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Power Point #3
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Final
EXTRA!
Edition News Headline EXTRA!
Plane Loses Door
In Flight
Minutes after takeoff, a commuter plane’s
cabin door suddenly blew off. Passengers
clutched a flight attendant to keep her
from being swept out of the open door.
The primary purpose of a door is to provide entrance and exit. However, if it
opens at the wrong time—as happened on this flight as it was leaving Chicago—
it can cause real problems. This is true not only on airliners, but also at the
office or at home. Let me illustrate by explaining a problem that my friend Dick
Withnell had with the open door to his office.
ARE “OPEN DOORS” YOUR PROBLEM?
Dick is a very successful Dodge dealer in the Northwest. Several years
ago, I was visiting him at his dealership. During the course of our conversation,
he mentioned to me that his business sales volume and income had greatly
increased over the past few years. However, even though he was excited about
the positive changes, he was actually feeling greater stress and having a more
difficult time focusing on important tasks. He asked me for suggestions about
what could he do.
I decided to observe how he was handling the flow of information
and people that came to him. It soon became obvious to me that one of his main
problems was the door to his office. It was located directly off a public hallway.
Employees, customers, and solicitors could enter and leave through the door to
his office at will.
Although Dick’s desire to be accessible was admirable, his “open-door
policy” gave him no control over interruptions and distractions. Sometimes, his
office seemed as busy as New York’s Grand Central Station during rush hour.
The continued interruptions were robbing him of the privacy that is necessary
for creative thinking, long-term planning, and meaningful conversations.
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