Lou Quinto

Is Conformity Keeping You from Success?

April 7, 2016 by Lou Quinto Leave a Comment

Social conformity is a powerful and hidden motivation that influences our decisions and strategic planning in ways we don’t even realize or understand. It’s called “that’s the way we have always done it.” This is a way of thinking that hinders innovation and success. Let me demonstrate the power of conformity with this personal experience…

Recently I joined a few friends at an NBA game. Tickets were free, parking was free and we sat in a private box. Even the food and drinks were free! Who could say, “No?”

Initially we were all acting very proper because of the luxury trappings that surrounded us. It was a close game and soon we were all behaving like the less fortunate people that were sitting in the cheap seats. We were all cheering, standing, shouting, and high-fiving each other. Decorum quickly died. Assisted by prompts on the scoreboard, we were screaming and behaving like “true fans” by halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, the huge video monitor above center court displayed the “Kiss Cam” – random shots of couples in the arena. The activity dictates that when the camera is pointed at a couple they would smile and smooch. It was an entertaining distraction while the teams strategized during a timeout, especially when one young guy refused to kiss his “date.” As the crowd began to boo, the guy mouthed the words, “She’s my sister!”

But he kissed her on the cheek anyway and the crowd erupted. Conformity is a powerful thing.

The behavior in the arena that night got me thinking about how the need for conformity impacts our organizational decision making and strategic planning. Our corporate cultures can be so strong, that we stop questioning our decisions and planning.

If your organization needs to innovate, but is stuck in “the way we’ve always done it” mentality consider these tips for re-framing your decisions and plans.

Beware the “sunk cost” trap: Often times we support a decision or system simply because of the time and money already invested in the solution. Before sticking with the status quo, ask yourself, “If we were making this decision all over again, would our current path be the best decision for achieving the objectives we had set for ourselves?” If not, reconsider.
Behave like the enemy: The military uses a process that is called “Red Teaming.” It’s where they gather a group of subject matter experts and review plans and decisions through the eyes of the enemy. They look for holes or weaknesses in your thinking. Businesses are beginning to adopt this process to expose questions such as; How might your competitor sell against you? How can they overcome your new product launch? How can they position their services to steal business with a mutual client? What can they do that might completely disrupt the way you do business?
Develop a tiger team: Some of the most innovative organizations spin off a small team of people with varied backgrounds and allow them to solve complex problems in a new environment – physically removed from the prevailing culture. They might take on a new name, benchmark different industries, and run pilot projects to test the waters and avoid conformity.

Moving forward, avoid falling into the “that’s the way we have always done it” way of thinking. Challenge yourself, your teams and your associates on a regular basis to get out of this destructive way of thinking. Take action to overcome the comforts of what is accepted as “normal.”

Reprinted from Action Management Associates

Foster Creativity by Neutralizing its Enemies

April 29, 2014 by Lou Quinto Leave a Comment

By Lou Quinto
Executive Coach and Speaker

Everyone can agree that creativity is a crucial ingredient in the success of any organization. CEO’s demand it because they know creativity is a strategic weapon in the war against the competition.

However, within most organizations there are people – let’s call them enemies – who perpetually squash creative thought and ideas – some do it unconsciously, while others see it as their duty to protect the organization from failure, excess spending, and misuse of resources or poor allocation of time.

In my experience there are usually four distinct enemies of creativity for which I am always on the lookout during a creativity session (a.k.a. brainstorming session.) They are:

The Intimidator – This may be your boss’ boss, a subject matter expert, or someone who just sucks all the air out of any room in which they are. Whenever they are around other people will embrace and support the “norm” for fear of retribution or ridicule. Thus, the intimidator causes “in the box thinking,” sometimes without opening their mouth. Just their presence is enough to cause people to suppress their creativity.

The Standards Protector – This person is easy to spot because they are always reminding you, “That’s not the way we do things in this organization.” They are the self-appointed protectors of tradition and standard business practices.

The Risk Avoider – Some might refer to this person as the “Devil’s Advocate.” This person is always looking for “alleged” risks and will smother every new idea with “assumed” negative consequences before a new idea has a chance to breathe.

The Creature of Habit – If it requires change, this person will do whatever it takes to protect the status quo. He – or she – hates change. Change upsets their mental psyche and causes them to spend hours thinking about the pain a new way of doing something will cause them to endure. They will be the ones kicking and screaming the most.

You can protect your next creativity session by following these simple rules:
1. Defer judgment on all ideas until you have completed your brainstorming. This means no comments on any idea until the end.

2. Set a goal of the number of new ideas you want and set a time limit. Aim high in number of ideas. Quantity does encourage quality. Set a short time limit, such as 10 minutes. People work well under pressure. Appoint a timekeeper or have a digital stopwatch visible to all.

3. Don’t ask of each idea, “Will this work?” In most instances you do not have the facts in the room to make that determination. You need to leave your creativity session and begin to gather facts which will then allow you to decide if an idea will work. If not, you are encouraging decision making with assumptions and guesses. This is when all four enemies will devour and discredit any idea that has slightest smell of being creative.

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Lou Quinto has been working with companies and their associates internationally for over the past 30 years primarily in the area of critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills. You can watch or listen to Lou discuss leadership and management issues as the co-host of the weekly video blog and podcast “Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership.” He is a Master Coach and Keynote Speaker for Action Management Associates in Plano, TX, and a Senior Consultant on the Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness team for Executive Development Associates in Oklahoma City, OK. He also delivers leadership programs for Bonfire Training in Indianapolis, IN. Contact Lou at lou@louquinto.com or through his website.

Critical Thinking or Creativity: Which is Most Crucial

February 21, 2014 by Lou Quinto Leave a Comment

By Lou Quinto
Executive Coach and Speaker

Imagine this, experts are divided on which skill is most important to business and personal success – critical (rational) thinking or creativity. It’s like watching FOX News and MSNBC report on the same event, but as usual, both reach different conclusions. Who can you trust?

So, which skill – critical thinking or creativity – is most important?

They both are! They’re two sides of the same coin.

Experts do agree that both critical and creative thinking are essential. Some even include creative thinking under the category of critical thinking. Why are both critical and creative thinking essential? To solve problems you must think deductively and rationally (critically) whereas in other instances you need to think expansively and innovatively (creatively). If you were to approach all problems from a purely rational, deductive manner, you would never exceed current levels of achievement. Conversely, if you were to approach all problems creatively, you would never understand why something wasn’t working and be able to take corrective action. Many problems require a blend of the two approaches. To focus on developing one and ignoring the other not only risks ineffective problem solving but it runs the risk of stifling “forward-looking” or “progressive” solutions and reactions.

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Change Happens!

October 28, 2013 by Lou Quinto Leave a Comment

By Lou Quinto
Executive Coach and Speaker

Everyone has heard the phrase, “change is constant.” But yet when we are faced with change our first reaction is to cringe or loudly object. Why is that?

The reason for the reaction is because change indicates – more times than not – that we are going to lose something. It can be something as simple as just losing the comfort of doing your job the way in which you are accustomed. We are creatures of habit and don’t like forces which make us step outside our comfort zone. Most organizations implement change in a way that is perceived as cleaning out a basement. They get rid of things. This makes implementing change both personally – and in an organization – painful. And, the slower you take to actually implement change, the more painful it is because people cling to the false hope that in the end everything will remain the same.

In order to succeed change must occur, and often. The world is not standing still. Once successful and prosperous companies that did not embrace change have gone the way of the dinosaur. One does not need to look any further than Kodak. My children do not – and will not – know what a “Kodak Moment” is. Their Kodak Moments are now “Instagram Moments.”

Every smart business person understands that what worked last year, probably won’t work this year. If you’re still running your business, managing your staff or just doing your job using a “2008 Play Book” or strategic plan you will lose… and fast! Look at companies like, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter. They are reacting and changing at breakneck speed, and winning.

During your next meeting listen for the two phrases which shout that your organization and the people in it are not readily accepting of change and entrenched in doing business they way they always have. Those phrases are; “That’s not the way we do things here” and, “We have never done it that way before.” Be brave and shout back, “Why not?” Don’t cling to techniques, methods, management practices or product lines (see Kodak) that are “comfortable” because they were successful at one time.

In the future… Tomorrow… when implementing changes, consider the following in order to move through the rough patches and get back on solid footing.

1. Expect Emotion: Leaders are typically very good at planning the structural side of change, but ignore the people side. Realize that the brain’s natural response is to view change as a threat. People need time to accept change, so acknowledge their feelings by hearing them out. Give them time to mourn.

2. Validate Concerns: When team members share concerns, our natural response is to counter these concerns with how we plan to overcome them. This can be perceived as you are not listening. Instead, spend time acknowledging the legitimacy of the concerns before offering ideas for moving forward or the benefits of changing.

3. Don’t Expect Immediate Results: We often say there is a “learning curve” associated with any change. What we fail to acknowledge is that the curve always trends downward before finally showing the promise of a performance enhancement. Embrace discomfort and allow time for temporary failure. Otherwise, people may mistake the performance drop as a sign that the change was a bad idea. Improvement takes time. Be on the lookout for even the smallest successes and celebrate them to show progress.

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