Dear Bob ... I'm disappointed in my staff, and trying not to show it. Our company is facing significant challenges right now and our executive leadership is smart enough to know we don't have all of the ideas. So each of us asked the managers reporting to us to provide three recommendations on what the company should do to address our situation. They were told their recommendations needed to be in the form of pr Dear Bob …I’m disappointed in my staff, and trying not to show it. Our company is facing significant challenges right now and our executive leadership is smart enough to know we don’t have all of the ideas.So each of us asked the managers reporting to us to provide three recommendations on what the company should do to address our situation. They were told their recommendations needed to be in the form of projects – specific, identifiable activities that lead to well-defined business results. Those were their instructions. What I got back were vague platitudes, like “reduce inventory,” and “improve sales force effectiveness.” As I said, I’m disappointed. Every one of these managers has asked me for more responsibility. All consider themselves to be strong performers. But only one provided anything that looked like a project we can take action on.How do I explain to these people just how far they missed the boat without demoralizing them completely?– Disappointed Dear Disappointed …Here’s one way: In your next staff meeting, say, “It appears I wasn’t entirely clear about what we wanted from you. What we need are specific projects we can take action on. What we got was more in the way of good intentions. What I’d like to do today is to go through several of the ideas I received and have the whole group take a run at sharpening the ones you like into something we can sink our teeth into. Here’s the first one: ‘Increase sales force effectiveness.’ What might this mean in terms of actual action we can take as a company?”If they still don’t get it, acquaint them with the tried-and-true “people/process/technology” formula: Any business improvement should be described in terms of changes to employee roles and skills (people), how the work gets done (process) and the tools required (technology) to enable employees working with their new skills in their new roles to implement the new process. From your account, it’s clear your staff aren’t in the habit of thinking this way. That isn’t uncommon. Many highly paid CEOs have no idea how to turn their “vision” into action either (although personally, I think any CEO who’s all vision and no action deserves a visionary role at the checkout counter at their local WalMart). Working backward from a goal to the steps required to achieve it just isn’t all that easy to do.So don’t be disheartened. As is also true when developers need to learn a new programming language, the best way to teach is with examples. Once your staff has a few to chew on, they’ll get the hang of it.At least, some of them will. I hope.– Bob Technology Industry