Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance

Book by Neilson Gary L Pasternack Bruce A

Chapter One: A TALE OF TWO MANAGERS

Why is it that some organizations can bob and weave and roll with the punches, consistently delivering on commitments and producing great results, while others can't seem to leave their corner of the ring without tripping on their own shoelaces? To answer that question, let's start by taking a closer look at what's going on beneath the surface.

It's late in the morning one day in early April as Judy DeGrasse and George Sullivan emerge from the quarterly management meeting deep in conversation about what the CEO, Bill Corrigan, has just said. Judy, a new account manager in ZZ Electronics'* core media products division, is invigorated. Corrigan has just announced a major new device that promises to not only accelerate sales growth but also to catapult the company to the forefront of the industry. It will deliver greater performance at lower cost and resurrect the company's flagging brand . . . all by Christmas, when the new product is scheduled for release.

George, on the other hand, is unenthused. A director in the market research department and fifteen-year company veteran, he has seen this show before, and he knows how it will end. The top brass paint a good big picture, but they never provide the resources that the rank-and-file need to deliver on the vision--not just the bodies and the budget, but the information, the decision-making authority, and the incentives to get it done. In his gut, George knows this will be just another failed program-of-the-month. Of course, his cynicism did not keep him from raising his hand along with everyone else when Corrigan asked them all to signal their commitment.

"You want to grab some lunch?" George asks Judy.

"Thanks, but I'd better eat at my desk today. I'll need to meet with my team this afternoon to start brainstorming. I'm not sure how we'll get this all done before the holiday shopping season hits."

"Whoa, Judy, let me give you a little advice. You've got to pace yourself or you're going to burn out. There's no way we're going to make that deadline, and there's no sense killing yourself in the attempt. Never in my fifteen years with ZZ Electronics have we turned a new product around in six months, and we're not going to start now. We just lost ten people in my unit during the last round of cutbacks, and the ones I have left are working on that market analysis project that was last week's priority number one. If anyone had bothered to ask me before this meeting, I would have told them this was a nonstarter."

"Yes, but Bill said we're going to halve the cycle time on this, and I think we can do it," persists Judy. "We've got the best engineers in the industry. So, it takes a few nights and weekends. This might just put us back on the map."

George chuckles, "Well, then go for it. I admire your spirit, Judy."

Judy returns to the office to find it empty. Her colleagues, like George, are at lunch. So Judy takes the initiative and draws up an action plan, which she e-mails to various people in the organization who will provide critical inputs. A week passes and no response. Judy hopes that their silence means they are in agreement and implementing the plan, but she harbors the suspicion that maybe George is right.

Meanwhile, the marketing department has sent out a press release and industry analysts are talking up this new product. It is better, faster, cheaper, and will be in stores everywhere in time for Christmas. The trains of internal commitment and external expectation have left the station, and they are on a collision course.

The first casualty: the CEO. When the third quarter closes at the end of September and the promised new product is not ready for shipment, ZZ Electronics' stock takes a nosedive . . . as does Bill Corrigan's credibility with the trade and financial community. The board, feeling the heat of an irate market, summarily ousts Corrigan, installing a senior director as interim head of the company. The search commences for a permanent replacement . . . and the organization hangs in limbo, not sure what the new regime will bring.

George and Judy meet at the end of the year for lunch. George is solicitous. Judy is chastened. Not only did her e-mail fall on deaf ears, but she's been reprimanded by her boss for reaching out to other parts of the organization without his express approval. Her wings have been clipped.

"You were right," she admits as she orders a glass of wine.

"No, you are," replies George, "we should be winning in the marketplace, not wheezing our way to the finish line. But there's something about this place that brings out the bare minimum instead of the best in people. I stopped trying to figure out why two CEOs ago."

A business is basically a collection of people working toward a common goal. The same can be said of any government or charitable enterprise. Yet, anyone who has worked in an organization of any size--private or public--has experienced firsthand the individual behaviors that can take root and either help or hinder an organization's ultimate results.1 George's "wait and see" attitude . . . the slap on the wrist Judy receives . . . Marketing's blithe ignorance of the true status of the new product . . . these are all examples of the individual counterproductive behaviors that impede organizational performance. Yes, the external marketplace today is unquestionably more demanding, and, yes, the CEO is partly to blame when things go wrong. But the true enemy too often lies deeper within. As one middle manager we recently worked with put it, "We have inflicted more pain on ourselves than have our competitors."

If you listen closely to the lunchroom chatter at organizations like the one George and Judy work for, chances are you'll hear some of the same complaints:

*"Everyone agrees on a course of action, but nothing changes."

*"There goes another opportunity, while we wait for a decision."

*"It's a great idea; it'll never happen."

*"I'm either micromanaged or left holding the bag."

*"The businesses and functions just aren't working together to get results."

*"I don't feel motivated to go the extra mile. What's in it for me?"

*"Ready . . . aim . . . aim . . . aim . . ."

*"We have the right strategy and a clear implementation plan, but we can't seem to execute."

Why do these statements resonate with so many people at companies like ZZ Electronics? Why, in a nutshell, are there so many more Georges than Judys in so many organizations? We could throw around a lot of consulting jargon and show you a series of complex charts, but the reason is too simple for such devices. People at work--whether they're top executives, senior managers, middle managers, or business professionals--are products of their environment . . . and most organizations are inherently unhealthy.

THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL

But the damage is not permanent. It's reversible. And that's the message of this book. It's within your power to make your organization healthy. By focusing on the building blocks of how your organization works--or doesn't--you can keep what's good, fix what's wrong, and unlock performance to produce great results. The self-defeating behaviors you witness every day are not external factors beyond your control. They are the direct result of your actions and decisions . . . and those of every other person working within your organization. The key to unlocking superior results is aligning those thousands of daily actions and decisions with the strategic objectives of the enterprise.

This goal--getting everyone in your organization from the top to the bottom aligned to achieve great results--is not wishful thinking. It starts with a little self-analysis. First, however, you need to determine whether you are a George or a Judy. The Georges dismiss the possibility of organizational transformation as so much science fiction. Judys celebrate the ability of optimistic individuals to change the world.

Some organizational fixes require leadership from the top, and we'll discuss these, but, in our experience, there are more opportunities for people in the middle of the organization to make a real impact than is commonly addressed or even perceived by the individuals themselves. Not only can middle managers make a difference, but no significant change is possible without their commitment and follow-through. As our opening story illustrates, top management's directives mean very little unless they are translated into individual behavior changes further down in the organization.

The key to inspiring such pervasive change is developing a common view on what works (and should be kept) and what is wrong and how to fix it. That's where this book comes in. It provides individual managers at every level with an objective perspective on their organization, one they could not otherwise acquire from the inside. Furthermore, it quickly moves beyond a diagnosis to a set of specific remedies designed to generate results. By taking an online self-assessment survey of nineteen short questions, you can generate an instant snapshot of your organization--what it looks like, how it tends to behave, and, most important, where the dysfunctions are and how to fix them.

What you do with that information is your choice. You can resolve to change your own behavior and, by so doing, inspire change in others. You can get your whole organization to take the survey and evaluate results and potential remedies tog...