Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility

by Patty McCord

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER • How well do you think people throughout the company could describe its business model? Why not ask them to do so? No prompts allowed. • Do you share with employees the same information presented in your company’s earnings calls? How frequently do you show them the company’s P&L? Where are they likely to get data about how your company stacks up against the competition? • Is everyone aware of difficult challenges your company faces? Have you asked them their thoughts about how to tackle these? Do you have a disciplined process for disseminating information and discussing challenges? • What areas of your business do you think your people know little to nothing about? Could you ask a leader in that domain to come and talk to your team? Are there any other ways you could facilitate communication between the groups? • How well do you think your people understand who the customer is and what their needs and desires are? Do you regularly share customer research? Can you facilitate your team spending some time with customers? • If you were going to hold an off-site, what is the most pressing issue you would want your people to learn about and debate? How could you provide the richest possible presentation of information? • What existing meetings or forums could be used to carve out dedicated time for communicating more about the business context? Do you regularly review these meetings to be sure they still are effective? Do you set different agendas for dif...