In the best of times, even the most successful business teams wish they could have more resources -- more people, time, and money. There never seems to be quite enough to get to that next level of success.

In the worst of times -- and we are there -- the scrimping and stretching can become unbearable. Strategy devolves into strident cost cutting. Implementation becomes all about the need to do more with less.

I know. Both those scenarios sound a bit dismal.

The alternative? Create an environment in which there's:

* Clear sense of purpose
* Respect for the unique contribution each team member can make toward success
* Predilection for pointing out problems so they can be solved and learned from, not used as excuses
* Bias for action

Leaders and organizations that pull that off are the ones who will come out on the other side of this nasty economic eclipse better off than when they went in.

A Lesson from Outer Space

Remember the scene in the movie, Apollo 13?

Just when it seemed everything that could go wrong had gone wrong on this US attempt for its third lunar landing, the engineers in Houston determined the oxygen scrubber on the lunar landing module was failing. Without repair, the three astronauts would soon be overcome by deadly carbon dioxide. There was no replacement filter on the spacecraft. A team was assembled in Houston and given a box filled with the exact items the astronauts had to work with on the spacecraft. There is an overhead camera angle as the team leader dumps the box on a table top. The camera levels off and shows the lead holding in one hand a square scrubber like those on the command module, and in the other hand a round cartridge like the one on the landing module they must replace. Gesturing at the mishmash on the table he says, "The people upstairs handed us this one and we've got to come through. We've got to make this [square scrubber] fit into the hole for this [round scrubber], using nothing but that. Now let's get organized."

Few of us are in positions where our decisions and actions are a matter of life and death. But all organizations have missions and purposes. A leader's job -- whether it's a leader by formal title or merely by action -- is to help people see those objectives clearly, and to engage them in fulfilling those goals in meaningful ways. In the best of times and in the worst of times, most people given this kind of opportunity to own a challenge or opportunity will rise to the challenge.

Make a Difference,

Brian McDermott, GrowthWorks Inc.
Blog: Brian@GrowthWorks