When your car gets a flat, you fix the tire, not the transmission. Why don’t you do that with your business?

While working with clients of all types, I frequently see examples where a few difficult people, one bad outcome, and/or an obvious lack of clear communication and understanding involving one process triggers broad pronouncements and substantial changes in the environment – the equivalent of overhauling the transmission. For example: 

• The boss chastises everyone in a group email after a few fall down in their duties.
• One toxic employee triggers changes in everything from the mood to the contents of the employee handbook to the employee evaluation process, but keeps her job.
• New forms and systems are created in an effort to make the unreliable reliable while most employees are doing their jobs just fine with the old systems.
• A boss is told to shape up after three employees complain about her behavior without anyone discovering that the complaints were triggered by a legitimate business decision those employees didn’t happen to like.
• Strict new sign-off and reporting requirements are introduced after one person, known for questionable behavior, is found abusing the system.

Your workforce is made up of individuals performing discrete tasks. Most problems are caused by a few individuals and a few tasks. Fix the flat, not the transmission. Resist the urge to issue broad directives and make sweeping changes without drilling down to the real cause of the problem.