Why Not Use a Horoscope?

Assessment tools (Myers Briggs, DISC, etc.) are being touted as useful ways to improve teamwork and productivity.  But they’re really nothing more than a way to label people in ways that aren’t even accurate (since they are self-reported.)  You might as well use a horoscope.  These tools actually provide an excuse not to be honest with each other because it’s easier to label people and put them into categories than to really understand each other.

(If you want genuine personality assessments or selection tools, use a qualified professional and valid, reliable instruments, otherwise you’re on thin ice.  And if you need a referral, let me know.)

The real question is:  What is your objective?

• If your purpose is to start a conversation, why not use a Drucker essay, a Maureen Dowd column, or a Harvard case study?
• If you want to identify work styles, why not just discuss who works best in a group work and who prefers solitude?
• And if you want your people to work better as a team and improve business execution, an approach I often use is to help participants give each other relevant business feedback and actually listen to each other.

The real key is to change behavior, not just insights.

When Continuous Improvement is Bad for Your Company

Think about it. Google, the iPhone, Facebook, the microwave oven, the CD player…. None of these were a result of continuous improvement.

I’m all for getting better at the fundamentals, but as a stand-alone business strategy, continuous improvement is “me-too.” Working hard to get better at what your competitors do is a first class ticket to being a commodity, and that means your’re forever competing on price. Research In Motion is a good example — they have made their Blackberries better and better, but in the meantime, they’ve been leapfrogged by Androids and iPhones.

Breakout strategies involve going beyond continuous improvement and taking a sharp left-hand turn, or at the very least, concentrating on how to differentiate your company based on increasing value, not reducing cost. Risky? Yes. But if you want to break out of the commodity rut, it’s what you need.

Spend less of your time (and your organization’s) on fixing problems and continuous improvement, and spend more time on raising the bar and innovating.