Leadership and Stuffed Shrimp

I just finished reading an article by the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in which they come to the conclusion that the shocking succession of corporate meltdowns signals a massive leadership failure across the financial services landscape. The article (Leadership Fails Wall Street by The Wharton School, 2008) continues to point out that it is their belief that executives at these troubled firms may have ignored or failed to see the level of risk their companies were taking in a crusade to enhance results and their own compensation. Risk taking, considered in many cases to be a strength of senior executives and hopefully is, becomes affected by their problem-solving and decision making skills. Some organizations have even created Decision Support Teams or Departments to provide research and resources prior to making a specific recommendation. The fact of the matter is that the executives got greedy and didn’t assess the situation as thoroughly as they should have. Why did some companies avoid entering or participating in the questionable practices that have caused the great “bailout”? It could just be that they did entertain a decision making process and were more thorough with their “what if” scenarios. It all boils down to greed and inappropriate business ethics. The personal compensation packages being offered by companies today may have played a role in the decision making process but it isn’t the single cause for this situation.

The next article that came across my computer was an article titled, Generational Interaction = Jumbo Shrimp by MyPartTimePro.com, 2008. I don’t necessarily agree with the rationale contained in this article but I do agree that the generations in the workplace today are not sharing their knowledge or expertise with anyone, let alone any one specific generation. We have a stalemate between the generations in terms of the workplace expectations of and for each. The baby boomer generation appears to be in the “no-decision” mode while the other generations are in a “let me make the decision mode” and nothing is getting done. Succession planning is at a standstill because to plan for such means that the “boomers” will have to eventually give up their turf and head out to pasture. They appear to not be willing to share the knowledge and expertise to make good decision makers out of the younger generation. The “no one taught us” or “we had to roll up our sleeves and get down and dirty to learn our trade” is the mantra of the “boomers”. We refuse to move the generations forward without making them “sweat and toil” like we did. The fact of the matter is that we have had some more ups and downs then they have had, but in reality, we have had it pretty easy and the “boomers” are sitting there pretty “fat and happy” for the most part. Now the financial downturn has caused the “boomers” to have second thoughts about retiring and hoping that the market corrects itself with the next few years.

I think we have a “stuffed shrimp” scenario. We are not willing to develop and mold our future leaders. Everyone is satisfied with status quo and no one wants to hand the torch off to their successor. Family businesses now have three generations in the fold with no sight of the elder generation leaving and turnover at the Executive Level appears to be slowing down. Unemployment is starting to rise again and hiring is on hold. This economic downturn is certainly contributing to the lack of movement in the business community. Business leaders must ask themselves the century old question; do the benefits outweigh the risks? If they do, try to take one step forward and show some initiative to change or we may never get out of this predicament.

Are You Focusing on Your Dashboard?

I am working with an organization today that is creating a Decision Support Department to integrate all the data and information available to assist in making the “best” decision. Most small businesses and mid-size companies do not have the financial capabilities or available people to create such a department. All companies have the ability to manage data, monitor progress, and formulate benchmarks…..but they don’t or, let me be kind, don’t do it well.

Let’s compare companies to automobiles. All managers and supervisors, no matter what vehicle they are driving, need to glance at the dashboard periodically and it hopefully will reflect some sort of information that will be valuable in determining how the vehicle is performing and assist them in their decision-making processes relative to good car care.
The number of gauges available to you will vary according to your role and responsibilities associated with the vehicle. Some of the managers or supervisors will be driving “Mini-Coopers” while others may be driving “Chevrolet Malibus”. Senior management may drive a “BMW or Audi”, while the CFO and CEO will drive “Mercedes”. Remember, the difference in vehicle relates to the size and sophistication of company they work for while the dashboard enables them to view their performance at any point in time with the vehicle running.

Dashboards (a millennial business buzz word) should be popping up in most businesses because we need to get back into a goal-oriented environment. Competition is hotter than ever, great employees are scarcer than ever, knowledge pools are retiring at a rapid pace, and technology is moving faster than a speeding bullet. In other words, we better have a pulse on the performance of our vehicle to make sure it can handle the long trip or the excessive weight of the trailer. We need to make sure we glance at our gauges every few minutes to make sure we don’t overheat or ruin the engine by not adding oil.

One of the competencies that are needed by the leader of a company today is forward thinking. It relates to the ability to focus on the desired outcome and formulating a plan that can be implemented to achieve that specific outcome. Outcomes are only as good as the metrics you have incorporated in the plan and measured during implementation and define the desired outcome…..in other words, metrics allow us to measure our performance.

There are all kinds of fancy software that can make your vehicle’s dashboard look like a Mercedes. Or, there is a simple screensaver program that allows you to put the Dashboard right on your computer screen. We need to get back to basics. We need to focus on the things that got us here and monitor the things that are going to get us where we want to go. By clearly establishing benchmarks and monitoring our progress by recognizing what we do that makes a difference, we will continue to be highly competitive, profitable, and here for years to come. CEO’s and Business Owners, start your engines and watch your gauge . . .you need everyone in the company to focus on your goals!