THE BOILING FROG SYNDROME
Put a frog in a pot of water and turn the burner on. As the temperature of the water rises, the frog will adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog continues adjusting with the increase in temperature. When the water is about to reach a boiling point, the frog is no longer able to adjust anymore and tries to jump out. TOO LATE. The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature…
Very soon the frog dies.
What killed the frog?
Many would say the boiling water. The truth is the frog was killed by it’s own inability to decide when it had to jump out
Every organization needs to adjust to events and to those unavoidable crises. The difficult part is knowing when to adjust and when to confront and face the situation. Too often club owners, managers or administrators adjust, adjust, adjust- only to realize too late that the water is going to boil.
We have to decide when to jump.
And jump while we still have the strength.
There are leaders who back right into a crisis without recognizing that their situation is worsening. They’re not bad managers, but they’re often working under a set of paradigms that no longer apply, they are not getting enough information from enough sources and letting the power of inertia carry them along.
If they don’t realize they’re facing a crisis, they won’t know that they need to undertake a turnaround.
Sometimes managers underestimated how critical their situation is—or they were looking in the wrong direction or program. Others get caught up in the pressure for short-term returns that they neglected to ensure the organization’s long-term health.
In my VERY humble opinion, USA Gymnastics needs a CEO who has the VISION to lead and the ability to step back to review his or her own plans objectively. They need confidence but they also need to have great advisors and not be afraid of asking “Is this what I thought would happen when I first started going down this road?”. Acknowledging that your plan isn’t working is a necessary first step. No one will be able to see every issue or avoid every crisis. That is why you need to have a strong board and strong people in the office.
Rudy Giuliani phrased it well when he said, “It is in times of crisis that good leaders emerge.” It is at these times that you see who the true leaders are, which ones can take the pressure, and which ones get people rallied around a common vision forward, instead of giving in to the despair around them.
In the mean time we need to focus on some small victories in order to gain traction for the big win.
It is going to be a difficult decision whether to play a long game or a short game with the next CEO. Someone who can come in and make some BIG immediate changes. Replace top team members while finding and/or retaining the most talented. Or, go with someone more focused on a long game. Willing to make REAL and SUBSTANTIAL changes and initiate a long term plan and see it through. There is a good argument for either.
It is MUCH easier to just plow a garden under when you encounter a problem than it is to plant and nurture a garden. BUT WE ARE ABOUT CREATING. USA Gymnastics has a garden already planted. Right now there definitely needs to be some weeding done. Some plants need pulled, others need to be clipped back and some needs nourishment. You will need to spread some fertilizer . I posted the other day- If a flower isn’t growing – you change the environment, not the flower.
Just my thoughts and opinion for today
Tony
