Critical Thinking Cafe

Affluenza and the Problems of Wealth

You don't have to watch much tabloid television to know that a wave of cash can sometimes bring with it a riptide of trouble. While someone struggling on a middle-class income may have an opinion about the perils of prosperity, their comments don't carry quite the same weight as insight from someone who has had every material need satisfied during her entire life.

Jessie O'Neill was born into a family of great affluence (her grandfather was Charles Erwin Wilson, former president of General Motors). Ms. O'Neill lived "the American dream" in perfect luxury as a child and inherited much of her family's wealth. At age 40, O'Neill returned to college to get a master's degree in psychology and counseling. Although she has never needed to work, Ms. O'Neill now invests her time helping people of great affluence deal with the psychological challenges that accompany money. While you may wish you qualified to be one of her clients, this child of privilege knows from experience the fallacy of believing that money has anything to do with happiness.

If you've never read The Golden Ghetto (Hazelden, 1997) you will find in it Jessie O'Neill offers a perspective on the root causes of a problem she calls affluenza, "the myth of the American dream, the conviction that money can, does, and should guarantee happiness" (p. 37). She later states that, ". . . the affluent are desperate to believe, as most people in this country do, that wealth or the pursuit of it couldn't possibly be at the root of their discontent" (p. 165).

Problem solving requires getting to the root of a problem. In exposing the fallacies of the American dream, Jessie O'Neill reveals the root of problems that challenge both the few living in financial luxury and thousands of suburban wannabees.

Three Essentials for Corporate Health

His bio states that he has run 38,000 miles in pursuit of good health. At age 76 he still exercises regularly and if you've seen him in person you can't help noticing that he has a physique that could make guys 20 years younger envious. It's obvious that during the 39 years since Dr. Kenneth Cooper introduced aerobics to the world he has followed his own advice with remarkable success.

Dr. Cooper states that regardless of what your driver's license tells you, your real physical age is determined by five factors. The first three relate to your physical fitness and are:

1. Endurance
2. Strength
3. Flexibility

As I looked at these monitors of physical health I realized they are telling indicators of an organization's age/health as well. Companies with a high capacity to endure, the strength to respond rather than react to change, and the flexibility to adapt to the unexpected generally display a level of overall agility and responsiveness that other more sedentary firms can't demonstrate. These companies are healthier and the have a longevity that was glaringly absent during the dot com craze a few years ago.

People develop endurance, strength, and flexibility by engaging in a systematic process of regular exercise. Companies with a high degree of vitality generally have a systematic method for solving problems, making decisions, and anticipating and planning for future challenges. Healthy companies demonstrate robust critical thinking abilities, deliberately developed over time.

Corporate health is no more an accident than physical health. When problem solving is not a process it is usually a problem. When problem solving becomes a process, it becomes much less of a problem.

Munchausen Managers that Create Problems

Managers are hired to solve problems--not to create them. But in some cases a "need to be needed" management style can evolve into something more troublesome that parallels a serious psychological disorder.

Medical professionals occasionally encounter children like the girl that was hospitalized for over 40 surgeries before she was eight years old or the two-year-old boy visiting the hospital more than 20 times for conditions that left doctors unsure of the root cause. Both of these children were victims of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, a rare but dangerous condition that causes a child's primary caregiver to deliberately make a child sick or convince medical professionals that a child is ill by exaggerating or inducing symptoms in order to get the sympathy and attention of medical professionals. Doctors easily overlook MPS as a cause of a child's repeated illnesses because it is difficult to believe that a parent or caregiver will deliberately hurt his or her child.

This odd psychological malady lands in the corporate world when a manager discovers that his or her perceived value grows every time he or she solves another problem. From staff conflicts to supply chain delays to inventory inaccuracies the manager learns under-the-radar ways to fabricate problems that require intervention. When the manager solves the problem the recognition from others perpetuates the need to find (or create) another problem to solve.

A short, but insightful article by Georgia Tech Professor of Management Nathan Bennett, PhD in the November issue of Harvard Business Review titled Munchausen at Work presents some case studies of managers with Munchausen-esque behavior. What caught my attention are a couple of Bennett's questions for diagnosing the condition which I quote directly below:

1. Is the employee disproportionately involved in identifying and fighting fires?
2. Does the employee deflect management's efforts to understand a problem's underlying cause.

Frequent fire-fighting and the inability to get to the root cause of a problem are often indications that a manager or an organization needs a process for effective critical thinking and problem solving. Professor Bennett indicates that when these situations persist or appear to propagate themselves, a deeper problem may be in play.

Raising a concern that some managers might be creating their problems isn't meant to encourage break-room psychoanalysis. It does underscore the fact that problems are for solutions and managers should help the people they lead become more adept at getting to the root cause of problems and implementing solutions that result in long-term, positive organizational change.

Managers that thrive in problem-ridden environments may be culprits as much as heroes.

Nick Nelson's Lesson in Decision Making

"Sometimes you just have to make hard choices in your life."

We expect to hear a statement like that from a CEO or COO facing the decision to reduce headcount in a company. We understand someone saying that when they decide to turn down a promotion in order to care for a family member. We don't expect a comment like that from a baseball-loving nine-year-old as he makes a life-altering decision that few adults would want to face.

Gordon Graham says that, "Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight. . ." Nick Nelson's tough decision gives literal meaning to that statement. While other kids were busy deciding how to beat the next level on Legend of Zelda or Halo, Nick faced the decision to have his right leg amputated in order to be free from a physical defect that would forever inhibit his ability to walk, play, and engage with life like his peers.

All decisions involve some level of uncertainty and risk. A good decision-making process tries to minimize risk by selecting criteria, weighing the importance of the criteria, and then using that criteria to evaluate the options available. Young Nick Nelson looked at what was important to him in life and decided that the possibility of running with a prosthetic leg was a better option than his current reality of struggling to walk with a leg that would never fully straighten or support his weight. On October 10 his right leg was removed.

If you missed the segment about this inspiring young man on this morning's Today Show take a moment to watch it. Matt Lauer's conversation with the Nelson family will give you new courage for the next touch choice you face and Nick's story will give you at least one more reason to be grateful during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Flight Delays and Cause Analysis

When a problem recurs multiple times, in a wide spectrum of venues, over a period of several years, you can generally conclude that the solutions you're implementing aren't resolving the root cause of the problem. Thousands of travelers are hoping that airports and airlines in the U.S. have identified and resolved the root cause behind a year when 24 percent of flights were delayed by at least 15 minutes. In fairness to the industry, that means 76 percent of flights got where they were supposed to get on time. (It's kind of a partly sunny or mostly cloudy scenario. . .)

One of the fundamental concepts for effective critical thinking and problem solving is clearly defining the problem. President Bush believes this problem is a demand for air services that exceeds supply. Reactions to his unprecedented efforts to ensure a better flow of flights and people during the Thanksgiving holiday confirm that we don't yet agree on the problem we're trying to fix.

• Air traffic controllers said they have too few people to handle the press of traffic.
• One industry consulting group blames the problem on mismanagement by the FAA.
• The pilots unions say the long-term measures are too drastic.
• Some travelers suspect that flight delays are an industry problem.

Last year a Southwest Airlines executive blogged that anytime you engage in something that involves the weather you just can't predict and manage all the variables. We all know he's right, but none of us likes being part of that 24 percent that isn't getting where we want to be when we want to be there. So it appears that more work needs to go into defining the problem if we want the FAA, airlines, airports, and passengers to embrace the solution.

It's a bit ironic that John Foster Dulles for whom Dulles International Airport is named told us, "The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."

Quick! Run! He's Calling a Meeting!

It is an expensive scene and it is repeated every day in companies across the country: A team of well-compensated managers sits around a conference table in another unproductive meeting that has no defined ending point. As the hours drag by the dollars add up. The lack of effectiveness in managing meetings toward their intended goals costs companies tens of millions of dollars annually in actual time lost, not to mention the equally huge losses in productivity and motivation. One of the fastest ways to empty a building is to threaten to call a meeting.

What about your organization? Take a moment and share your response to the two questions below. We're interested in your insights and experiences.

1. What do you think are the two biggest contributors to meeting ineffectiveness in your organization? 
2. What is the most important thing you can do to help a meeting achieve its goal?

Fresh Creativity from the Disney Imagineers

A week of laughing, screaming, and eating through the world of Disney leaves you with a fresh appreciation for the word creativity. The innovative expressions of the Disney Imagineers capture you the moment you get anywhere near anything they've touched. While you can't bottle that amazing feeling you have at a Disney park, you can take home some of the concepts that propel the creative waves that hit you when you are part of the "wonderful world of color" and any other world Disney offers.

When you find yourself big on problems and short on solutions, you'll get out-of-the-way ideas, new approaches, and a good dose of hope from reading The Imagineering Way, by the Imagineers. I came across this practical and relevant manual on creativity a few years ago and I benefit from every trip I make through its pages.

A collection of Disney innovators teamed up to create this little volume. It's easy to read, loaded with illustrations and one-liners, and small enough to carry in your briefcase or backpack the next time you hop on a plane. Some of my favorite lines include--

• If you find your logic is talking you out of a good idea, question the logic first, then question the idea (Luc Mayrand, p. 46).
• Most naysayers aren't malicious. They are the ones who need the affirmation. . . think of them as having aesthetic pneumonia.
• Good ideas sell themselves. They don't always fund themselves, but they do sell themselves.
• Many people never allow their creative abilities to surface because they fear what might happen.

If you're facing a project or challenge and you need some fresh ways to approach what you're doing--grab a copy of this book.

Walt Disney went broke at age 21. He slept on chair cushions in his studio and ate cold beans out of a can. Today, the sun never sets on the empire that carries his name. Maybe his team's ideas can help your business become more than you every imagined.

Machiavelli's Method for Preventing Problems

You don't have to read far in Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince to realize that while this 16th century political thinker advocated overthrowing systems and governments in order to maintain power and to achieve a desired goal, he recognized the risk inherent in all change. That realization prompted Machiavelli to state, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."

Machiavelli understood one of the foundational concepts of effective critical thinking: All problems are the result of change, but all changes do not have to create problems. Whenever you introduce change--however beneficial or positive the change may be--you open up the opportunity for problems to develop.

Without debating the merits or perils of Machiavelli's approach to gaining and maintaining political power, his philosophy does provide an important perspective in the world of critical thinking. Whether you are looking at software development process, a manufacturing line, a non-profit organization run by volunteers, or a political dynasty under the shadow of a controlling leader--whenever a problem arises you will more quickly determine the cause if you ask yourself and others involved, "What changed?"

Any variation in performance, production, or outcome tells you something changed. Identify the change and you are on your way toward determining the root cause of the deviation or difference. Regretfully, many managers rush toward finding a solution for a performance variation without pausing and asking this critical question--"What changed?"

Machiavelli knew that "one change always opens the way for the establishment of others" so he protected himself from the perils of change through ruthless, calculating, state-focused control, teaching that "it is much more secure to be feared than to be loved." While this philosopher's approach to life and business is certainly open for debate and disagreement, his recognition of how much change affects performance is applicable in any organization.

What's the Problem With Millennials?

According to 60 Minutes, "The Millennials are Coming" and if you're a manager, this next generation of professionals will challenge both what you learned in B School and how you got where you are in your career. Apparently, some people leading organizations think this new breed of employee poses a problem and they're trying to fix this perceived threat before it gets out of hand. Comments on the 60 Minutes website indicate that not everyone agreed with Morley Safer's portrayal of this next generation of workers.

These talented and energetic professionals approach work from an entirely different (not incorrect) point of view. Unfortunately, Boomer managers who mortgaged their lives for their careers can easily perceive these new upstarts as a marauding gang of iconoclasts who need to learn how the corporate world operates. One cannot help but wonder how much of the angst by the generation that "paid their dues" is actually some level of resentment that the Millennials have figured out very early in their careers how to make a living and still enjoy a life.

Millennials will admit they need some help finding their way into corporate life. Ryan Healey, who was interviewed for the 60 Minutes segment offers a candid and insightful appraisal of his generation that every frustrated manager ought to read. (I'd recommend bookmarking the site.) 

Effective critical thinking requires using facts to identify the source or root cause of a problem. Perhaps business leaders should use more facts gained through personal conversations with Millennials when trying to figure out why this generation doesn't share the same definition of "hard work" as their more senior managers.

A wise business leader of a previous generation was right when he commented, "It's much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem" (Malcolm Forbes).

An Artisan's Perspective on Anticipating Problems

Since I don't have much of an aptitude (or the necessary level of patience) for building things, I haven't spent much (any) time reading Popular Woodworking magazine--until a colleague showed me an insightful article in the October 2006 issue that talked about Avoiding Mistakes when woodworking. As I reviewed this article by master chairmaker Michael Dunbar, I grew intrigued with the similarity between what he teaches people building chairs and what we teach people building organizations.

A discussion one day with our president, Mark Smith prompted me to email Mike at the Windsor Institute and ask him for an interview. He kindly consented and the result of our engaging conversation is now available on our website. If you're interested in becoming more effective in critical thinking--especially if you want to avoid problems whenever possible, check out how Mike helps people avoid costly and demoralizing mistakes in his woodworking classes.

Mike and his colleagues have developed over 40 principles to guide people and prevent unnecessary problems. I find them good reminders in my corporate environment as well. Here are a few--

1. The answer to most questions is, "It depends."
2. You cannot fight grain.
3. The first rule of math is, "The answer must be believable."
4. You can't get out of a hole by digging.

Mike Dunbar knows that "you avoid a lot of problems by thinking about what might happen." A few minutes invested now in reading his insights could save you a costly mistake later.