During a break in the meeting, Dan pulled me aside and whispered, “No more ‘p’ words, please.”

“What are ‘p’ words?” I asked.

“You know,” he replied, “Words like process, perspective, and paradigm.”

Dan is results-driven. There were way too many “p” words in this meeting for his comfort: planning… people… participation.

At one time or another, many of us have felt like Dan—that it is so much easier to do the work than take the time to involve others in the process of planning for the work. It’s easier to just decide where you’re going and get on with it.

The problem is, when you’re a leader, you can’t just announce where you’re going and expect people to follow. They need to get it and buy into it or they’re not likely to just do it.

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