Do Companies Make "South Wind" Decisions?

Do Companies Make "South Wind" Decisions?

"When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed ..." Maybe you remember the event. The apostle Paul was being taken prisoner to stand before the great Caesar in Rome. He had been put on a ship in the custody of a Roman officer. Paul warned the officer that the trip would be disastrous for the ship, the cargo and the people. The centurion chose to listen to other advice that would accomplish his objective of getting to Rome quicker..

Then that gentle south wind began to blow. By itself it was a favorable wind, well able to propel the ship in the right direction. Everything just seemed to line up. The ship was ready, the crew assembled, the passengers on board. So many things looked right, that it really didn't matter what was said. The result? "Before very long, a wind of hurricane force called a northeaster, swept down."

People and organizations have these kinds of south winds. We want to do something or go a certain direction, and even though there may be well placed voices and indications against it, we look for the reason to justify doing it our way. Then the "wind of hurricane force" hits us. This article is for people who have what could be, a deceptive south wind blowing. We simply want you to stop and ask the question, "Am I (or, are we) trying to justify this to get what we want? Or, is everything really lined up to move ahead with the greatest advantage and good.

There can be a variety of poor reasons for rushing off on a certain course of action. You can no doubt add several of your own. Here are a few:

- someone in leadership has a personal agenda
- we think that productivity at all costs equates with success
- we believe we are being efficient in pushing things through ... now
- we don't stop to think about the "what ifs"
- we make ourselves believe that time is the most important things there is
- we are not mature enough to take into account more than one key indicator
- people are expendable, purpose, plant and procedures aren't, we can always replace people.

You might be better served as leadership in subjecting every major decision to a grid of questions that provides checks and balances, thus avoiding the hurricane of inadequate actions and disappointing results. GW

Key Coaching

1. What 5 key questions could you, your department, your group or your organization ask that would eliminate some agenda, other than the one you should have, being carried out?

2. Make a list of the times you have justified taking poor, major actions in the past, the "south wind" experiences that have landed you in trouble.

3. Is there a pattern to why you acted the way you did? What do you notice?

4. What needs to change, from now on? Does it involve personnel, people, policy, procedures, purpose or something else?

5. How can you take action to put those changes in effect today?

6. If appropriate, how can you permeate the whole organization with this new way of thinking?

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Running On Full is written by Judy Santos and Gary Wood. Judy & Gary are two of North America's leading Christian Coaches retained by a diverse international clientele of boards, groups, executives and individuals. They provide personal and group coaching, facilitation, workshops and courses mostly over the phone.