Stop Whining--and Start Winning by Frank Pacetta

Author:Frank Pacetta
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2000-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Using the Weed Whacker

I have to ask this question before we go any further: Have you done any of this stuff yet?

We’ve been at it now through nearly eight chapters. I hate the thought that even one reader is giving me a New York nod. Yeah, I know. You’ve been too busy. Things have been really wild around the office. Maybe next week.

Is it procrastination?

Is it laziness?

It is complacency?

Is it fear?

If you’re still with me, I must be making a little bit sense. Either that or you like Italian food and you’re hoping I’ll print some of my mother’s favorite recipes. Don’t hold your breath. Those are going in the sequel, to be titled Bella Deals, Bella Meals.

I’ll make it easy. Just close your eyes, run a finger back across the last couple of pages, and stop anywhere. Whatever item in the review your finger is on, do it. Or I’ll choose one for you: Cut down barriers.

My favorite. I could spend every day just cutting down barriers. Have chain saw, will travel. Barriers are to a business what weeds are to a garden. There’s always a fresh crop even in the most successful, well-run businesses. Because they proliferate so fast, barriers will get so thick that they will choke an organization. You spend all your time climbing over them, working around them, digging under them that there’s no time for productive work. Barriers crowd out your cash crop.

I know a businessman who spent seventeen years growing barriers. At first, he was full of energy and talent. He’d leap those barriers with a single bound. But the business grew, and so did the barriers; getting over them started becoming harder and harder. Occasionally, he’d crash. No problem, the guy was good. He’d get back under control, but the barriers kept growing. Today, he is in his early forties, totally burned out, and looking to sell his company.

Have I got you interested in barrier busting? Kind of? Okay, go to the Joe DiMaggio of your organization. Everybody’s hero, the home-run hitter. Ask her what slows her down (and I’m not kowtowing to the PC-gender police—in many of my organizations it’s been Ms. DiMaggio who hits the ball out of the park day after day). She’ll have a long list. Take notes, flag three of them—the easy ones—and get rid of them.

But don’t run off just yet. Before you leave, ask her, “If I cut down these three barriers, will you give get me an extra 20 percent?” You may have to negotiate down to 10 percent, but your star is going to do a deal. She knows what it’s worth to get rid of the barriers, even if you don’t. Hold out for the biggest number.

“I need twenty, Sharon. You’re going to be jet propelled with this stuff cleared out of the way. Plus, I’m going to work on the rest of the list too.”

Does this sound too crass and undignified? Please. Leadership is a dirty business. There’s nothing wrong with a quid pro quo.

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