The Thing in the Bushes : Turning Organizational Blind Spots into Competitive Advantage

Companies see it over and over again. There are signs of trouble in the organization: conflict, turnover, low morale, lack of motivation, status quo bureaucracy. So a consultant comes in with a series of recommendations. Managers and employees rally around a vision of the way things could be. The consultants leave and their report sits on the shelf. Nothing happens. Cynicism rises. Morale plummets. Managers argue. Another consultant creates a new plan that looks a lot like the old one with a new cover and a new name. And still nothing happens.

Leadership knows something is seriously wrong, but they can't see it. Something unidentified and insidious is lurking in the shadows like a "thing in the bushes" and it has the organization in a death grip. It hates change. It's the very thing that managers, consultants, employees, and board members all avoid. Its presence is palpable but nobody knows what to do about it. Avoiding it will kill the company. Facing it honestly and dealing with it unleashes a power that will propel an organization into a new realm. But it takes courage to face The Thing in the Bushes.

Even the best-run companies with great products, talented personnel, and superior systems can flounder if they are not relationally healthy. Companies today face "people" issues that didn't exist only a decade ago. Yet those same issues are often ignored and left prowling, waiting to destroy the company. Ford and Osterhaus show business leaders how to face "The Thing in the Bushes" and turn it into a competitive advantage for their company.

Kevin Graham Ford is president of The Armstrong Group, a management consulting firm with clients ranging from Fortune 500 Companies to small businesses. His experience includes strategic planning; organizational assessment and development; leadership development; performance management systems; and human resource development. In constant demand as a facilitator and speaker for corporations and organizations around the world, Kevin has been quoted by business management publications including Business Week, Management Review, The Wall Street Journal, Human Resource Executive, Los Angeles Times, and HR Today.

Dr. James P. Osterhaus is a senior consultant for The Armstrong Group. He is also a counseling psychologist and has helped a variety of organizations and families bring about relational health. Dr. Osterhaus holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from American University and has degrees in counseling from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Catholic University. He is the author of Family Tales, Questions Couples Ask, and Bonds of Iron.

The Armstrong Group (TAG) is a consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations in public, corporate, educational, and non-profit settings identify and overcome organizational blind spots that reinforce unproductive behavior. TAG combines key business practices with a keen understanding of relational networks, strategic planning, and organizational development, enabling organizations to create and maintain healthy relationships.