{"id":12789,"date":"2015-06-16T20:11:59","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T20:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icebreakerexecutive.com\/?p=12789"},"modified":"2015-06-16T20:11:59","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T20:11:59","slug":"truth-hurts-especially-when-it-sneaks-up-on-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winningthinking.co.uk\/?p=12789","title":{"rendered":"Part 3 of 8: Truth hurts, especially when it sneaks up on you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
Greetings! <\/p>\n

Almost the only thing that is an absolute truth in a business is its cash position.\u00a0 Everything else is open to interpretation.\u00a0 Sometimes staff can build up false beliefs about their business or their industry, because they don’t have access to perfect information.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In my work with distressed companies, there’s usually a painful phase right at the start called getting to the truth.<\/strong>\u00a0 Leaders like you are no less prone to building up false beliefs than the rest of the team.\u00a0 The consequences for the business are worse, though…because very few employees will challenge the boss.\u00a0 Over time, the false belief takes hold throughout the organisation, and the leader’s mistake is magnified in a hundred small ways every day.<\/p>\n

\"shutterstock_1806979\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The root of these false beliefs is usually a negative generalisation.\u00a0 “My people can’t be trusted to manage inventory,” one CEO told me at the start of a project.\u00a0 “Our customers are addicted to discounts,” said another.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A generalisation like this rings true (especially after the boss has said it a couple of times).\u00a0 It becomes a useful shorthand justification for making decisions.\u00a0 Negative generalisations are always false.<\/strong>\u00a0 More often than not, it is a subconscious signal of the leader’s biggest fears.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Both the CEOs quoted above operated in the retail space; both of them were most threatened by margin erosion.\u00a0 Their false beliefs nearly sabotaged both their businesses.\u00a0 The “inventory” CEO created an inventory management system that actually caused bloats and shortages of crucial stock items (because it was designed to operate independently of his “untrustworthy” people).\u00a0 The “discounts” CEO created a marketing culture that had only one weapon in its armoury: discounts!\u00a0 In both cases margins were dangerously eroded.\u00a0 They had created the situation they most feared. \u00a0In each case, we had to get to the truth before we could start building the solutions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you’re facing a problem at the moment, it’s worth taking a few moments to analyse the assumptions that underlie your definition of the problem.\u00a0 Treat anything that isn’t your actual current cash position as suspicious and open to question.\u00a0 And treat any negative generalisation you uncover as actively dangerous and misleading.\u00a0 Get to the truth.<\/strong> \u00a0It’s usually not as bad as we fear, but if it passes you by it might be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

with best wishes,
\nTom<\/p>\n

Tom Pickering FIET
\n+44 (0) 7720 59786+44 (0) 7720 597869
\ntom.pickering@icebreakerexecutive.com<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.icebreakerexecutive.com\/icebreaker-international\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Winner 2015 Global Turnaround Firm of the Year<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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