The Essential Misfit

When visiting factories in Japan in the 1980s, I noticed that in every meeting there was always an individual who never  participated in the meetings. He just sat there listening attentively, taking notes.

Later I learnt that the person's role was to simply observe and provide critical feedback to the team on the dynamics of the meeting based on verbal and non verbal interactions of participants. The person usually did not even have expertise nor great knowledge of the subject being discussed. His role was to provide objective analysis looking in from the outside.

Experience is not what happens to us, but what we lean from what happens to us. 
We borrowed a leaf from this approach and deployed a variation of this theme, in our organisation where we had a fair share of meetings. I always chose to bring in someone not from any of the involved departments or functions to join the meeting.
With no participative role, the person was an obvious misfit, somewhat like a fly in the soup.

An obvious misfit but essential for great group dynamics. The individual asked to join the meeting would usually grumble that I had pulled them into meetings for which they were neither suited nor able to contribute. The management was wasting their time testing their patience and distracting them from accomplishing their own assignments.Not being direct stakeholders in the proceedings nor the outcomes of the meetings the misfit individual could maintain a high degree of objectivity.

So upon debriefing the misfit after the meeting the misfit was usually able to provide a candid opinion to me.
Three great benefits were achieved by adopting this approach.First, to obtain an objective and  holistic assessment of the deliberations and group dynamics and pick up cues of the undercurrents, concerns, strengths, etc..Second, we were able to test the  observational, and analytical abilities of the misfit. This is essential for identifying future team leaders, particularly cross-functional ones.Third, to discover aspects and analysis from a completely unconventional angle.

The results were often surprising even staggering whilst also strengthening leadership development within the organisation. 

It is a fact, that 90% of all inventions and innovations have been initiated and pioneered by individuals working outside their professional knowledge and skill domains. Thus reconfirming my view that "One has to step out to look within".

The neck of the bottle is always at the top.

F requently requested to assist organisations large and small, I observe a common and recurring theme. The issues revolve around the struggle of owners /managers to manage effectively. This is visible predominantly in companies that have started small and are growing, in family run businesses and families themselves. They are invariably puzzled that management approach, style and methods which worked so well in the past, now just don't work anymore. They resort to even more hard work and effort, yet the situation only worsens. Finding themselves in unfamiliar situations they dart here and there implementing fads, half hearted strategies alien to their thinking and character. They do this because they are getting frustrated and doing something is considered better than doing nothing. They change staff and managers. They churn product mix, vendors and even customers and markets. They try so many things but nothing seems to work. They chang...

You have to play the game to win it.

In life its not sufficient to be merely efficient but to also be effective. Someone once asked my father Man Singh ji, 'What is the secret of your success?' He remarked, "I do not always make right decisions. I make decisions, and then almost always make them right" Read more ..........

The boss is always right

It was in 1502 that the egoistic mayor of Florence (Italy) Piero Soderini was under great pressure. He had appointed a novice to work on a giant piece of beautiful marble to make a sculpture under his guidance. Typical of many bosses Soderini had overestimated his own capabilities and by drilling a big hole in the middle of the block of marble Soderini and the novice had ruined it. Soderini had to find a solution, and finally commissioned Michelangelo to do a sculpture . Michelangelo agreed and using the available shape decided to sculpt a young David with a sling in his hand. A few weeks later as the statue was finished, Soderini came to see the sculpture for himself. Soderini was pleased with what he saw. However like many patrons and bosses Soderini had to impose his ideas and have the last word. Soderini instructed Michelangelo to change the shape of the nose because it was too big. Michelangelo grasped the situation immediately realising th...

Enigma Solution

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