The other day I was with a group of extremely talented people who work for a well known multinational. My job was interesting indeed - help them overcome their perceptual blocks so that they could use their talent to improve profitability.

The day was filled with fun - even the location was different. Not exotic, mind you - just different. This in itself helped us along to such an extent that within forty five minutes everyone was on a roll, and ready to go.

The interesting thing about the experience was the unfettered desire in these young people [they were all refreshingly young - no one was a day older than low thirty-something] to listen and learn. I was struck by the good hiring policies the company must have adopted to have so much talent on such young shoulders.

We started looking at the various aspects of conceptual blockbusting. The thing that stood out like a black umbrella in the middle of a snow-white desert was the frustration caused by corporate procedures that came in the way of corporate creativity. Equally high on the agenda was the dreaded 'FEAR OF FAILURE'.

For sure, we require procedures that enable us to carry out routine tasks without thinking too much about them, and getting them right, at least most of the time. But this is the easy bit. The difficult bit comes when you are faced with a problem you haven't faced before, a situation that isn't covered by procedures. How do procedures and past experience help at such times? And, let's face it, aren't we all faced with inexplicable and radically new situations time and again?

Here's one instance of such a situation. Some time back, we moved offices. We hired one of our clients [who is involved in removals] to help us with the move. Now, they weren't cheap by any stretch of imagination, but we have never been enamored by low prices. Certain that they were a fine company capable of doing a super job, we got ready for the appointed day.

They came, they saw, and got going. But they never asked us whether there was a sequence in which we would like the stuff removed. So, every time the crew got to pick some things up, we would ask them to pick up something else. We weren't trying to be difficult, we wanted things done in a certain sequence, so that unpacking at the other end would be easier. Unfortunately, it never crossed the crew chief's mind to have a quick meeting with us to in advance discuss the sequence. Net result - a huge chunk of valuable time went through the tube.

At the other end, as they were moving the first set of cartons [by now the time was 11 A.M.], they were told by the watchman at the new building that they weren't allowed to load boxes and goods until 1 P.M., since this was a high-density traffic period for people who visited the offices in that building. They could do the shift between 1 P.M. and 4 P.M.

You can imagine what this did to our schedule. Now, would it not have been natural for the crew chief to check this out in advance? Wouldn't that have been proactive? Why did he not do it? Because the procedures did not specify this. Our client is an ISO certified company, and so they have lots of well-documented procedures. People become procedure bound, and forget to think beyond written procedures. It's also so comforting to work on the basis of written procedures. But wait, don't these procedures give you a false sense of security and inhibit your natural curiosity?

Even when this was brought to the notice of the people concerned, there was considerable resistance to the criticism. With great difficulty and perseverance, we managed to drive the message home. Mark my words - I say drive the message home - because only time will tell whether management takes any action to set these things right. It's so easy to move on to the next problem and forget this one.

How can we change this? Well, training and counseling can help. But much greater effort lies in the ability of management to reinforce what has been taught and discussed, consistently and relentlessly.

How can this happen unless management gets involved in the training? How do managers know what they should be doing on their part to make sure that behavior modification takes place? How do we modify their behavior at the work place?

These are the real challenges. Add to this the 'fear of failure' syndrome, and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. And the greater the routine work in an organization, the more rampant is this fear.

How does an external agent remove this fear single-handedly? Is it possible for a front-line executive or supervisor to overcome the fear of failure unless his boss has learned to overcome it? What measures do companies take to instill risk-taking among its middle and senior managers?

If everything is changing, how is it humanly possible to work within one's old set of assumptions and expect success? Are customers really that stupid? Customers live in the same world as we do, and so they are at least as smart as we are. Worse, our competitors are a lot smarter than we are, and we can never afford to forget this sobering reality.

So, if you don't do something different, soon and often, you can bet your boots that the competition will. The problem stems from the fact that we naturally learn to be reactive. Yes, the boss often says that we should be creative, but he rarely displays it himself, and certainly doesn't support your creativity. He/She himself is deadly scared of the associated probability of failure.

The worst thing about this is how blissfully unaware the head honchos are about these things. They rarely [better still, never] learn the importance of these things, being stuck in the comfort of the rarefied atmosphere in which they spend most of their time. I have always been struck by the empty sofas on the front rows at so many of my talks. When the talk is over, I find myself surrounded by dozens of people who say that my messages should be directed at the top of the heap. Well, they are the guys who hire me to do my bit, and then vanish into ether when I am saying whatever it is that I have decided to say.

To my simple peasant's mind, that is a perfect example of reactive behavior. Does anyone really think that one can dismiss the truth by simply not hearing it?

So what can you do figure out whether you are proactive or reactive? Here are a few questions to answer truthfully:

1. When a customer expresses dissatisfaction, you:
   • a] refer to the rules
   • b] say it isn't your responsibility
   • c] do something positive about it
2. When you come across an angry customer, you:
   • a] avoid his path and carry on as if nothing happened
   • b] speak to him and then carry on as if nothing happened
   • c] take action even if your job description doesn't say that you ought to
3. When your customer complains about a piece of bad service, you:
   • a] tell him this how your company deals with all customers
   • b] give a sympathetic ear, and then promptly forget about it
   • c] set things right immediately
4. When you hear something about the competition that can affect your company's business, you:
   • a] keep it to yourself, saying it's not your business
   • b] go home and tell your spouse and friends, but remain quiet at work
   • c] immediately communicate it to your employer
5. When one of your employees comes up with an idea, you:
   • a] ask him for a written report
   • b] tell him it won't work
   • c] congratulate him even if the idea is a bit off the wall
6. When a staff member returns from training, you:
   • a] ask him to forget about the training and get back to work
   • b] think it is unnecessary to find out what he learned
   • c] learn from him, and enthusiastically give all assistance in trying out the learning
7. When a junior member of staff wants to see you, you:
   • a] send a message that you are too busy
   • b] set up an appointment and then change it five times
   • c] make sure you see him within 48 hours, hear and understand him
8. When you notice your boss about to do something stupid, you:
   • a] keep a straight face and remain silent, secretly thrilled about it
   • b] show enthusiasm but keep a distance from the action
   • c] with the help of wit, grace, and humor you tell him what you really think of it
9. When you see a morally unjust act [that doesn't affect you] being approved by the boss, you:
   • a] remain silent, since it doesn't affect you
   • b] make approving noises, since this will make you look good to those who matter
   • c] stand up and argue against it with dignity
10. If you see something wrong in another part of your company's operations, you:
    • a] steer clear of it
    • b] go around laughing at the stupidity of the department concerned
    • c] you decide to do something about it

Since you don't have to show your scores to anyone, please be honest. For every [a], give yourself 2 points. For every [b], give yourself 4 points, and for every [c], give yourself a handsome 10 points. Add it all up. If your total adds up to below 60, be sure that you are a menace to your organization and to society at large. I recommend that you give up your job and head for the hills, because your sins will catch up with you sooner than later. You are the most reactive sort who is pursuing s favorite pastime - retirement on the job. You should have been put to pasture a long time ago. It is a marvel and an indication of the fortitude of humankind, that you are still allowed to roam freely on this planet.