COMMAND AND CONTROL---REALLY?

Is command and control still a viable  concept for a business?
For one in trouble or for one that is running well?

Why is command always viewed hand in glove with control?

Is "command" giving control a bad name?

Can we command people's behaviour into results through prescription?

Can we  control people into accountability?

Does control have to be harsh?

Can control free up the x-factor of enthusiasm and initiative?

What needs to be controlled?

What needs to be commanded?

Do we need a new concept and words to release the power of your company?

Give one new words to replace "control". Give me new questions
We need to talk about this.

YOU ARE BOTH TERRIBLY IMPORTANT AND NOT THAT IMPORTANT AT AL

YOU ARE BOTH TERRIBLY IMPORTANT AND NOT THAT IMPORTANT AT  ALL

Your company is an organism that has a life of its own.
It adapts and shape shifts as leaders come and go and as events impact it from outside.  
You are just one influence in the stream of its history.

A CEO I worked with mused with me about his impact.
On a snowy day he came into headquarters by the front door.  There was an icy patch in front of the entrance way.  He slowed down (knowing he was famous for being clumsy) and looked down carefully to avoid looking foolish by falling.  

The next morning as he entered, he saw that the entrance had been transformed.  It had a heated sidewalk and a railing!!

He fumed to me, "I look askance and people take urgent action on their own initiative.  But when I try to move the organization, I am like a man on an elephant that is lumbering through the jungle while I madly try to direct it with a fly swatter."

Powerful and powerless.  The CEO role is a Buddhist trip.  Sleep, wake, chop wood, carry water.  Sleep, wake, chop wood, carry water.  Results come.  Results go.  Chop wood. Carry water.  Power comes.  Power goes.  Chop wood.
Carry water.

YOU KNOW HOW TO WIN--NOW GIVE IT UP

YOU KNOW HOW TO WIN

You know how to win.  You know how to win OVER others.  And I am sure you probably know how to win WITH others.  But you' re at the top of the pyramid even if you have flattened it.  So you have won Queen/King of the mountain.   You have been aggressive and ambitious in your early years.  Asking for and taking tough assignments.  Producing results and letting people know you have produced results.  You have been ingratiating to those in power.  Making sure you are welcome when you approach.  Knowing when to stand out with a contrary opinion and when to step back.  You have learned  how to make yourself look a little better than someone else without being disparaging.  You have pleased the powers that be without losing your integrity.  You have worked at paving  the way for your career.  You have created your own band/tribe of followers and celebrated with them when you passed another milestone to the top.  You have brought people along with you in your winning.  You have won!!  You have done it. You are there.

Now YOU shouldn't win again.  Your company can.  Your team can.  Individuals who work in your company can.  But you have to give it up.  Now your only job is to make other people win.  Be aggressive in your coaching.  Be competitive in your hunger to beat the competition.  Be ingratiating with every customer you serve.  Laugh at your own ego  in order to make a meeting work or to set rivals at ease.  Keep score on who has exceeded your expectations and who could succeed you.  

And if you do happen to win--an industry award,  a new competitive edge, attention from the public, win softly.  Charisma takes attention from your people.  Bragging is embarrassing when you have already won.  Bow your head to accept the medal and then keep it bowed walking humbly and with sure feet.   You are on the top of the mountain.  A most precarious place to live without the support of others.

YOUR VOICE IS TOO POWERFUL TO BE SPONTANEOUS WHEN IT COMES TO RECOGNITION

  It's really irritating.  Here you are doing what everyone says is so important ie. recognition and it comes with such possible backlash.   I can remember each time that I recognized someone without naming their support staff or left out a name when mentioning a group  effort.  AND I can remember each time I wasn't named or was given too much credit for something a team had done.   So hard to get it right. 

All in all,  recognition is tricky business.  When powerful  public appreciation comes from you to one person in particular there is usually a price to pay  for the person being recognized..  Very subtle but a kind of kiss of death.  Others begin to look for faults or try to ride the back draft of the person who was so recognized.  The flip side-- of someone  not  being included in recognition-- stings for long after the omission.  Invisibility after long hard work insults top talent and  is the start of bitterness and withdrawal for someone you want to keep strongly on your side.

So to avoid being damned if you do and double damned if you don't:

***For public recognition of a team or group--have a written list vetted by another eye.

     Be spontaneous in your remarks but totally prepped in names of people.

***For a big fat  thank you, do it informally and  privately in the person's office.

     They will not forget that moment.

*** Written individual notes are incredibly powerful--just know you might as well post    

      them on Facebook.  It will be shared and examined.  Use the opportunity well.

***To a large crowd in the name of the company--go for it.

     Let it rip.  When you praise the company everyone is included.

     Just don't go false.  Which is easy to do once you get started.   

     Keep it real

     Praise babble is embarrassing for all.

***And when you mess up, make it right privately and personally.  The person will let         

     others know you have.  No need for public retraction.  But know you owe the person and the   

     next graceful chance you get,  recognize this person for another contribution 

     publicly.  

My most prized recognition came when one of my CEO's and I had just handled a tough situation---sensitive in every way.   He passed me a napkin that said,  "We did it."

It was the "We" and the napkin that did it for me.  You can bet I know where that napkin is.