It’s often said that there are only two reasons for not getting the job done. It’s either “not knowing” or “not doing.” Both are pretty much self-explanatory.
If people “don’t know,” that’s the fault of upper management. Upper management hasn’t invested the time, resources and assets to coach them to their full potential.
If people “don’t do,” that too is on upper management. If upper management doesn’t set the expectations and have consequences for failing to achieve those expectations you can’t blame it on people for not doing.
People will often only do what they have to do. Human nature is such that they are going to take the route of the least resistance.
I see both the “not knowing” and the “not doing” in my travels. I will sometimes ask the most basic question and people don’t know the answer. How can that be?
I’m left to assume:
- They don’t care enough to know.
- They just don’t have the knowledge to know. (They haven’t been coached.)
- People don’t know what they don’t know. That’s the scariest of all.
What’s your excuse? Not knowing or not doing?
That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs