This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Making Tradeoffs
At times, leaders will find it difficult to distinguish the true "signals" of trouble from all the background "noise" in the environment. Chasing down all the information required to discern whether a signal represents a true threat can be very costly. False alarms will arise when people think they have spotted a problem, when in fact, no significant threat exists. Too many false alarms can begin to "dull the senses" of the organization, causing a reduction in attentiveness over time. Leaders inevitably must make tradeoffs as they hunt for problems in their organizations. They have to weigh the costs and benefits of expending time and resources to investigate a potential problem. Naturally, we do not always make the right judgments when we weigh these costs and benefits; we will choose not to further investigate some problems that turn out to be quite real and substantial.
How do the best problem-finders deal with these challenges? First, a leader does not necessarily have to consume an extraordinary amount of resources to surface and examine potential problems. Some leaders and organizations have developed speedy, low cost methods of inquiry. Toyota's "Andon cord" system represents one such highly efficient process for examining signals of potential trouble. The organization does not grind to a halt every time a front-line worker pulls the "Andon cord." Second, the best problem-finders recognize that false alarms can be remarkable learning opportunities. Moreover, making someone feel bad for triggering a false alarm can discourage him from ever coming forward again. The cost of suppressing people's voices can be far higher than the expense associated with chasing down a false alarm. For the Rapid Response Teams, the hospitals train the experts to be gentle with those who call for help when no true threat exists. They even tell them not to use the "false alarm" terminology. Instead, the experts work with people to help them refine their ability to discern true threats from less serious concerns. Finally, effective problem-finders recognize that the process of trying to uncover potential threats can have positive "spillover effects." For instance, hospitals have found that the process for investigating possible medical errors often leads to the discovery of opportunities for reducing expenses or improving patient satisfaction.
Perhaps most importantly, leaders must remember that problem-finding abilities tend to improve over time. As you practice the methods described in this book, you will become better at distinguishing the signals from the noise. You will become more adept at identifying whether a piece of information suggests a serious problem or not. The nurses, for instance, told us that experience proves to be a great teacher. Over time, they learned how to discern more accurately whether a patient could be headed for cardiac arrest. Moreover, the Rapid Response Teams became more efficient at diagnosing a patient when they arrived at the bedside. In short, costs of problem-finding do fall substantially as people practice these skills repeatedly.31