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21 " organizational health is relatively hard to measure, and even harder to achieve. It feels soft to executives who prefer more quantitative and reliable methods of steering their companies. It also entails a longer lead time to implementation than does a technical or marketing strategy, which yields more immediate results and gratification. "
― Patrick Lencioni , The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: The Four Disciplines at the Heart of Making Any Organization World Class
22 " organizational health is often neglected because it involves facing realities of human behavior that even the most committed executive is tempted to avoid. It requires levels of discipline and courage that only a truly extraordinary executive is willing to embrace. "
23 " company needs to be able to articulate exactly what it does, whom it serves, and against whom it competes. Why? Because all employees should be made to feel like salespeople or ambassadors for the firm, and they cannot do this without a fundamental understanding of an organization’s business. More important, without this understanding, employees cannot connect their individual roles to the overall direction of the larger organization. "
24 " He wrote a simple question on a piece of paper: WHAT IS THE ONE THING I DO THAT REALLY MATTERS TO THE FIRM? "
25 " From the moment he began using the disciplines on his yellow sheet, Rich was continually narrowing the scope of his responsibilities to a core set of activities. One of the areas that he most adamantly insisted on being involved in, and which had a profound connection to each of the four disciplines, was the hiring of new employees. "
26 " More than a third of Rich’s fifty-five-hour workweeks (fifty was just not realistic for him) was spent interviewing potential hires. "
27 " Within companies that effectively over-communicate, employees at all levels and in all departments understand what the organization is about and how they contribute to its success. They don’t spend time speculating on what executives are really thinking, and they don’t look for hidden messages among the information they receive. "
28 " All employees who had been with Telegraph for more than a few months knew that no matter how impressive their background or skills might have been, they had made it into the firm because they were found to be humble, hungry, and smart. "
29 " The key is to take five minutes at the end of staff meetings and ask the question, “What do we need to communicate to our people?” After a few minutes of discussion, it will become apparent which issues need clarification and which are appropriate to communicate. Not only does this brief discussion avoid confusion among the executives themselves, it gives employees a sense that the people who head their respective departments are working together and coming to agreement on important issues. "
30 " Rich didn’t care if people liked the guy. He knew that most people at this level had learned how to be likable during interviews. “What did Rita think? "
31 " Rita laughed. “I know. Technically, you’re right. But I think a guy at this level needs a little more rope.” Rich was adamant now. “No. Less rope. Senior people should get less rope, because in the process of hanging themselves, they snag other people too. "
32 " Contrary to the assumptions of his rivals, Rich O’Connor had no tolerance for touchy-feely off-site meetings. In fact, his staff had come to refer to his meetings as “hug-free zones,” a term they coined during Telegraph’s first management retreat five years earlier. "
33 " DISCIPLINE FOUR: REINFORCE ORGANIZATIONAL CLARITY THROUGH HUMAN SYSTEMS. "
34 " BE COHESIVE. BE CLEAR. OVER-COMMUNICATE. REINFORCE. "
35 " They put every candidate through at least five interviews. They insist on using a core set of behavioral questions, asked in slightly different ways by different people. And then they make all the interviewers get together in a room and debrief.” Jamie paused. “They do this for vice presidents, consultants, even receptionists. "
36 " The questions were, ‘What did you accomplish?’ ‘What will you accomplish next?’ ‘How can you improve?’” “That’s it?” “Not quite. The question on the back was, ‘Are you embracing the values? "
37 " Building a cohesive leadership team is the most critical of the four disciplines because it enables the other three. It is also the most elusive because it requires considerable interpersonal commitment from an executive team and its leader. "
38 " The essence of a cohesive leadership team is trust, which is marked by an absence of politics, unnecessary anxiety, and wasted energy. Every executive wants to achieve this, but few are able to do so because they fail to understand the roots of these problems, the most damaging of which is politics. "
39 " This blindness occurs because what executives believe are small disconnects between themselves and their peers actually look like major rifts to people deeper in the organization. "
40 " When an executive decides not to confront a peer about a potential disagreement, he or she is dooming employees to waste time, money, and emotional energy dealing with unresolvable issues. This causes the best employees to start looking for jobs in less dysfunctional organizations, and it creates an environment of disillusionment, distrust, and exhaustion for those who stay. "