> Management can turn "Yes, if..." people into mindless drones over time by constantly shooting them down and feeding them negativity.
And individuals can turn everyone else into mindless drones by constantly saying "no, because of XYZ."
Blaming "management" is so fashionable, and so counterproductive.
Counterproductive from an individual perspective; the only means of productivity from an organizational perspective.
Re:Can-Do vs. Can’t-Do Culture
by dreamfactory on Thursday January 02, 2014 @07:29PM
(#7003471)
I take management blaming here to mean that this is a systemic problem that can can only be solved at an organisational level (rather than blaming a caste within that org).
In my opinion, most people will be "Yes, if..." people given the right cultural conditions; this looking at people as dichotomous types set-in-stone is dangerous and in my experience incorrect. It is as divisive and ineffective as the current US political climate. If someone has become a No person, it's likely because they're being moulded into that by their management, or has been in the past. Fix the environment and create an innovation-positive management structure and they'd probably jump at the opportunity to take more risks. I have seen this happen first-hand.
W. Edwards Deming, 8th point: "Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming