The Talking-Doing Gap

In most organizations I encounter there's a wide talking-doing gap. This gap acts as a black hole where enormous amounts of organizational resources are lost.

In their four-year study of nearly 100 companies, Pfeffer and Sutton (Harvard Business Review, May -- June 1999) found no shortage of know-how. What they did find is disturbing. They found "smart talk" substituting for action. Smart talk is engaged in by knowledge workers who are confident and articulate. Complex or abstract language, and criticism for the sake of criticism, are passed off as work.

I'm not against discussion. Discussion is absolutely necessary to transfer of high-level tacit knowledge.

How did the talking-doing gap gets so wide and what can we do about it?

There are several contributors to the current talking doing gap in today's organization:

1. Business schools reward those who "talk smart" and "write smart." Business school students don't have to do anything.

2. In organizations, people who talk more often and longer are more likely to become leaders (we have researched to support this).

As Pfeffer and Sutton said, "management today revolves around meetings, teams, and consensus building, the more a person says, the more valuable he or she appears." Can you see the pitfalls here? This supports Bernard Bass' "babel and babbler mouth" theory of leadership.

What to do? Focus on execution. Performance evaluation should focus on performance. Reward performance, not talk.

What are your leaders doing? They are role models. Do they hold themselves and others accountable for action?

If you want to develop a "doing" culture in your organization, I recommend a book entitled "Execution" by Bossidy and Charan.