“Stop! How Does What You Just Did Resemble My Advice?!”

Several years ago a close friend handed me a book on investing. “Here, Dov. You can keep this lousy book. I followed this guy’s advice and it doesn’t work.”

I had read that book already. I was also very familiar with my friend’s investment choices. This is for sure: Had the author been peering over my friend’s shoulder as he made his stock market decisions, the author would have been appalled. “Stop! What are you doing?! How does what you just did resemble my advice?” he would have yelled.


Executives will often say things like “We want to implement Good to Great in our organization.” Or, “We are developing a Blue Ocean Strategy.” Or some other worthy management ideas. We’ve all been there. Think back to the last time you wanted to implement an idea of significance in your organization? If only it were so easy!

When the time comes to act on someone’s advice there is a roadblock to avoid: the half-baked measure. It is tempting at times to jump into action before we really understand. It is tempting to skip the most important step of all: clear thinking and ruthless planning.

If Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”) or Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (authors of “Blue Ocean Strategy”) were looking over your shoulder, would they agree that you followed their advice? Would they consider you a true student – or just another pupil who killed some time in their hardcover classroom?


Dov Gordon’s CEO Thought-Provoker™ Questions:

1. When working to implement a new program:
   
   Are you in danger of doing a superficial job?
   
   Do you slow down long enough to identify what you really want to accomplish? Most good ideas are a means to an end. If your destination isn’t clear -- any management fad will take you there.
   
2. Do you have employees who come to work hot-to-trot with some new idea they’ve picked up somewhere? Challenge them on it. Respectfully of course and with the sole intention being to see how well they have thought it through. Challenge how their idea fits with what you are trying to create.
   
3. Chew on this for a few minutes: “Too often, people would rather do something than think about the purpose of the doing. For them, action is the same as progress.” Robert F. Mager in “Goal Analysis” a very insightful and funny book. A classic.
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What our clients say about a strategy retreat we facilitated:

“…Prior to hiring Dov we thought that as businessmen with successful businesses we should be able to do this ourselves. When we concluded the strategy retreat and looked back we agreed that had we met alone, we would have accomplished but a fraction of what Dov helped us achieve...

"I believe that what we did with Dov on those two days was probably the most important and valuable step we took at Datamercial all year." -- Ari Ginsberg, President, Datamercial Inc.

What Do You Do When You Need Someone Whose Nose Isn't Pressed to the Same Glass?

RESEARCH: I just returned from New York. A client flew me in for two days to run a strategy retreat. It is always striking how much value a skilled outsider can bring to a discussion of talented executives. It is equally striking how frequently talented executives resist such help when they need someone whose nose isn’t pressed up against the same glass as their own.

What’s your experience with bringing in outside help? Do you? Don’t you? Have you had good experiences? Bad? Both?

Comment below or send me an email. dov@gordongroupec.com

“We Can’t Fire Him. He’s the Only One Who Knows How to…”

How to Eliminate Internal Politicking and Reduce Your Role As A Referee.

The CEO of a $20,000,000+ manufacturer had just told me that the seven members of his senior management team couldn’t get along. Three of them wouldn’t even speak to each other. One of them, Bob, who heads manufacturing and related operations, is a master at politicking and creating discord.

“We’ve tried many things, and I’m not sure what to do. I’ve hired a consultant to sit with them and facilitate discussions. They met maybe half a dozen times, but it was a complete waste of time and money.”

“Have you thought about firing any of them, particularly Bob – the serial friction meister?” I asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t fire him. He’s the only one who really knows how to run that operation. I don’t know where we’d find someone to replace him!”

“That’s your first mistake,” I said. “And it is the root of your other mistakes. No one is indispensable.”


When you find yourself with unacceptable levels of internal politics amongst your subordinates. these guidelines should help.

1. Banish forever the idea that certain people can’t be replaced. We are all replaceable.

2. Clarify the real impact of the politicking? Is it merely unpleasant but inconsequential or does it bury your momentum? What price is the organization paying?

3. Decide that you will not accept responsibility for what is really someone else’s load.

4. Check to see if there are systemic or environmental causes for this bickering. Are they compensated in such a way where one wins even while the other loses? When you find such causes, act to remove them immediately. Monitor for behavioral changes.

5. Remind your people that A, B and C are the expected performance outcomes and progress towards these goals is measured by X, Y and Z. If someone shows himself to be more a Berlin Wall than an earth mover, he or she is in the wrong organization.

6. Prepare to fire them. Prepare for the transition by determining: What will be the immediate impact of his leaving? How can we prepare and therefore minimize the impact?

An executive I know recently faced this issue. A key team member’s performance deteriorated and the employee began to rattle his chain. The executive realized that too much know-how was locked in this fellow’s head. He began involving more people in the analysis and decision making processes to reduce the company’s dependence on this person. The current plan is to fire him soon and find a replacement.

Follow these steps and not only will your organization be better off for it, but you will once again enjoy your job as CEO rather than chief arbiter.

The Gordon Group can help you and your organization move beyond politicking and infighting amongst key insiders. Make sure your systems really do encourage team work and don’t give excessive clout to any individual. Contact us at dov@gordongroupec.com.