Trust and Transparency

Gung Ho talks about the need to tell the truth and the difference between telling the truth and telling the whole truth. "Managers keep control by pretending information is sensitive and withholding it. It's great for power trips but it doesn't lead to trust. If you want your team to be Gung Ho, you have to tell the whole truth, and that means information belongs to everyone."

My note: I don't think this is a good practice. There are things that a manager has awareness of that would not profit the team and in fact might inflame or scare the team unnecessarily. Other things are simply not appropriate to share. Personnel issues for example are specifically between management, HR and that particular employee.

The book also talks about putting the well-being of team members first and specifically above profit. "Running a business from numbers is like playing basketball while watching the scoreboard instead of the ball. Look after the basics if you want success, and the first basic is the team."

He suggests that the priority is (1) team (2) customers.

My note: I don't disagree that the team is highly important. But I would think that the needs of the team come behind the needs of the business and of doing our best for the customer. Or is it a balance between the needs of the customer, the team and the business? I agree with the statement about playing basketball while watching the scoreboard instead of the ball. But I don't think the first basic is the team.