Don McMinn

Michelangelo sculpted four intentionally unfinished works: The Bearded Slave (shown here), The Atlas Slave, The Awakening Slave and The Young Slave. Though they appear unfinished, they are just as he intended them to be. He wanted to show what it might feel like to be forever enslaved.

Sadly, some people choose to be enslaved by their past.

Years ago, a man came to me for counseling. When I asked him why he had come, he spoke about how his employer had taken advantage of him and then fired him. As he told the details, he became visibly emotional—flushed face, moist eyes, quivering lips…

About ten minutes into the session I asked, “When did this happen?” (Recently, I assumed.) He answered, “Seventeen years ago.”

Oh my…

While I wanted to empathize with him regarding the alleged employer abuse, I was shocked that he had allowed this one incident to negatively influence his life for so long.

Now to the other extreme, I have a friend who continually (and almost exclusively) talks about the “good old days.” Doing so seems to make him a positive, joyful person (though at times I think he’s hiding something; surely something in his past was unsettling) but he’s also stuck in time. He has no vision for the future because he constantly lives in the past.

Let me suggest that there’s a difference between reflecting on your past and dwelling on it.

Reflect on your past so you can be grateful for the positive experiences and learn from the painful ones. But, don’t dwell on your past, or the positive experiences may cause you to be smug, complacent, and apathetic about future possibilities and the painful experiences may eventually pollute your soul. Just as there are two ways to fall off a horse, there are two ways an obsession with the past can unbalance us.

Think more about the present and future than you do the past. Enjoy the wonder of each hour and dream about a better tomorrow. View the past as a prelude to the future. Always have something to look forward to.

Free yourself from unhelpful introspection.

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Here’s a video about Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures.

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We are most vulnerable to being taken advantage of when we’re engaged in an area we don’t understand.

For instance, most people know what is involved in painting a room, so if a painter bids $3,000 to paint a small room, we immediately reject the bid: “That’s ridiculous; too much money for one gallon of paint and six hours of work.” But if an AC repairman says, “Your framis is broken, your coils are corroded and the VS pump must be recalibrated—that will cost $3,000,” we’re more likely to approve the work because we just don’t know what all that means; air conditioning is a mysterious world to us.

I first learned this lesson when I was remodeling an old house to use as headquarters for my organization. Because it was zoned commercial it had to comply with American Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. I didn’t know anything about ADA rules, so I solicited a bid from an ADA “consultant” who offered to “manage” the process for $4,000. But a builder friend of mine told me, “We are most vulnerable to being taken advantage of when engaged in an area we don’t understand,” and then he told me that the ADA rules were fairly easy to understand and available online. He was right. I figured it out myself and saved a lot of money.

How can we avoid these moments of naive vulnerability?

• Be aware of when you’re in an unfamiliar environment and don’t make hasty decisions. When pressed for a decision, a good initial response is, “Let me think about that.”
• Always get multiple opinions and bids on all products and services.
• Take the time to research areas you’re dealing with; you’ll be surprised at how much and how quickly you can learn.
• Solicit input from trusted friends who are familiar with the domain you’re unfamiliar with.
  Be available to help other people when they are in unfamiliar territory. Use your expertise to assist others.

Don’t be misled or taken advantage of.

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In 1950, 21 of Japan’s most important business leaders attended a dinner party in Tokyo. American statistician W. Edwards Deming was the keynote speaker. Deming’s said that the key to restoring Japan’s post-war economy was to pursue a simple strategy of continuous improvement in all products and services. Collectively, and without regulatory or legislative involvement, these leaders adopted Deming’s recommendations, which eventually led to a manufacturing and economic renaissance.

In two decades, Japanese products, which had been referred to as “Jap scrap,” became synonymous with “quality” and “super-engineering.” These quality improvement methods took Japan, within one generation, from a country that had been completely destroyed in 1945 to the number two economic power in the world. The Japanese called the process “kaizen,” which means “continuous betterment” or “continuous improvement.”

Leaders, embrace the Kaizen mindset. Never be content with the way things are; continually strive to make things better. Adopt the mindset that everything is a work in progress and that incremental improvements will always be made. Continually ask, “How can this be improved?”

Here’s a great example. When Netflix was launched, their primary business was sending DVDs to customers using a simple mailing envelope that also doubled as the return envelope. For years the envelope went through many iterations as Netflix continually tweaked its functionality. Here’s a picture of a few of the different envelopes.

Of course, their distribution strategy has changed drastically. Now they stream their movies, making the envelope obsolete.

An important aspect of the Kaizen strategy is the emphasis on continuous improvement. We don’t improve things periodically, we do so continuously. We don’t just think of it once a year, it’s a modus operandi that influences us daily, if not hourly.

Here’s a 4-minute video about the Kaizen Strategy.

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

I have never understood why some leaders, when they are developing strategy and making decisions, are reluctant to include other people in the process. I can’t really think of any downside in doing so. You have assembled a team of smart, engaged people who love your organization; why wouldn’t you seek their input?

One of my favorite leadership mantras is: All of us are smarter than one of us. The IQ of the team is always greater than the IQ of any one person, and the IQ of the team can even exceed the sum of the intelligence of individual team members—collective team intelligence can produce a 1+1 = 3 outcome.

For instance, one study found that, on their own, participants got only 10 percent of the answers correct on a tough logic test. When they worked as a group, the score soared to 80 percent.

Collaborative wisdom will always exceed individual wisdom. Any idea or plan will be improved upon when submitted to the wisdom of others.

Collaborative leadership is more important now than ever before because in our complex society, functioning as a soloist will produce inferior results. The Lone Ranger is dead. Good leaders know that they don’t have to have all the ideas or know all the answers, and that’s why they’re eager to receive input from others. Wisdom does not necessarily flow from the top down.

I’m not suggesting that as a leader you relinquish all control—it is the leader’s responsibility to make decisions, and everyone knows that. And, I’m not suggesting that you lead by consensus—there are times when consensus is impossible and even undesirable. But if you truly listen to others and they know that their thoughts help shape decisions, there will be a healthy sense of unanimity when you make the final decisions.

During World War II, General Eisenhower made a habit of visiting his troops on the frontline, and he would ask the soldiers, “What do you think?”

We should follow his example. Feedback is a gift.

James Surowiecki’s book, The Power of the Collective, talks about the wisdom of crowds. Here’s a video of the author speaking on this topic.

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