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There Are No Magic Pills

By Will Turner

Now that the aftermath of the dot.com boom and bust can be clearly seen in the rear view mirror, it’s time to examine some realities of our times. It seems that the whole American way is predicated on instant gratification and instant results. The lure of the dot-coms was that ordinary people, like you and me, could become millionaires almost overnight. While it happened for a few, far more chased after something that wasn’t ever meant to be.

In our head we can hear the voice of reason shouting, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!” Yet, we still crave immediate success. Think about it; our life is full of examples of people trying to buy the quick fix for things that didn’t break overnight.

For example, every day, countless hordes of overweight Americans, desperate for instant gratification, are suckered into the latest diet fads, magic herbal pills or risky surgical procedures. They didn’t gain the weight overnight; it was a gradual escalation of calories resulting from too many chips or Ho Hos that packed on the extra pounds. Yet, they want and even expect spectacular results immediately from the latest miracle cure.

The same is true with organizations and the people in them; they don’t set out to be average. But over the years, they lose their focus or discipline, they get away from understanding and responding to their customers or their co-workers, and they flounder. Rebuilding and improving a culture, the leaders or a specific team in an organization isn’t going to miraculously happen overnight. There are no magic pills; although, there are plenty of people hawking them.

We all know that lasting change comes from discipline and focus. It comes from changing bad habits that have been developed over time and replacing them with more effective ones. It comes from being accountable and holding others accountable. It comes from taking a long hard look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and putting our egos aside long enough to see our shortcomings more objectively. It comes from taking 100% responsibility for what we do and how we do it.

An interesting thing happens when we take 100% responsibility. We are no longer a victim. There is no one else to blame or circumstances to lament when we take total responsibility. That doesn’t mean that things outside of our control don’t impact us. It just means that we now take responsibility for dealing with those interferences that get in the way. We don’t sit back. We take action.

For companies to survive and thrive, change has to take place at both an organizational and a personal level. You’ll lose the talent war if you have people willing to change and take responsibility but you have a culture where leaders say, “That’s not the way we do it around here.”

Improvement doesn’t need to be radical. In fact, it’s more likely to last if it is continual and incremental. People don’t get fat overnight; companies don’t wake up mediocre one day. The lasting fix is rarely quick and easy. So forget the wonder cures and determine what you can start doing today that is different and better than what you did yesterday. How can you take 100% responsibility? How can you be more responsive to your customers, to your co-workers or to your boss? What are your interferences, those things that get in the way and keep you from performing at an optimal level? What are the possible solutions to those interferences?

Go ahead; commit yourself to taking some kind of action today. Write down what you are going to start doing differently. Make a pledge to yourself to improve and take it one baby step at a time. Remember, it won’t happen overnight, but incremental improvements will result in long-term success. Ask yourself, “What kind of place would my organization be, if everyone worked just like me?” Then set out to be the type of worker that you want all of your fellow co-workers to become.

© Dancing Elephants Achievement Group 2003