First Human Attempts at Controlled Flight I believe it is time we replicated the quest for controlled flight by getting governments and investors to offer cash prizes to the first organization that achieves an effective and measurable psychologically safe environment in the workplace. Excerpts from Matt Williams Blog "The idea of offering incentive prizes to inspire... Continue Reading →
Solving the Problem of Correcting Mistakes
Unfortunately, when we focus on correcting mistakes, we seem to focus on the person as much as on the mistake. That's how we were brought up. We still use language like "his mistake," "your fault," "he's a trouble maker," and "she's to blame." We even have institutions to help correct people's BIG mistake-making, called "correctional... Continue Reading →
How to Save Billions of Dollars Globally on HR and Management.
How do we save billions of dollars globally on HR and management fees? Easy! Simply create a one-on-one, self-moderating procedure that teams can use to to help resolve their behavior disputes with fellow team members or their manager. We call ours Object123 . Then create a social network of independent peers that are willing to review and adjudicate any disputes that we have trouble resolving using this tool. We call our the Disputz Network . And that's it.
Something New in Safety?
Lately, I seem to be hearing a lot about psychological safety as a new strategy to help teams perform more effectively in the workplace. Let's be clear; there is nothing new about the concept. The term was first coined in 1965 by MIT professors Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis, who argued that psychological safety was... Continue Reading →
Micro Conflict Resolution in Teams.
For the last 15 years, I have been pursuing a solution to minor disputes within startup teams (namely our own) between my brother and me. I hated it when he responded with "erk!" when I came up with a novel proposal for a problem that we were trying to solve. As a designer, we were... Continue Reading →
Your Real-Time Protection is Now Activated
For the last 15 years, I have been developing and simplifying the basic precautions & protections that team members need to resolve all minor & significant disputes satisfactorily. Using a self-organizing system means it is essential middle managers put themselves out of a job, as some 25% of all unresolved disputes involve managers with their... Continue Reading →
Shield of Protection
Most authors on organizational behavior, such as Amy Edmondson, Timothy Clark, and Kim Scott, seem only to offer psychological insights on how team members should behave towards each other rather than specifying how to actually protect members from misbehaving and toxic managers. Imagine if every organization was obliged to provide a standard "shield of protection"... Continue Reading →
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Ever wondered why a business or personal relationship fails? Most people never do, deeming it just too painful or complicated to try. Well, I have wondered most of my life and come up with the simplest and most obvious answer—death by a thousand cuts. In other words, simply too many nasty and unresolved disputes. Obvious,... Continue Reading →
Disagreement Vs Dispute
Disagreements, to me, are essential, and we should have far more of them, but a disputes can quickly erupt from a disagreement because one or more will start to "play the man, not the ball." It is when we get personal that disputes arise, I believe.Listen carefully to any disagreement, and you will find that... Continue Reading →
Exercise Caution When We Disagree!
I just saw this sign (slightly modified) in the city of Darwin. It occurred to me that we are bombarded with instructions to be cautious for hundreds of things, and rightly so. However, I have never seen a sign for the one caution for a behavior that I believe is responsible for more deaths and... Continue Reading →
Object123 