Like many consumers, you may have watched Toyota's recent challenges with interest-especially if you own one of its recalled cars. It is clear that some companies have accelerator issues-though I'm not referring to a gas pedal, but to the actual speed at which your company operates and how your "passengers," or employees, are affected.

Try this test with your team. When our company took it, we learned that if you demand that employees give the same level of accelerated effort every day, month to month and year to year, their energy will fail and company performance will ultimately suffer.

If your store, chain or company answers affirmatively to five of the following questions, you may be caught in your own accelerator trap. If your team members answer yes to eight or more, it's time to free yourself-and them-from the trap.

1. Are new activities and projects started too quickly without an adequate plan?

2. Is it hard to get the most important things done because too many other activities take your "eye off the ball?"

3. Are projects carried out in a company format/formula because people fear failure if they take a path different than that taken in the past?

4. When you choose not to continue an activity or project, is its demise considered a weakness?

5. Is there a tendency to continually drive your store or organization to the limits of its capacity?

6. Is it impossible for employees to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

7. Does your store or company value attendance at its meetings/events more than goal achievement?

8. Does your company value visibly hard effort more than real results?

9. Are employees made to feel guilty if they leave work early?

10. Is busyness valued?

11. Do employees talk a lot about the size of their workload?

12. Are managers expected to act as role models by being involved in multiple projects?

13. Are managers micro-interested or micro-managers?

14. Is "no" a taboo word, even for people who have already taken on too many projects?

15. Is there an expectation that people must respond to e-mails within minutes?

16. Do countless people routinely get copied on e-mails because employees are trying to protect themselves?

17. In their free time, do employees keep their cell phones on because they feel they always need to be reachable?

The lessons we learned from taking this test led to some interesting changes in our company's environment. As a result, we:

a. Focus on fewer priorities.
b. Have instituted time-outs and sabbaticals.
c. Do spring cleaning every quarter and cull out projects or initiatives that are not working.
d. Have capped the number of major goals per employee to two achievable, value-added initiatives.
e. Filter new projects with a simple, return-on-time-invested model.
f. Have instituted "project funerals" where we celebrate the death of an old priority.

Ask your team to take this "accelerator" test and then ponder the revolutionary changes that you need to make, too.

Rick Tocquigny
CEO
Artbeat of America/Gracefully Yours
Host of the national radio show "Life Lessons"
www.blogtalkradio.com/search/rick-tocquigny-life-lessons/

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