Warning: To view this site correctly, you must have JavaScript enabled. Learn how to enable Javascript.

November 27, 2002	Volume 2, Issue 48
Recommend this issue to a friend Join the Friends of Point Lookout HTML to link to this article…	Archive: By Topic By Date Links to Related Articles Sign Up for A Tip A Day!
Create a perpetual bookmark to the current issue

Trips to Abilene

by Rick Brenner

When a group decides to take an action that nobody agrees with, but which no one is willing to question, we say that they're taking a trip to Abilene. Here are some tips for noticing and preventing trips to Abilene.

ow that Marilyn and Phil understood why Marigold was so hard to manage, they met with Ellen, Marigold's sponsor. After some small talk, Marilyn opened with, "So we think that the problem with Marigold might be that the team is too spread out. Between our site, Wellington and Europe we've got too many time zones. We can't even find meeting times — someone's always asleep."

Abilene; Texas; USA "I'm not surprised," Ellen said. "I wondered about that from the beginning."

That got Phil's attention. "Wait, I thought you warned us against hiring locally. You said we'd never get approval in time, so we went with the Wellington people, even though they're 2000 miles away."

"Yes, true, I did warn you. But I think I said it would be 'a neat trick' getting the approval. All I meant was that you might need my help. I thought it would at least be worth a try."

Marilyn tried to smooth things out. "So you actually preferred a local team, but you went along with our Wellington idea because we seemed willing?"

"More or less."

In a trip to Abilene,
nobody feels that
the group is
behaving sensiblyCooling off, Phil began to understand. "And we were trying to do what we thought you wanted."

Marilyn added, "A gifts-of-the-magi kind of thing," referring to the story by O. Henry.

"More like a trip to Abilene," Phil answered.

Phil is referring to an insightful work by Jerry Harvey, The Abilene Paradox, which describes how a group can commit to a course that no member favors. In a trip to Abilene, nobody feels that the group is behaving sensibly. Because they all feel that everyone else favors the group's choice, no one questions it. The group then takes action that no one agrees with.

How can you tell when you're on a trip to Abilene? And what can you do about it?

Notice your own doubts: Noticing your own reservations can be difficult. Practice by privately rating your own concurrence with group decisions as Low, Neutral and High.
When you're uneasy, inquire: When you do notice that you're uneasy with a group decision, express your doubts, and ask specific questions. For instance, Ellen could have said, "I'm uneasy with the Wellington idea. How will we deal with the problems of managing them remotely?" Take care, though. In some settings critical inquiry can be seen as negative or non-supportive, even though it's almost always healthy and helpful.
Check for the Abilene itinerary: Whenever a team makes a decision of any kind, it's wise to check for trips to Abilene. Try asking, "I'd like to check: are we on a trip to Abilene?" A chorus of No's isn't a guarantee, but asking the question often works.

Protecting against trips to Abilene is worth the effort — tickets to Abilene are nonrefundable. Top Next Issue

Read more in a wonderful book by Jerry B. Harvey, The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988. .

Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? Send me your comments.

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

More articles on Personal, Team and Organizational Effectiveness:

Getting Around Hawthorne: The Hawthorne Effect appears when we measure employee attitudes or behavior — when people know they're being measured, they modify their behavior. How can we measure attitudes with a minimum of distortion from the Hawthorne Effect?
Message Mismatches: Sometimes we misinterpret the messages we receive — what we see or hear. It's frustrating, and tempers can flare on both sides. But if we keep in mind two ideas, we can reduce the effects of message mismatches.
A Message Is Only a Message: When we receive messages of disapproval, we sometimes feel bad. And when we do, it can help to remember that we have the freedom to decide whether or not to accept the messages we receive.
Email Antics: Part III: Nearly everyone complains that email is a time waster. Yet much of the problem results from our own actions. Here's Part III of a little catalog of things we do that help waste our time.
How to Make Meetings Worth Attending: Many of us spend seemingly endless hours in meetings that seem dull, ineffective or even counterproductive. Here are some insights to keep in mind that might help make meetings more worthwhile — and maybe even fun.

See also Personal, Team and Organizational Effectiveness and Effective Meetings for more related articles.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact me for details at rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com or (617) 491-6289, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the e-book!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in four e-books:

Get 2001-2002 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, USD 11.95)
Get 2003-2004 in Why Dogs Wag Their Tails (PDF, USD 11.95)
Get 2005-2006 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, USD 11.95)
Get all of the first six years (2001-2006) in Six Years of Point Lookout (PDF, USD 23.95)

Available in early 2009: 2007-2008.

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

Person-to-Person Communication for Project Managers

When we talk, listen, send or read emails, read or write memos, or when we leave or listen to voice mail messages, we're communicating person-to-person. And whenever we communicate person-to-person, we risk being misunderstood, offending others, feeling hurt, and being confused. There are so many ways for things to go wrong that we could never learn how to fix all the problems. A more effective approach avoids problems altogether, or at least minimizes their occurrence. In this very interactive program you'll learn a model of inter-personal communications that can help you stay out of the ditch. In those moments of intense involvement, when we're most likely to slip, you'll have a new tool to use to keep things constructive. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

Download to
your calendarColumbus, Ohio: July 10, Dinner Meeting, Central Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
Richmond, Virginia (West End): February 18, 2009, Monthly Meeting, Central Virginia Chapter of The Project Management Institute. Register now.
Richmond, Virginia (South End): February 19, 2009, Monthly Meeting, Central Virginia Chapter of The Project Management Institute. Register now.

Organizational Politics for People Who Hate Politics

Have you ever felt powerless to implement an important new idea? Have you ever been "blind-sided" at a meeting? Have you ever lost two good employees because you could find no way to keep them from attacking each other? These are some of the issues of organizational politics. Many of us have become enmeshed in them from time to time, but we've also known some people who seem to be able to engage and prosper. How is that done? We'll inventory the challenges of organizational politics, and provide tools for anticipating and addressing them. The focus of this program is practical — attendees learn concrete techniques for dealing with the problems that arise in workplace politics, while keeping their integrity intact. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

Download to
your calendarColumbus, Ohio: July 10, One-Day Workshop, Central Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
Download to
your calendarWherever you are: it's a teleseminar: October 22, Teleseminar, Computer Aid, Inc. (CAI). Register now.
Albany, New York: January 21, 2009, Dinner Meeting, Upstate New York Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.

Managing Virtual Teams for Real Results

Managing global or dispersed teams is challenging — miscommunications, misunderstandings, and interpersonal conflict all thrive in the typical environment of the distributed team. And they're even more common in global teams, because of time-zone offsets and language and cultural differences. We'll inventory the challenges distributed and global teams face, and provide tools for anticipating and addressing them. The focus of this program is practical — attendees will learn concrete techniques for preventing and dealing with the problems that accompany global and distributed teams. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

Dayton, Ohio: September 16, Monthly Meeting, Dayton Miami Valley Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
Download to
your calendarWherever you are: it's a teleseminar: November 6, Teleseminar, Computer Aid, Inc. (CAI). Register now.

The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

Download to
your calendarBedford, Massachusetts: January 20, 2009, Monthly Meeting, Boston SPIN.

Contact Information

Download vCardRichard Brenner
Chaco Canyon Consulting
700 Huron Avenue, Suite 11J
Cambridge MA, 02138

Phone: (617) 491-6289
Toll-free: (866) 378-5470 in the continental US
Fax: (617) 395-2628
Email: rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com

Copyright © 1998-2008 Richard Brenner. All Rights Reserved.
Site Map Terms of Use Privacy Policy Returns Policy
Date and time limits of special offers on this site are New York time.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 02-Jul-2008 03:04:13 EDT

How to Spot a Troubled Project

Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts is filled with tips for executives, senior managers, managers of project managers, and sponsors of projects in project-oriented organizations. Check it out!

Virtual Team or Virtual Catastrophe?

The key to managing virtual or global teams is creating a sense of team despite the obstacles of separation. Read my tips booklet, 303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams, to learn how to make your virtual global team sing. Newly revised and updated for 2008! Check it out!

Support
Point Lookout
by starting your Amazon search here

Webmasters: Add Value to Your Sites!

Webmasters,

add value to your Web sites quickly and easily. Pick up the HTML to link to this article in a choice of formats.

When you start here, a part of every purchase you make goes to support Point Lookout, at no cost to you.
Search Now: