Scaling Up Excellence - Chapter 7

Here are some selected quotes from Chapter 7 of Scaling Up Excellence by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao.  What you are not getting by just reading these quotes are the real life stories and examples which brings the principles to life. I know you would enjoy reading the stories and examples that go with these principles.  This chapter was worth the price of the whole book and if you could read only one chapter, this would be the one I would recommend.

Chapter 7 - Bad is Stronger Than Good: Clearing the Way for Excellence

"Destructive behaviors of just about ever stripe - selfishness, nastiness, anxiety, laziness, dishonesty, for example - pack a bigger wallop than constructive behaviors.  That may seem unfair.  But leaders and teams in organizations that scale effectively realize that, to clear the way for spreading and sustaining something good, they've got to take out the bad and keep it out. p. 220,221

"...bad events have a stronger, more lasting impact than good ones and that negative actions and feelings are more contagious than positive...." p. 221

"The researchers discovered that negative interactions with bosses and coworkers had a five times greater impact on their moods than positive interactions." p. 222

"Several factors help explain why people who witness bad behavior in organizations and elsewhere don't move to stop it - and shed light on how to encourage them to intervene.  Ambiguity is the first reason.  Subsequent studies show that, even in situations that may seem dangerous or destructive to casual observers, witnesses are often unsure whether events are bad enough to warrant intervention." p. 224,225

"The lesson is, to stop destructive behavior in organizations, you've got to remove any doubt among witnesses that the words and eeds in question are indeed, very bad." p. 225

"The second factor is what Darley and Latane` called 'diffusion of responsibility' - even though bystanders may recognize a situation as bad, with so many others around, surely someone else will do the right thing (or has done so already)." p. 225

"The third factor is that, because no one else is helping, people may worry that other witnesses may disapprove if they jump and do what they believe is right."  po. 225

"...the outcome of spreading excellence depends on a process that enables people to prevent and eliminate destructive attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors." p.230

8 Methods for scaling teams can use for 'breaking bad'

1.  Nip it in the Bud

"A host of studies confirm that it is best to nip bad behavior in the bud."  p. 231

"...clearing the way for excellence in organizations depends on being a stickler about stamping out destructive behavior.  If you look the other way or decide that some small violation isn't worth dealing with thing, things can quickly degenerate." p. 231

"... at times you've got to give employees negative feedback and you may need to fire or lay people off - but 'there is a difference between what you do and how you do it.' The best bosses nip bad behavior in the bud but treat people with dignity in the process." p. 232

2.  Get Rid of the Bad Apples

"...the best leaders and teams act quickly and decisively to remove destructive characters when lesser measures fail.  And one of the most reliable ways to eradicate a destructive mindset is to remove the bad apples." p. 233

3.  Plumbing before Poetry

"The theory suggests that getting people to focus on the small, mundane, and sometimes gritty details of organizational life is an effective path for eliminating the negative.  In March's lingo, you'd better fix the plumbing before you start spouting out poetry." p. 237

4.  Adequacy Before Excellence

"before we labor to spread something marvelous - the first order of business hould be to drive out bad behavior." p. 239

"CEB's surveys of over seventy-five thousand customers revealed that most aren't looking for over-the-top service; they enjoy it when it happens, but what drives them away - and really hurts companies - is bad service." p. 240

5.  Use the Cool Kids (and Adults) to Define and Squelch Bad Behavior

"...the kinds of people that you recruit for a scaling effort, and when you recruit them, have a big impact on success." p. 241

"an effective way o eliminate the negative is to recruit the most admired and connected people in your organization, teach them what 'bad' looks like, and encourage them to stop being perpetrators." p. 243

6.  Kill the Thrill

"...finding ways to reduce such thrills, and replace them with more constructive ones, is a tough but rewarding challenge. p. 246,247

7.  Time Shifting: From Current to Future Selves

8.  Focus on the Best Times, The Worst Times, and the End.

"Daniel Kahneman's 'peak-end rule':  no matter how good or bad an experience is, or how long it lasts, judgements about it are shaped disproportionally by the best and worst moments and if it ended well or badly." p.249

Warning Signs: Five Dangerous Feelings.

"The first dangerous feeling is fear of taking responsibility, especially the sense that it is safer to do nothing, or something bad, than the right thing." p. 251

"The second bd feeling is the fear of being ostracized, or socially excluded." p. 253

" the third dangerous feeling is anonymity.  That feeling that on one is watching you very closely, so you can do whatever you want - be selfish, dishonest, unpleasant, free-riding, or a bit careless about your work." p 254

"The fourth waring sign is feelings of injustice.  Numerous studies show that when people feel as if they are getting a raw deal from their boss or employer they give less in return; bad behavior runs rampant; and effort, efficiency, quality, civility, and other excellence metrics plummet." p. 256

"The fifth dangerous feeling is helplessness.  When people believe that they are powerless to stop bad forces and events, they shirk responsibility, fail to act, lay low, and hide." p. 257