Avoiding vicious cycles
Michael Watkins writes in his book'The first 90 Days of the 7 vicious cycles new leaders can fall into.
Based on his work in 'transition acceleration' with Johnson and Johnson, he cautions against:
1. Riding off in all directions
2. Undefended boundaries
3. Brittleness
4. Isolation
5. Biased judgement
6. Work avoidance
7. Going over the top
It's the 'work avoidance' that interests me. Watkins is referring to the ostrich tendency to bury your head rather than take the big decisions, or of deckchair rearrangement as a mechanism to buy time.
Watkins counsels executives to be honest about their decision process - especially with themselves.
What starts out as a righteous desire to avoid the quick wins itch , by avoiding a rush to judgement can easily look like dallying...and swiftly become it. Decisions are declaration of strategic intent and commitment.
Real decisions involve the irrevocable allocation of resources, as John Caswell is fond of saying. How many of the 'decisions' marketing directors make fit this criterion?
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