“Who?... What?...”
Finally got to the 3rd chapter of "Good to Great". No, it was not easy for me to relate to this chapter at all. I never
had the pleasure of personally hiring someone. However, I have been involved on occasion in the decision-making process. And, yes - I do understand where Jim is coming
from. Before I end this entry, I will try to simplify the business concept. That is, "First Who, then What" is nothing short of intuitive when we fall-back on some basics.
In my thirteen years of corporate exposure, I have had the opportunity to work in several environments
where the “right people" where already "on the bus”. Similarly, other environments with
the “wrong people”. I have had the opportunity to lead people – but not by
authority. Because the project demanded it, I was suddenly taking charge of several individuals, each with their own agenda. Herding cats would actually be easy by comparison.
In the occasions where I was lucky enough to have the right people, the team was
focused and ready to run. On the other not-so-lucky occasions, I secretly wished I
could have changed the “occupants on the bus” - not just where they where sitting. Ha. Unfortunately, it was not my place to do so.
However, that’s not quite what the chapter is about. It is viewed from a much higher level and encompasses the business concept/model from a management viewpoint. No doubt, Jim Collins seems to have a “formula” for the path to greatness, and is as follows:
So - Is Jim talking
about getting rid of people and getting the ones you want?
Nope.
One of the things Jim makes clear is that you are supposed
to make “Who” decisions first: Before vision, before strategy, etc. Then – once
you have all the right people, the “What” decisions can be made. Furthermore,
he emphasizes that good-to-great leaders are rigorous, not ruthless. They do
not rely on layoffs and restructuring. What they do rely on is on a practical
discipline for being rigorous which consists of the following decision-making:
- When in doubt, don’t hire – keep looking.
- When you know you need to make a people change, act. (Could have someone in the wrong seat)
- Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems.
Flashback - about 5 years ago or so....
(Yep - that's my Mom!)
When I was part-owner and V.P. at Mercado Las Americas and
Mamita’s Gourmet, I could have been faced with the dilemma of growth and having to find
the right people. I probably would have wanted people that had
to been in line with our company’s strategy. Not the other way around. I did not
know any better back then. Not to mention that most of what Jim explains is
counter-intuitive.
This is probably what I would have done (Although I am no genius and probably never will be):
However, let’s say, I was still V.P. of Operations at Mamita’s Gourmet and I never
would have read "Good to Great". Next, let's imagine me needing to hire those who could take the company to the next level. I would still understand that synergy can arise if I
where to listen and embrace the differences of new-hires. Wait - embrace differences? Listening? Isn’t
that Habits 5 and 6? I know what you’re thinking. How come everything falls-back to the 7 Habits? Maybe because I
love finding a way to unravel Big,
Complex Business Concepts with them! :-) That is right, unravel them into the simplicity of us being effective people. And here is my Nerd-moment: Just like nature simplifies
itself in higher-dimensions, so does our every-day life.
Think about it. Whenever we fall-back to the basic concepts
of being proactive and selfless, everything falls into place. The right people
can be simply defined as those we can synergize with. Deep inside we will know.
Not because they are like us, but because they will be different than us. If we
are proactive, we will know our strengths. We will also know our weaknesses and
know how to work interdependently with others to compensate.
Lastly, it would also help if the potential bus-sitters have
the win/win mentality. =)
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