--- title: A Simple Question To Keep Your Organization Healthy and Productive description: If you’re the recipient of a co-worker's attempt to do an end run around your manager or if they corner you with their unproductive complaining, you can prevent damage to the health and productivity of your company by asking them a simple, powerful question. image: https://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/healthy-org.jpg --- - [2020 EOS Conference](https://eosconference.com/) - Request a Speaker - [Become an EOS Implementer](https://eosi.eosworldwide.com) - [Find an EOS Implementer](https://eosimplementers.com/) - Contact - [**Login to Base Camp**](https://bc.eosworldwide.com) - [Base Camp](https://www.eosworldwide.com/base-camp-overview) - [Blog](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog) [MENU](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/simple-question-to-keep-your-organization-healthy-and-productive#sidr) - What is EOS? - [EOS Model](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-model) - [EOS Process](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-process) - [EOS Toolbox](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-toolbox) - [EOS History & Team](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-story-team) - [EOS Implementers](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/what-is-an-eos-implementer) - Why EOS Works - [Why EOS Works](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/why-eos-works) - [Real World Results](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/testimonials) - [EOS Books](https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-library) - [EOS Tools](https://www.eosworldwide.com/eos-tools) - [Base Camp](https://www.eosworldwide.com/base-camp-overview) - [**Get Started**](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/get-started) - [Find an EOS Implementer](https://www.eosimplementers.com) - [Become an Implementer](https://eosi.eosworldwide.com) - [Contact](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/contact) - [Base Camp Login](https://basecamp.eosworldwide.com) - [Blog](http://blog.eosworldwide.com) - [Request a Speaker](https://www.eosworldwide.com/book-a-speaker) - [2020EOS Conference](https://eosconference.com/) Close ![Header-Placeholder.jpg](https://info.eosworldwide.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eos-blog2.jpg?width=1678&name=eos-blog2.jpg "Header-Placeholder.jpg") ## EOS Worldwide Blog Advice and Insight for Entrepreneurs and Leadership Teams ##### Search the Blog : # [A Simple Question To Keep Your Organization Healthy and Productive](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/simple-question-to-keep-your-organization-healthy-and-productive) Written by[Mike Paton](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/author/mike-paton) on March 1, 2018 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [EOS Leadership Team](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/topic/eos-leadership-team) [Company Culture](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/topic/company-culture) [Team Health](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/topic/team-health) Two epidemics kill cultures: end runs and unresolved complaining. Both waste time and energy, and are ultimately toxic to the health and productivity of your company. Luckily, these epidemics can be cured by asking **a simple, powerful question**. ## ![Healthy and productive organization](https://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/healthy-org.jpg "Healthy and productive organization")Epidemic #1: The End Run An end run happens when an employee goes around a manager to complain or get a better/different answer to his or her problem. At the conclusion of the end run, if you don’t ask **the question**, you’re going to start the spread of a plague in your organization. If you’re the recipient of the end run, you can listen and coach, but you should never make a decision. When you decide, you cut the manager in question off at the knees and leave him or her powerless to do the job he or she is there to do. Listen carefully, and at the end of the conversation, ask **the question**. ## Epidemic #2: Unproductive Complaining Unproductive complaining is when someone is not sharing an issue to solve it, but is instead politicking, backstabbing, and/or positioning. Every organization seems to have one person everyone complains to. That person becomes the “[complaint department](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/118502/eos/resolve-business-conflicts-close-complaint-department/).” When you receive unproductive complaining, you’re being exposed to a poison. If you don’t ask **the question** at the end of the complaining, you leave that poison in your organization to grow and spread. At the conclusion of the complaint, ask **the question**, and you stop it in its tracks. ## The Question So, what’s the question that you need to ask at the end of an end run, or after unproductive complaining? It’s simply this: ***“Are you going to tell ’em, or am I going to tell ’em? Because one of us needs to tell ’em.”*** I promise you this works. This question will wipe out end runs and unproductive complaining organization-wide within a month. Take a moment and write this question down on a piece of paper. Keep it on your desk for the next time someone comes to you with an end run or an unproductive complaint. You’ll see exactly what I mean. ## Next Steps - Read my blog about how to [Close the Complaint Department](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/118502/eos/resolve-business-conflicts-close-complaint-department/) at your company. - Read Ken DeWitt’s blog about the [Danger of Allowing Confidential Complaints](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/danger-of-allowing-confidential-complaints). - Learn more tips for being a great leader and manager of your employees by downloading a free chapter of [*How to Be a Great Boss*](https://www.eosworldwide.com/great-boss-book).    [![organizational checkup eos ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/434170/4c08854a-713c-4c93-a3f4-14962846d2f7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/434170/4c08854a-713c-4c93-a3f4-14962846d2f7) --- More Blog Posts: ← [How to Hire for Future Growth](http://blog.eosworldwide.com/blog/how-to-hire-for-future-growth) | [Get More from Your Meetings with a Powerful Pause](http://blog.eosworldwide.com/blog/get-more-from-your-meetings-with-powerful-pause) → ![eos-tools-dark.jpg](http://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/eos-tools-dark.jpg "eos-tools-dark.jpg") ## Unlock The Toolbox. Simple tools that empower entrepreneurs to get what they want from their businesses. [![Get the Tools](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/434170/e494c32e-ba98-45ae-b7d5-5704dc4345e4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/434170/e494c32e-ba98-45ae-b7d5-5704dc4345e4) [![EOS-logo-web-500](https://info.eosworldwide.com/hs-fs/hubfs/EOS-logo-web-500.png?width=250&name=EOS-logo-web-500.png)](https://eosworldwide.com)   ### Follow EOS on Social: #### Subscribe to Email Updates: