Ground Truth

"Several years ago I was introduced to the military term ground truth, which refers to what's actually happening on the ground versus the official tactics. One of the challenges worth going after in any organization - be it a company or a marriage - is getting to ground truth." - Susan Scott

One of my fellow employees commented during the employee opinion survey about how much she appreciated "executive coffees" that a vice president had once done. I guessed that "executive coffees" might be a talking head at the front of a table, rattling off things that they were working on and might (or might not) be applicable to those in the room.

Instead of guessing for long, I just asked. In fact, once she e-mailed me her description, I forwarded it unedited to the newest VP, who gleefully agreed to visit our group. In fact, he showed interest in trying something broader still.

Ground truth can be so easy to gain, as long as we act on it.