‘Like wading through treacle’ is how a client described to me their experience of meetings with a supplier. Apparently, it was easier to endure unproductive meetings than to say no.
As you re-orient to accelerate your career or organisation out of the pandemic, it is the perfect time to jettison dead weight that holds you or your organisation back.
We know what we should do. We just don’t do it.
Businesses continue trading with a multiplicity of products or services, while just a handful make most of the profit.
A few employees, customers, members or suppliers are the source of most grievances, but they stay on the books.
Industry bodies with limited resources struggle with long lists of priorities set by members, yet only a handful of issues really matter for most industry businesses.
Employees stay in a job they don’t like, rather than taking the risk of changing.
Somehow, we are better at saying yes and accepting mediocrity than saying no and risking criticism and the chance at excellence.
It’s hardly a new or surprising problem. I just was reading a 1963 article by Peter Drucker on business effectiveness and had to double check that it wasn’t more recent. We know what we should do.
There are plenty of reasons why we don’t say no, but advice on how to do it is not so common. James Clear’s book Atomic Habits offers practical advice on how to change habits and has been a best-seller in the past year.
People and organisations can and do change direction. Think of the trillions that are right now being directed towards production of electric cars by car makers around the world.
Coming out of the pandemic, what will you stop doing to make room for excellence? If you need to change and can’t, reach out for professional advice.
Stop wading through treacle and get on the fast track.