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This is an example of a dangerous one-size-fits-all silver bullet philosophy First, this creates selection for a culture that punches below its weight. Never w

This is an example of a dangerous one-size-fits-all silver bullet philosophy First, this creates selection for a culture that punches below its weight. Never willing to stetch itself. Underperformers apply here. Second, this is fine when you don't have external dependencies who you can't simply fire. You may have to work at the speed of an organization that doesn't share these values and this becomes the rate limiting step to your growth. Third, if your company is a rocketship and you have a lot of leverage over your employees, you may be able to pull this, but in practice you're going to have to pick your battles. Failure to create a safe work environment can erode trust and make for a toxic and fearful workplace.

UweSchmidt 10y ago
It is as if running a company was a new thing and people have to figure it out in 2017 without any kind of reference point.
mindcrime 10y ago
Failure to create a safe work environment can erode trust and make for a toxic and fearful workplace. Having a safe work environment isn't the same thing as not holding people accountable.
- sprafa 10y ago
  No of course not. The whole problem that Steve is talking about here stinks of mismanagement of some sort tho, that isn't really fixed by telling people "stop giving me excuses on delivery day". Something is wrong with the whole organization, but he isn't able to figure it out, so he's telling people to put up or shut up. He's attacking the symptom, not the cause. Read on the Toyota Production System for alternative solutions.
  - mindcrime 10y ago
    Something is wrong with the whole organization, but he isn't able to figure it out, so he's telling people to put up or shut up. I think for any of us to try and go into specifics on that particular case, without a lot more information (unless we were there), is an exercise in pointless speculation. I think it goes without saying that all generalizations are flawed, and I'm sure the company did need more than just "stop giving me excuses". But a culture of no accountability can be a cause that needs to be addressed. Read on the Toyota Production System for alternative solutions. I devour everything on TPS / Lean / Kaizen that I can get my hands on. :-)
    - mnmlistc 10y ago
      I agree. I very much enjoyed this article. Even though Steve's situation may not fit every organization perfectly, I think the core concept holds true. The way I see it, the symptom is giving excuses the day of, and the problem is people thinking they are entitled to a job with only putting forth minimal effort.

UweSchmidt 10y ago

It is as if running a company was a new thing and people have to figure it out in 2017 without any kind of reference point.

mindcrime 10y ago

Failure to create a safe work environment can erode trust and make for a toxic and fearful workplace. Having a safe work environment isn't the same thing as not holding people accountable.

sprafa 10y ago
No of course not. The whole problem that Steve is talking about here stinks of mismanagement of some sort tho, that isn't really fixed by telling people "stop giving me excuses on delivery day". Something is wrong with the whole organization, but he isn't able to figure it out, so he's telling people to put up or shut up. He's attacking the symptom, not the cause. Read on the Toyota Production System for alternative solutions.
- mindcrime 10y ago
  Something is wrong with the whole organization, but he isn't able to figure it out, so he's telling people to put up or shut up. I think for any of us to try and go into specifics on that particular case, without a lot more information (unless we were there), is an exercise in pointless speculation. I think it goes without saying that all generalizations are flawed, and I'm sure the company did need more than just "stop giving me excuses". But a culture of no accountability can be a cause that needs to be addressed. Read on the Toyota Production System for alternative solutions. I devour everything on TPS / Lean / Kaizen that I can get my hands on. :-)
  - mnmlistc 10y ago
    I agree. I very much enjoyed this article. Even though Steve's situation may not fit every organization perfectly, I think the core concept holds true. The way I see it, the symptom is giving excuses the day of, and the problem is people thinking they are entitled to a job with only putting forth minimal effort.