The Power of Words

Become practiced in making assessments, and you come to see others clearly, well beyond their fictions and lies. You also come to see how much influence you have over your own life. "We don't realize how much we create reality through language," Flores says. "If we say that life is hard, it will be hard. If, on the other hand, we make commitments to our colleagues to improve our productivity, we also improve our mood, and as a result, clarity and happiness will increase. People talk about changing their thinking, but they have no idea what that is, let alone how to do it. The key is to stop producing interpretations that have no power."

Lesson Two: How to Make Commitments. Assessments go hand in hand with one other speech act -- that of commitment. Commitments are bold promises. According to Flores, the performance breakdowns in this company are attributable to failures of commitment: Executives make promises that they have no intention of fulfilling. "Your work is not impeccable," Flores challenges. "Ikea can't get away with selling a $30 table with missing parts or bad instructions. But you think that you can get away with missing specs and bad quality in producing multimillion-dollar projects."

Ryan is presenting his idea for a logistics center, which he wants authorization to build and which he believes will save the division $2 million. "The opportunity is there," he says quietly, his tone now very different from his earlier one of cowboy arrogance.

"If you believe in this plan, why don't you close?" Flores asks. "None of your talk indicates action -- just desire." Flores has put his finger on the disconnect: Ryan has gone to enormous pains to develop a plan that doesn't excite him. Even as he presents it, he is backing away from it. He is doing what people do in organizations every day -- saying one thing, meaning another. Ryan is bullshitting his colleagues. The tragedy -- and the waste -- is not that his colleagues don't realize it but rather that Ryan himself doesn't realize it.

Felix, the planner, is already worried. Ryan's idea isn't too weak; it's too bold. "We can't make a decision like this from scratch," he says. "I don't think we're ready for it yet."

Flores lets loose. "I cannot tolerate this bullshit," he rages. "Listen, Boy Scout, what's your name? Felix? In this arena, I'm the master and you're the junior. A junior sees only one little piece of reality. The truth is, Ryan no more wants to build this center than you do. You need to get a bold commitment from Ryan. Ryan, you say you want to start this logistics center, which will save your division $2 million. But that is nothing! I want to teach you how to make $20 million for your division. You need to learn to manage commitment! Ryan, what's the value of your logistics center?"

"It will give us competitive advantage," Ryan says.

In a flash, Flores becomes Ryan. He rounds his shoulders into his chest, recedes into himself, and says in a wimpy voice, "I think it will give us advantages." Then he shouts, "There is no energy in that story! You need to put emotion into your message. If you can't put your body into it, there is no truth. And without truth, you can't sell the idea, not even to yourself."

Flores is standing. Spit is flying from his mouth. He conveys his message with his whole body. "Ryan, you are a Dilbert leader. You never take a stand. And here you are listening to Felix, who is resignation personified. You know what mood you are in? The life-is-tough mood: 'Don't be too optimistic. Next year, we'll lose a little less than this year.' If you live in a mood, you are blind to it. The last time I made that mistake, I was in prison for three years."

Now Flores is ready to challenge the group. He coaches them on how to develop a big story -- a story of a transformed reality, with the promise of an action plan. By the end of the morning, they have hammered out a plan for cutting construction time in half, saving $10 million. They have also developed a bold proposal for entering the Y2K-consulting business, solving problems that some of their infrastructure clients may encounter.

Flores reminds them: This must be a total commitment. "I want you to say that the $10 million project that you need to invent is a promise that you are obliged to keep. Can you invent a story in which you can be competitive, world-class people? That's an act of committed imagination. Your problem is not that you have to work harder. Value is not produced by hard work. Value is produced by a story. Value lies in creating a new possibility."

The team leader is pleased. "This day and a half was the best time I have ever had," he beams. "These are ideas you can stick your neck out for. More than ever, our group feels like a team."