Life isn't perfect. Sometimes mistakes are made. If we aren't adequately committed to doing the right things to be healthy, we can become ill - feeling weak, miserable, and generally creating sub-par performance in everything we do. In times such as these, the right medicine can help us get better. When appropriate, this is a good thing to improve our well-being. This also holds true (metaphorically) for organizations.
The problem comes when the person (or organization) stops trying to take care of themselves because it's easier to depend (too much) on the medicine to make them feel healthy...instead of doing what it takes to genuinely be healthy.
In times such as these, the medicine can actually become like a poison - slowly undermining the person's ability to function effectively. The body develops a resistance to the medicine, which causes the effectiveness of the medicine to diminish and the symptoms to get worse...unless the "dosage" is increased.
Just like an addict of any kind, when the body expects a "medicine" to help it be happy/healthy, the natural consequences is a downward cycle. It always continues to get worse until the person a) dies or b) decides to take on the hard work required to get "naturally" happy/healthy...by eating right, exercising, and practicing other good habits. Enabling people can actually kill them!
The same holds true for organizations. When a "medicine" (bailouts, subsidies, lack of competition, etc.) manipulates the company's circumstances and the business begins to depend on that support to simply survive every day, the medicine becomes a poison that will continue to undermine the health of that organization until it goes out of business or changes direction. Building disciplined leadership, accountability to non-negotiables, engagement, integrity, and excellence throughout an organization is hard work - but it always results in success.
Here's the key: Ignoring a problem will not make you safer from it. In business and in our personal lives, sometimes - if we really care enough - we have to show TOUGH love.
In what ways is your organization dependant? Are you "coasting" through your workdays or actively pursuing improvement? What would it take to conduct an "intervention"?
Think about it. But more importantly, do something about it...today!
The problem comes when the person (or organization) stops trying to take care of themselves because it's easier to depend (too much) on the medicine to make them feel healthy...instead of doing what it takes to genuinely be healthy.
In times such as these, the medicine can actually become like a poison - slowly undermining the person's ability to function effectively. The body develops a resistance to the medicine, which causes the effectiveness of the medicine to diminish and the symptoms to get worse...unless the "dosage" is increased.
Just like an addict of any kind, when the body expects a "medicine" to help it be happy/healthy, the natural consequences is a downward cycle. It always continues to get worse until the person a) dies or b) decides to take on the hard work required to get "naturally" happy/healthy...by eating right, exercising, and practicing other good habits. Enabling people can actually kill them!
The same holds true for organizations. When a "medicine" (bailouts, subsidies, lack of competition, etc.) manipulates the company's circumstances and the business begins to depend on that support to simply survive every day, the medicine becomes a poison that will continue to undermine the health of that organization until it goes out of business or changes direction. Building disciplined leadership, accountability to non-negotiables, engagement, integrity, and excellence throughout an organization is hard work - but it always results in success.
Here's the key: Ignoring a problem will not make you safer from it. In business and in our personal lives, sometimes - if we really care enough - we have to show TOUGH love.
In what ways is your organization dependant? Are you "coasting" through your workdays or actively pursuing improvement? What would it take to conduct an "intervention"?
Think about it. But more importantly, do something about it...today!
1 comment:
The second article, by Shortliffe, was published about the same time in a special issue of JAMA devoted to medical education.
i Norge
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