There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask
Is who exactly will it be who’ll carry out the task?

Anybody could have told you that everybody knew
That this was something somebody would surely have to do.
Nobody was unwilling; anybody had the ability.
But nobody believed that it was their responsibility.

It seemed to be a job that anybody could have done,
If anybody thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since everybody recognized that anybody could,
Everybody took for granted that somebody would.

But nobody told anybody that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And nobody took it on himself to follow through,
And do what everybody thought that somebody would do.

When what everybody needed so did not get done at all,
Everybody was complaining that somebody dropped the ball.
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And everybody looked around for somebody to blame.

Somebody should have done the job
And Everybody should have,
But in the end Nobody did
What Anybody could have.

Charles Osgood, Host of CBS Sunday Morning

I believe that one of the reasons people resist changing the status quo is because every change creates winners and losers — and creates an uneven decision-making field. Studies have repeatedly documented that people’s decision-making is impacted three to five times more heavily by the probability of losing than by the probability of winning. 

When you want to sell an idea, you focus on the myriad of positive outcomes while minimizing or denying any potential downsides. On the other hand, when you want to kill an idea, all you have to do is enumerate all the real or perceived downsides. 

Allowing the fear of losing to prevail locks you into the status quo, a position that external events can eventually make untenable. Take, for example, a union’s relentless focus on holding on to past gains regardless of their company’s ability to remain financially viable and avoid bankruptcy. 

Minimizing or denying all the potential downsides can leave you with a huge mess to clean up after you implement the change. Witness the auto industry’s relentless focus on the price of a part, regardless of its longer-term impact on overall product quality or supplier base viability. 

To successfully change the status quo, you need leadership and a safe forum where all the real and potential negatives can be aired, thoroughly understood, and addressed. Over the past two decades, we at Myrna Associates have identified and refined the elements that enable teams to change the status quo for the better in their organizations. 

Thirty-four years after my first encounter with strategic planning, I continue to be struck the power of that process to shake up the status quo in a positive way. 

The right rules, roles, and process will consistently deliver results. You can find specific answers in the articles on our web site and our books on Strategic Planning and Meeting Management.

When you’re recruiting to fill a key position, there is a natural impulse to fill the position as soon as possible. Giving in to this impulse can lead to filling the position with someone who lacks the optimal mix of passion, competence, and personal alignment with the job’s requirements.

When you hire a “best available” candidate, the next year or two is usually devoted to the effort of fitting that square peg into a round hole. Denial gives way to anger and negotiation and finally acceptance that “hiring mistakes were made.” The employee sees the light and leaves, or is removed from the job — and the costly hunt for a replacement starts anew.

You are always better off paying the short-term price and continuing to search until you identify a candidate who is the best for the job rather than the best available candidate.

For more insight on identifying what a candidate needs to excel in a job, see The Authority Table™ section of my article on performance reviews.

Strategic Delegation: The Key to Increased Productivity and Higher Performance

Most CEOs dream of running an organization in which all managers spend the majority of their time improving the business rather than working in the business. These CEOs also wish their employees would perform at their highest potential, take personal responsibility for roles and outcomes, and be held accountable for results. In sum, these leaders of industry want to optimize – not just maximize - productivity, performance, and profitability from every individual.

Fortunately, there is a management tool to accomplish this: strategic delegation of tasks is the key to optimizing the value of each employee’s output.

To read of full copy of my article on how to implement strategic delegation published in the April 2010 issue of Employment Relations Today go to the articles page of myrna.com.