Tuesday 27 March 2007

The Brutal Facts

Brutal Fact Number 1

It's been over 3 months since I posted. I can give a number of reasons, but I doubt anyone's really interested.

Brutal Fact Number 2

I'm mostly inspired (or provoked) to write by work. Anyone who knows me knows how much I define myself in terms of what I do. I like to think I'm very good at what I do, although sometimes I'm not even sure how to even describe that. I'm a Quality Analyst, but if you looked at my typical day, you'd find I spend very little time in a traditional analyst role.

However, as an analyst, I feel it's my duty to try to present things clearly and correctly. I try to avoid significant spin. I try to present the good and the bad without being a Pollyanna or prophesying the apocalypse. I believe that one of the signs of a truly effective analyst is that ability. One of the other signs of a good analyst is the number of bullets they take. Everyone shoots the messenger these days.

Jim Collins proposes that one of the characteristics of an organization that is poised to go from good to great is the ability to face the brutal facts (If you haven't read Good to Great go do so. Now.) In talking with friends and associates in different industries, I've come to realize how rare that is. Most organizations seem to be filled with people that want things spun. They don't want the facts. Which means, if Collins is right, that their organizations are not poised to ever be great.

2 comments:

Anathema Heterodox said...

I like the sentence - "I try to avoid significant spin."

I love spin. It goes great with an old philosophy of mine - Smoke and Mirrors. I say old, because I don't rely on that one any more.

Glad to see a new post though, keep 'em coming!

Oh, and come see my blog too, always good to get a little free advertising in when you can.
http://anathema-heterodox.blogspot.com/

Laterz.

Anonymous said...

The reason why people shoot the messanger is that they truly want the results to back up their opinion.
Douglas Adams wrote in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency about a person who wrote a decision-making program that allows you to justify practically any outcome by back-tracing from the desired result. People like to know they were right after all and dislike hearing that in fact, they weren't after all.
David