When
facing a recurring problem do you want a snake handler or snake killer
?...John
Management idea
Problems
and challenges are a normal part of business. Do you have employees
that deal with these snakes, solve them once and for all, and reach
closure? In other words, employees that end up killing the snakes.
Or do you have snake handlers, folks that excel in dealing with
symptoms rather than root causes?
We have a
client that was struggling with their culture. They were a good
company with good results but they wanted to become truly great. To
get to the next level they would have to increase the proportion of
employees who were great. In the spirited discussion it became clear
that the same weak performers who had been identified five years ago
were still there. They were doing an adequate job, dealing with the
same issues that existed fives years ago. They we great handlers of
issues - not killers. For the company to to become great, they
had to get beyond the culture that accepted mediocrity and begin
hiring snake killers.
