“You need to practice ‘open source management.’”

“Putting out a suggestion box, advertising an open-door policy, even walking the floors and asking, ‘What can we do to improve?’ — they're all well-intentioned actions, but, unless there's a deep culture of trust and openness, people won't tell you what they really think.

It's analogous to the heart: for it to do its job and keep the body healthy, the right amount of oxygenated blood needs to get to the right part of the heart at the right time. Likewise, it's critical that enough true, honest opinion and information make it to leaders for them to be effective and keep their organization fit and healthy. A leader, at whatever level, has to make a real effort to create a culture in which people feel free to commit candor.

As for making sure the right people are bothering you, you have to keep widening and widening your sources — you need to practice ‘open source management.’”