hours (or a day) later, edit, and then think twice about whether you
really need to send this! Badly used e-mail generates confusion and
work, unclear delegation, and sometimes attempts at too much
control.”
“There is definitely too much politics and not working together to
achieve the common vision. There seems to be many groups trying to
justify their roles, and they drive unnecessary work, confusion, and turf
wars.”
“More honesty and integrity, more willingness to admit one’s mistakes
and to accept others’ mistakes, more importance on doing it right the
first time, and less importance on meeting artificial deadlines.”
“Our organization’s biggest problem is our ‘product silos.’ Each initiative
on our annual business plan tends to be very departmentfocused—
i.e., sales has its own projects, as does marketing, IT, and
every other function. However, I do expect us to get better this year,
thanks to a better strategic planning process that forced us to revisit
and restate our mission, values, and vision. As a result, we’re now
focusing on just three (rather than a dozen) strategic themes that
require better collaboration.”
“The desire for perfection and the analysis paralysis it creates reduce
productivity. Blame-proofing the responsible team is also a negative
factor. Finally, the lack of clear accountability for and measurement
of the results is the primary reason for lower-than-desired
productivity.”
“It is difficult to function as a team when everyone is pitted against