Toxic Practices in Business: Top 20 Errors for Entrepreneurs as they Grow

Toxic Business Practices

Practices Antithetical to Business
Consciousness, therefore Innovation and
Growth
By Carol Sanford

12/01/13

© Copyrighted 2005 InterOctave Inc. carolsanford@interoctave.com

You have been duped
• Our worst fear- car, home, ebay; half-truth?
• Seek 3rd party confirmation, but not on organizational
efforts; fooled
• Are they on target with your intentions and values? Or
does the opposite!!!!
• Side effects or downsides?

A Very Old Story
12/01/13

© Copyrighted 2005 InterOctave Inc. carol

Toxic to Consciousness
Age Old Story: Plato’s Cave
• Dark cave; chained and forced to face wall; fire behind them
casting shadows
• See distorted silhouettes of items held up by the puppethandlers holding them captive, unknown to captives
• men blindly accept all that they see as “ reality”.
• One man questions and runs for the light—cause of shadows
• understands, when he sees his reflection in pool of water —
knows the world and himself—finds reality and truth, his own
• Living in a conjured world, fooled by the shadows (half the story)
• He and others have been duped in the biggest story—Reality

12/01/13


Our Puppet Handlers and
Shadows
• Some will not like this and find ways to
defend the shadows; watch your reaction
1/3, 1/3, 1/3
• Matrix, Cave, or Sound Studio—cautionary
tales and our fascination with them. We
feel something is wrong and look for an
answer everywhere.
• Show you the shadows and glimpse of how
know what is real
12/01/13


What Every Executive Wants
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6 Strategic Intentions
Non-displace-ability - competitor proof
Regenerative —Future Proof
Innovation and Growth
Stakeholder System Vitality
Respected by all who touch your org.
Meaningful, positive impact and legacy

12/01/13


•
•
•
•
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6 Leadership Intentions
Beyond Self-Centered, fulfilled by
producing great and respected business
Strong Character and Growing Still
Disciplined People, thought, action
Energy is Strategically spent
Lead the industry in business practices
Self- Accountability for Results

12/01/13


•
•
•
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6 Organizational Intentions
Self accountable employees, with self-efficacy
Grow self to contribute to what is needed
Integrated Org.; Value chain is all one flow
Self-motivated, source of solutions
Love to change; agile and flexible
Design of work enables and evokes continuous
improvement —Three lines of work, levels of
work

12/01/13


Toxic Business Practices
• Ten Toxic Strategic Practices
e.g. Doing Long term planning and thinking you are strategic

• Ten Toxic Leadership Practices
E.g. Measurements that are internally focused and with limited
understanding of impact on customers and other stakeholders

• Ten Toxic Organizational Practices
12/01/13


Ten Toxic Organizational
Practices: Shadows in Cave
1. 360 degree feedback
2. Incentives to manage performance and behavior
3. Reward and recognition programs
4. Role-modeling philosophy or programs
5. Standardized performance appraisals
6. Rating and ranking of people relative to one another
7. Standardized skills/Core Competencies
8. Climate and culture surveys
9. Classifying types and styles of people
10. Focusing on issues rather than potential and essence, often using
Brainstorming

12/01/13


Toxic to Consciousness
minimum of 3 of 6 toxins in each practice here

1. Perpetuates Mechanicalness, thoughting
(elementalizes, functionalizes, thingizes)
2. Erodes Capability for Reflection on
self(selves) and effects of our action
3. Commoditizes people, ideas and systems
(categorizes & objectifies)
4. Promotes unexamined acceptance of ideas
5. Hierarchializes people not processes
6. Conditions External Locus of Control
12/01/13


Feedback Flaws- Toxic Effect
•

Self-Governing Behavior is Energy Effective and need Self-Reflective
Capability achieve
Is innate (9 yr olds) (erodes reflection and unexamined acceptance of ideas)

•

Performance Appraisal is Based in reflection of others and governed
by others
Without the systemic context promote mechanicalness and reactivity

•

Feedback” evokes others a right and other as in control
promotes otherwise external locus of control)

•

Projection as a Limiter in Feedback Processes
Individual and group collusion (erodes self-reflection by givers)
(reflect on my thoughts and how you are engaging with them)

12/01/13


Mechanicalizes People
elements, function, things, thoughting,
reactive, and ego fostered
• 360 degree- projection
• Reward and Recognition—beat the system,
one of many, or self-celebration (DuPont)
• Standard Performance Appraisals- separate
from strategic effect; long held images
• Core competencies- thoughting, because
decided and accepted and no essence
• Climate survey: oversimplify, assumptions
from summary, already held thoughts
12/01/13


Erodes Reflection
Self-observing and self-remembering
• 360 degree addicted to the feedback of
others
• Reward and Recognition—focus on who
not acknowledged, others decide
• Role modeling- copy others, no essence
• Climate survey- increase attachment to
position conveyed
• Typing— in a box that feels clear
12/01/13


Commoditizing People and
Ideas
• Reward and Recognition—all people should
pursue what is rewarded, not themselves
• Rating and Ranking— high performers or
low and cannot move; see as things decide
where placed, no uniqueness
• Core Competencies—only certain things
valued
• Typing—there are four types (or subtypes)
12/01/13


Promotes Unexamined
Borrowing of Thoughts
• Incentives—accept money etc., without any
involvement in assessing the worth or effect
• Role modeling—assumes people will copy
behavior that is modeled by superiors
• Climate survey—accepts categories of
assessment and own preformed answers as
valued; no movement in thinking invited
• KISS— keep it essential, stupid
12/01/13


Hierarchalizes People,not
Processes
• Incentives—the chosen person and behavior
to be emulated
• Reward and recognition—haves and have
nots, and hierarchy decides based on secret
criteria.
• Rating and Ranking—the good, bad and
ugly
• Climate survey—surveyors see it as
management's problem now
12/01/13


Conditions External Locus of
Control
• 360 degree—other know me, I do not
• Incentives—value unrelated or unknown to
specific contribution to business outcomes
• Role modeling—be like others in ways we decide
• Standardized performance appraisal— others
choose what we are assessed on we do not lead the
process
• Culture Survey- you ask, you synthesized; so you
are responsible to fix it
12/01/13


What is Whole, not Toxic
Shadows
Organizational Paradigms: Validators
• Develop Pattern Generators, not pattern followers
• Capability to be Self-Managing of thoughts and
Actions toward Aims
• Work from Essence and Core fostering creativity
• Avoid accepting, or rejecting, ideas without
personal validation in life, rigorously tested
• Foster Self-Efficacy, internal locus of control—
• Evoke purposeful behavior and systems
consciousness
Exercise and Evolution of Will,
Expression of Being and Becoming
12/01/13


Socially Responsible Business
• We must build conscious human beings to
act wisely and purposeful.
• We often used traditional business practices
in our social responsible or sustainable
practice companies.
• The practices we have just reviewed are
toxic to a socially effective society and
electorate and environmental behavior and
choices.
12/01/13


Contact Information
Carol Sanford, CEO InterOctave Development Group,
Inc
www.interoctave.com Case Studies and Papers
www.carolsanford.com (soon up) for speaking
arrangements

http://www.antiochsea.edu/academics/ce/strategic_leadership
Institute Program
© copyrighted IDG, Inc. All rights reserved 206-525-2044. For
permission to copy, imbed or share, please contact Carol Sanford

carolsanford@interoctave.com
12/01/13


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