot of people trip over. I’m working with a group right now and I think they illustrate this point well. Mind you, they have done things well. The problem is that what they did at one point doesn’t translate into the present and they don’t seem to grasp this concept, so they continue to run themselves into the same walls and issues. They’re reluctant to look at the processes and even people in some cases that aren’t working and reinvent their organization in order to meet their stated goals, all the while having meetings to discuss new, lofty, “forward-thinking” ideas that they are having. I find myself utterly baffled, if not entirely frustrated by these events.
While Tamsen McMahon writes a lot more eloquently on this issue, I find that it bears repeating… and repeating… and repeating.
The worst thing about the situation is that, as with most things like this, the elephant in the room is huge and easy to notice and even easier to fix. I mean really easy in this case, but they simply will not make the steps necessary to kill the stupid thing. Honestly, I find myself amazed at the resistance to actually taking the steps needed to make the necessary changes so that they can realize their own idea.
Whether they are personal elephants or corporate ones, don’t let elephants crowd you out of your own space. Take a look around at the facts, take a deep breath, then take actions step by step until that elephant is dead dead dead. Don’t avert your eyes and take your fingers out of your ear. This is not how great things are accomplished…
…but it does make for a good meeting topic.