Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys

Home
>
Business Management
>
Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys

Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys

Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys
By Gene Griessman, PhD

Birds of a feather do flock together. It's true. Given a choice, most of us will seek out people who think like
we do, people with whom we feel comfortable, those we won't quarrel with. Visit any company cafeteria and you will notice
that the people at the tables will be in groupings from the same discipline, department or ethnic group.
As a general rule, relationships do not usually thrive when there are profound differences in values, abilities,
temperaments or lifestyle. Differences attract, but -- more often -- they repel. Individuals sometimes get involved in
relationships with unlike individuals, occasionally even conflict-ridden ones. These may be
exciting for a while -- but unless the principals agree on core values, such relationships
become artificially polite or unravel over time.
Ways to work together. This general rule, however, needs fine tuning when it comes to science, engineering and
business. Skillful managers often deliberately create teams comprised of very different kinds of people. They are willing
to forego the comfortable, easy feelings associated with clone-like groups in order to bring diverse skills to bear upon
a problem. Such a team might include designers, engineers, physicists, marketing people, social scientists and lawyers.
Managing diversity is not easy. Accountants, engineers, computer specialists, lawyers, psychologists and marketing
people do not speak the same occupational language. Each field has its argot, its own version of alphabet soup. Specialization
always produces groups with proprietary feelings about concepts and terminology. Even if two members of a team are engineers,
there will still not be one-to-one correspondence. They will have some problems with vocabulary if one is an electrical
engineer and the other is a mechanical engineer. But those vocabulary problems are minuscule compared with the ones that
occur when accountants talk to engineers or designers. A skillful manager will be needed.
Cultural chasms need bridging. The differences go beyond vocabulary: values, goals and objectives many be different
too. As more businesses globalize, team members are more likely to come from different cultures. They will differ not just
in the way they approach a technical or marketing problem, but in the way they view the world. We will have more of this,
not less. Unfortunately, what we know about managing diversity is more an art than a science.
If managing diversity is so difficult and so potentially stressful -- even disrupting -- is it worth doing? Absolutely.
Warm, comfortable, birds-of-a-feather groupings may actually be dysfunctional in business, science and engineering.
If you want to do the job right, consider choosing people with different languages, experiences and perspectives.
The group may be hard to manage and the outcomes difficult to predict, but such a strategy offers the potential for
unexpected brilliant solutions. When everybody behaves as a clone, someone is probably unnecessary and the group may come
to resemble a flock of turkeys.

Gene Griessman, PhD is an Atlanta-based motivational speaker, author and time management expert. His books include Time
Tactics of Very Successful People and The Words Lincoln Lived By: 52 Timeless Principles to Light Your Path. To learn
more about Dr. Griessman's products and speaking engagements, visit him online at www.presidentlincoln.com.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Gaza violence rages on despite UN cease-fire call (AP)

AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, but an intense bombardment of missiles from Israeli jets and helicopters early Friday and a barrage of Hamas rockets indicated there may be no quick end to the fighting.

Toxic coal ash piling up in ponds in 32 states (AP)

AP - Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.

Mini Dynasty: Tebow leads Gators past Oklahoma (AP)

AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them. He rescued No. 1 Florida, running through and throwing over No. 2 Oklahoma for a 24-14 victory Thursday night that gave the Gators their second BCS championship in three years.

Asia stocks mixed ahead of US jobs report (AP)

AP - Major Asian stock markets fell Friday amid more corporate gloom and worries that a key U.S. jobs report could show recession in the world's largest economy is deepening.

Obama: Congress must act boldly and now on economy (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Democratic and Republican lawmakers complained about his tax policies, letting Obama know they intend to place their own stamp on the economic recovery effort.

Illinois House on verge of impeaching Blagojevich (AP)

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.

Job losses stack up as recession deepens (AP)

AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

Cheney: CIA did nothing illegal in interrogations (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.

Critics' final answer: `Slumdog' wins 5 awards (AP)

AP - The critics have spoken, and "Slumdog Millionaire" is their final answer.

Democrats criticize Obama's proposed tax cuts (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.

U.N. calls for immediate Gaza truce (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the 14-day-old conflict.

World waits on jobs data as recession weighs (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.

Panel steps up criticism of Treasury: report (Reuters)

Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

EU seeks gas supply return after deal (Reuters)

Reuters - Europe sought a swift restoration of gas supplies on Friday after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a pricing dispute with Kiev.

Citi backs measure to help avoid foreclosures (Reuters)

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Obama team amending financial rescue package: report (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Qaeda Pakistan leader believed dead: U.S. official (Reuters)

Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.

Gaza toll mounts as UN Security Council urges immediate truce (AFP)

AFP - Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old conflict in the Palestinian enclave.

Hopes for Russia gas deal after EU claims breakthrough (AFP)

AFP - European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.

Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys

Business Management Business Management