Page 109 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Knowing Players from Fans

agement and hope in reflecting on my vision of a thin
me—a future with my wife, children, and friends.

Players with a clear vision will make great things
happen. Players who have lost the vision creep over
to the right side of the life-cycle curve.

It begins with nostalgic thinking. Saying, “Let’s just
go back to the way it used to be,” is stage one of a four-
stage process that results in total disengagement. The
problem with nostalgic thinking is it presents an impos-
sible solution. I remind team members and my family

from time to time that going back is not an option.
For example, my daughter left in the late summer of
85
2006 for her first semester at Texas Christian University. =

At Thanksgiving, she returned home for a few days of
relaxation and recreation. Shortly after arriving, she
said, “Dad, things just seem different.” I understood
because I had felt the same way when I left home. It is
true for everyone—once you have left home to pursue a

college degree, a new job, or marriage, home will never
be the same. It can still be pleasant, but it will never be
what it was. Efforts to make it so are wasted motion.

Stage two of the journey prompts unproductive
questioning, which tears down a healthy organization.
Often, these are complaints disguised with question
marks. For example, a team member might say, “Why