OVERCOMING EXECUTIVE BLAH BLAH
November 2001
record, ‘blah blah’ refers to messages overrun with buzz words, phrases, generalities and inadequate substance. They are messages that lack the specificity to be directional.
Most importantly, executive direction too often misses the mark on spelling out the kinds of choices that people must make in their work for things to be done better, faster, cheaper. This is not because executives as a group of people are unintelligent or uninspiring. Ultimately, they may have the right answers. And they may do a great job of rallying the troops in the big meeting halls. But, when people get back to their desks, they are all too often unclear about what THE NEW WORK ORDER means operationally. And thus they go back to doing what they were doing before all the blah, blah. Ergo, the 75% failure rate.
Confusion is inevitable when executives do not redirect work. But merely add to it --- adding directions, priorities, and goals. And if critical words in the message are not anchored with some shared meaning, the change effort is doomed. For example, we hear over and over again about working smarter, being more agile, being customer focused, taking more risks, valuing people more. Yet it’s often unclear behaviorally what that means in terms of the actual input or output of real individuals. And I’m still waiting for the day when someone will raise their hand and say: “I get it! I’m the one who’s been working stupid, resisting change, ignoring the customer, detonating all efforts to move forward and valuing people more than the furniture.”
Blah blah refers to messages with little meaning. Most employees will listen attentively to their leaders out of interest, respect, hope and/or fear. However, if they do not hear enough about the tough choices, the ‘this versus that’, they leave with no intention or clarity about how to act differently. Moreover, they often conclude that the people who really need to act differently are the ‘other guys’ anyway.
Here are some indicators of “executive blah, blah” which will generate either inaction or ineffective action moving forward:
1. No individuals/teams are assigned clear and public accountability to produce or create something different
2. No one knows how success will be quantified, reviewed, publicized, and rewarded
3. No target dates with measurable results are set
4. No rewards for action and no consequences for inaction are set
5. No tough questions are asked or answered
6. No project plan is produced or required by a set date
7. No budgets are assigned or reassigned
8. A meeting is required or anticipated in order to set an action plan --- but the date of the meeting is not set
9. No one exhibits any genuine passion or excitement
10. No one feels discomfort when the expectations for new action and change are announced (there might even be a ‘here we go again’ attitude)
11. No analysis was shared that demonstrates why you need to change what, by when in order to stay abreast or ahead of whom
12. No one can rapidly replay verbatim the new actions or results that are expected
