A Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempi), ashore, probably to lay eggs. Kemp's Ridley sea turtles nest only in two areas of the shores of the Gulf of Mexico: at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas (a human engineered re-colonization), and in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. As late as the 1940s these turtles were abundant, but hunting, habitat destruction and pollution reduced their numbers to about 1,000 by 1970. After listing as being critically endangered, they have begun to recover, and before the BP Oil Disaster, 8,000 adults were believed to be alive.
What happens now is difficult to predict, but it is clear that the BP blowout will kill many Kemp's Ridleys. A return to the population levels of the 1970s is possible, as is total extinction. That human intervention has had both positive and negative effects on the prospects for the species illustrates the dynamics of self-canceling effort and disunity of purpose.
For more on the Kemp's Ridley, see the Google video, "Saving the Kemp's Ridley", or read Leslie Kaufman's May 18, 2010, article in the New York Times, Gulf Oil Again Imperils Sea Turtle". Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Sometimes we work hard to achieve a goal, but measurable progress remains elusive. We sense movement, but we aren't making progress. It can happen in any organizational effort — projects, new product development, research, process improvement, organizational change — anything. And it can happen in Life — career advancement, weight loss, pursuing a dream.
When this happens, what can we do? Here are seven popular ways to get nowhere and what can be done about them.
- Irrelevant effort
- The work itself isn't relevant to progress. Perhaps it's progress-neutral, or it might be progress in a direction unimportant right now (or ever).
- Review what you're doing. Exactly how does it move you towards the goal?
- Self-canceling effort
- The work underway might have both positive and negative effects that cancel each other out. An example: digging a hole but failing to throw the extracted dirt out of the hole.
- Are you doing anything that erodes the value of the overall effort?
- Misleading measurement
- The method of measuring progress might be faulty. It registers no progress, but progress is actually real.
- How do you measure progress? Why do you believe that there's a connection between progress and whatever you measure?
- Running in circles
- Even though each bit of effort moves you forward, you eventually revisit wherever you are. A form even more difficult to detect is like Brownian motion — you rarely (or never) revisit any one spot but the average position doesn't change.
- What's the evidence that the work underway actually produces steady advancement?
- Missing pieces
- The work requires Unity of purpose requires
investment. Announcements,
memos and orations alone
cannot achieve it.infrastructure that you don't yet have in place. Consequently, the progress you do make is periodically erased. Bailing out a leaky rowboat without first addressing the leaks is a good example. - Is there anything you could have done earlier that would have made what you're doing now any easier? Is it too late to go back and do it?
- Saboteurs
- Someone or some people are actively working against progress — political foes, disgruntled team members, or even yourself. Maybe you're aware of this, or perhaps some of it is outside your awareness, becoming visible only episodically.
- Have you talked with those involved in this conflict? If not, what would happen if you brought the issue into the open? Could it possibly be worse than what's happening now?
- Disunity of purpose
- Here the different elements of the group (or the different parts of your Self) are all working steadily and making good progress, but they do so in different directions with different goals in mind. In some situations, this disunity becomes clear only after a revealing incident.
- Unity of purpose requires investment. Announcements, memos, and orations alone cannot achieve it. Unity of purpose follows only from extensive mutual communication.
I'm certain there are many more ways to get nowhere. I'm equally certain that mastering just this much would be progress. 
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Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
Dealing with Deadlock- At times it seems that nothing works. Whenever we try to get moving, we encounter obstacles. If we try
to go around them, we find more obstacles. How do we get stuck? And how can we get unstuck?
Remote Facilitation in Synchronous Contexts: III- Facilitators of synchronous distributed meetings (meetings that occur in real time, via telephone or
video) can make life much easier for everyone by taking steps before the meeting starts. Here's Part
III of a little catalog of suggestions for remote facilitators.
Discussion Distractions: I- Meetings could be far more productive, if only we could learn to recognize and prevent the distractions
that lead us off topic and into the woods. Here is Part I of a small catalog of distractions frequently
seen in meetings.
Action Item Avoidance- In some teams, members feel so overloaded that they try to avoid any additional tasks. Here are some
of the most popular patterns of action item avoidance.
Speak for Influence- Among the factors that determine the influence of contributions in meetings are the content of the contribution
and how it fits into the conversation. Most of the time, we focus too much on content and not enough on fit.
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Project Management for more related articles.
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Coming October 5: Downscoping Under Pressure: I- When projects overrun their budgets and/or schedules, we sometimes "downscope" to save time and money. The tactic can succeed — and fail. Three common anti-patterns involve politics, the sunk cost effect, and cognitive biases that distort estimates. Available here and by RSS on October 5.
And on October 12: Downscoping Under Pressure: II- We sometimes "downscope" projects to bring them back on budget and schedule when they're headed for overruns. Downscoping doesn't always work. Cognitive biases like the sunk cost effect and confirmation bias can distort decisions about how to downscope. Available here and by RSS on October 12.
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