A common lament of doctors is that patients don’t follow prescribed treatments. Sometimes, a patient chooses to follow only the parts of the treatment plan they find agreeable. At other times, a patient will end up back in the doctor’s office insisting that the treatment plan has been faithfully followed, either embarrassed or fearful to admit that they took some shortcuts. In doing so, they undermine their own welfare.
Managers take similar shortcuts too, and find themselves wondering why a problem persists. For example …
You present a four-step plan to a boss who agrees with three of the steps, but not the fourth (which may be the lynchpin to the entire plan). As the expert in the area, you know the three-step version won’t work. You have an obligation – to your boss and yourself – to stand your ground and explain why. If your boss remains unconvinced, your only option is to come back with an alternative. Agreeing to a plan (for which you are accountable) that you know won’t work is not an option.
Or, after much back-and-forth debate, your company devises a new marketing plan. Some parts you like, others you don’t. You have a choice: agree (though reluctantly) and commit to supporting it; or pretend to agree, then privately modify the company’s plan to fit to what you think will work better. Agreeing to a plan (for which your boss is accountable) to keep your boss happy, and then following your instincts, is likewise not a sound option.
All things being equal, make the choice that does not land you back in the doctor’s office worse off than when you began.
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