138 THE CREATIVE INVESTMENT TEAM
A perfect example of this occurred in a consultation with the
head of a bond department. We were discussing this issue of safety
and openness. She expressed concern that so few of her staff brought
up fresh ideas in their meetings. She had already acknowledged
that she could be hot-tempered at times. “Are the people on your
staff naturally creative?” I asked. (I already knew the answer, be-
cause they had all taken the MBTI and three-quarters had shown
a preference for intuition, which means seeing the big picture.)
“Yes,” she responded.
“Well, why do you think they’re holding back?” I asked.
Glancing at the clock and then her appointment book, this very
bright woman said, “I don’t know, but I’m getting tired of it.” Then,
rising out of her chair, placing both fists on her desk, she added,
“And some of their precious little worlds are going to get rocked
if nothing changes.”
Yikes, I thought. I felt intimidated, and I wasn’t even on her
staff. Is there any question as to why the staff is reluctant to take
risks?
Safety begins at home. Look at the behavior of your own critic
before pointing fingers at others in our group.
Assuming that a measure of personal safety is present, how do
we move from personal safety to group safety? That is the subject
of Chapter 16.14-25 ware 138 1/19/01, 1:14 PM