Putting Step 9 into Practice

Putting Step #9 into Practice

1. Be prepared to change direction. Identify a preferred direction as well as viable alternatives. Participants must remain alert to the key indicators about how the selected direction is working. Consider whether the acceptable alternatives have become more desirable as solutions to the problem at hand.

2. Encourage active inquiry into the efficacy of your decisions. Avoid communications that discourage openness. Saying "Let me know if you have any problems as you implement the decision" conveys the impression that the decision is the implementer's problem to work out. The implicit message is "Don't bother me. If this option doesn't work, you handle it." As a result, groups may fail to address change in a timely way and make accusations rather than corrections. Instead, emphasize that everyone on the team has a role in monitoring the results. Reaching agreement together is only one phase in the journey to outstanding results.

3. Model positive inquisitiveness for your organization. Ask: "What have we learned about the choice we made? Are any of the alternatives starting to look better?"

4. Estimate the expected life of your decision and review your choice no later than halfway through it. Estimate the length of time during which you think your decision will be valid, then cut that time in half. Conduct a thorough review at that halfway point.

5. Regard changing your mind as a positive attribute. In fact, welcome change. Monitor and modify your decisions to incorporate it. Include change as an important part of your organization's learning loop.

   BE AN AGENT OF HOPE

   Embrace change with a viable set of alternatives. Choices encourage participants to perceive and respond to change more quickly and successfully.