I read an article today on the steroid trouble revealed by George Mitchell. You can read it for yourself. I thought one of the most telling statements in the article, was a statement made by Mitchell at his news conference. Here’s what he said:

“There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."

All organizations can learn from this statement. So many of the troubles that occur in an organization occur when the collective group ignores the warning signs. As time goes by, it becomes harder and harder to deal with, because breaking the silence becomes almost impossible. Group think sets in.

Sometimes it’s hard to speak up and sometimes not speaking up, in the long run, makes it so much harder.