Only Red
I publish on Linkedin, Instagram and Twitter with a fixed frequency. However I do not log on to these platforms to post my content. I have created an automation system where the platforms pick up the content from a central directory and post at predetermined weekly times defined by me. This system pulls data from a central directory. I keep an inventory of future 7 posts in the directory. If the inventory levels of future posts drop below 7, and the directory emails me a low count alert. That triggers me to make new content.
It is important to note that the directory ONLY emails me if the count drops below 7. If the count is not below 7, and everything is good, I don’t get notified at all. I don’t care if everything is good and green. I only want to know if the situation is red i.e. count less than 7.
Only worrying about the red comes from my experience in manufacturing early in my career. We used to have an obeya meeting (a standup meeting similar to daily scrum) where each manufacturing department would report on their status. Although all departments are invited for the meeting, if no one showed up for the meeting, that was the best production day. Because, if everything was green, the leadership did not want to know. You don’t have to show up. They only wanted to know what’s red.
Isn’t it funny? Would your leader ask you to report if everything is going ok or would you rather have him help you only if you face a red situation? This goes deep into leadership principles and how a team should work. Let’s break it down.
Product Focus
Creations (or businesses) can be product focused, creator (employee) focused or user (customer) focused. As long as a leader has a strong product focus, you will never go wrong. Nobody wants the product to fail. Everyone will work for a great product.
Leader has to know what he does NOT want.
A leader may not know (and most of the time does not) where the team should be headed, but he should know where they should NOT be headed. When I make films, I always work very hard to understand what I want my film to NOT become. I tell that to everyone. But for what can be done, I am all ears. Creativity is teamwork. The same philosophy applies to business.
Leaders remove blocks, don’t instruct the employees.
Once the team knows what not to do, they become free to brainstorm on what to do. Smart people will come up with creative ways to run the business, and everybody will own their ideas and will work hard to achieve it. It is important for team members to own ideas, and for that they need to come from them.
Now, once the team knows what to do, the leader’s job is to only make sure the team does not face any roadblocks. If the team does not face any issues, they should be free to achieve the goals without any management. The leader does NOT have to know if the status is green at this time. He is there to help the team collectively achieve, not to instruct them on how to reach the goal or to ask for the status time and again. That is unnecessary and a waste of time.
Decisions flow up.
There is an important underlying team principle here which goes severely overlooked most of the time. That is respect for people. Respect for people’s ideas, respect for their own work. Once everyone feels respected, then everyone is fearless to raise any concerns. The team’s concerns and related roadblocks will help the leader to make decisions on removing them. The decisions have to flow up, not trickle down. If the team does not feel empowered to speak up, then no leader will know what issues they are facing, what is red. The team will become weak, and the team members will resort to just following instructions. No creative brainstorming whatsoever! The results could still be achieved, but only from the leader’s perspective. And it may not be the best alternative for the business!
Green is a waste. If everything is green, don’t report. Consult the leader only if it’s red.
Would love to know your thoughts!
