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An entrepreneur should not suffer from “MAFA” syndrome!!

by MSA Kumar

Lee Iacocca, the famous past Chairman of Chrysler, who wrote the famous turnaround story of Chrysler Corporation in the US, chronicled in his bestselling novels that, we misguide young managers between the words ‘activity’ and ‘accomplishments’. One of his work supervisors famously advised his team once during a senior executive inspection – ‘Walk fast and look worried’ as the panacea to impress the bosses.This behaviour is called the “MAFA” syndrome – “Mistaking Activities for Accomplishments.”

In my long years in board rooms and management team meetings, I see this confusion even in senior, experienced executives. Every review meeting  has slides and slides on the key activities done and  tasks accomplished. The team pats each other and high fives run around the room like a reflex.  I have to hold myself from refraining to ask the ‘demotivating’ question – ‘So what, my friend…’

As human beings, we also have the tendency to see activity as progress. Just imagine a Honey Bee visiting 200 flowers in a day but collecting no honey at all.  Is the Honey Bee visiting 200 flowers making progress? Definitely not.  Managers and politicians are victims of the myriad meetings, reams and reams of minutes which gather dust or now occupy important disk space. Every meeting has animated discussions on the activities planned and I have also seen metrics being proudly presented – We had 17 meeting to discuss the pricing issue! I refrain again from asking ‘Now what, my friend…’

Entrepreneurs are not immune to this fad. They prepare business plans, roadshows, media blitzkrieg and a surfeit of information which all showcase ‘action’ or planned action. It is of high imperative to think from the ‘results mind-set’. One may perhaps come with the same set of ‘To Do ‘list, but it is from a different point view. At the beginning of any such plan it is important to ask ourselves two questions -

1. What the results that will tell us that we are successful?
2. How can we fail miserably in this plan?

Answer these two questions and it is a planning meeting well begun … without the MAFA syndrome……