Five Reasons Your Vision Isn't Happening ...New Solutions. - Walter Sabo

Common sense and gut instinct is ignored in these books and therefore their advice is rarely effective in the field For thirty plus years I39ve learned how companies really work from the vantage points of the coffee room hallways and dropintomy office gossipy conversations The companies I39ve worked for or consulted are ones you39ve heard of and possibly admired Often they succeed spectacularly often their failures are breathtaking I39ve contributed to both scenarios I am writing a book from my experiences as an executive on demand an advisor to great corporate leadersUsually the leader of a company or corporate division has terrific vision Just as often it fails to be executed My book will attempt to detail why there is a chasm between vision and results and offer solutions Start with these1 WELCOME TO THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROADYou can39t build a truly modern company with 150yearold job titles and org charts Apple39s greatest organizational achievement is they hand out titles like CHIEF EVANGELIST Most corporations today are structured exactly the way they were in the days of the Pennsylvania Railroad Why Are you running a Railroad How did that turn out anyway Even official State papers of incorporation ask for the titles of the ancientsBaby boomers have been anxious to put in a new structure for some time now When are they going to be in charge The people who protested Vietnam helped usher in Civil Rights got rid of the gym requirements and made coed dorms the norm are now in their 5039s and 6039s Their ideals should be the guiding principles of business life But that is not the case Companies are still structured and employees titled in the mold of Henry FordThrow out the titles tomorrow and look hard at your goals and tasks Relabel according to today39s initiatives Change them again as needed2 ROTATE THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER EVERY TWO YEARSThe problem with every public corporation is that the CFO is the smartest person in the company Always Heshe has the math brain got 1600 on the SAT39s and has the MBA Because they are smart they are certain that they can do the job of CEO better than the CEO because he believes that the CEO is loose with the facts and sloppy with detail In clever quiet CFO ways the CFO always undermines the CEO in an attempt to get their job Look at the horror show at Time Inc where the brilliant CEO Jack Griffin lasted six months He excelled in sales brought the company into the digital age and got raves from Jeff Bewkes What got him bootedWhat killed him was that the CFO and the Chief Counsel apparently weren39t invited to all of Jack39s creative and sales meetings Can you imagine They crossed their arms pouted and said him or us Those two Pennsylvania Railroad titled executives are supposed to SERVE the CEO But they rarely do they always want the job they are scary smart and they are all insideintrigue and politics Meanwhile the CEO is giving speeches stating vision and managing dozens of diverse executives The CEO is working and the CFO is sawing the planks out from under himLearn from retail bankers When you go to your bank branch you39ll notice that from time to time the whole staff seems to change Rotation of employees is a policy of big banks to compel employees to stick to securities39 laws and not play favorites with any given customer In fact if you are a high ranking exec at a bank you must take your vacation and the location of that vacation must be over fifty miles from home Many nonprofits also have firm rules mandating rotation of serviceThe CFO job should be a twoyear job Pay and tenure them like members of a boy band Big check leave when your welcome is worn out3 YOUR BEST FRIEND AT WORK IS NOT YOUR BEST FRIENDMost CEO39s have a visionkilling flaw The Best Friend At Work The best friend at work blocks the execution of the CEO39s vision more than any other factor Once I attended a reception in the anteroom outside the CEO39s office of a threeletter company The boss39 best friend urged another executive at the reception to go in and tell the boss his idea The executive marched in to the CEO to sell his idea As he walked into the den of death the best friend looked at my crowd and said quotThat isn39t going to do him any goodquotOver and over I39ve seen the boss express a vision a tough one to execute but doable and the moment he leaves the room the best friend says quotThat39s crazy He39s wrong We can39t do thatquot I39ve witnessed this at virtually every company I39ve watched up close for the past 30 yearsThere are two types of best friends at work The one who follows you jobtojob oddly incapable of working for anyone else And the embedded best friend who was also the prior CEO39s best friend at the same company ie The throne whisperer They agree with all initiatives celebrate your idiosyncrasies and will change religion to that of the CEO if necessary Both dilute damage or destroy the CEO39s vision Get your best friends at college not work4 IF EVERYBODY AGREES YOU39RE DEADA fresh intriguing vision must be processed and incorporated into existing patterns and thoughts For that to happen your staff must challenge your vision and ask questions Lots of questionsIf there are no questions when you present your vision your vision will not be executed In former APPLE CEO Gil Amelio39s book he expressed frustration that none of his meetings with the team resulted in any actions just silence In the same book he also admitted to driving a Cordoba which was no doubt the root of his problems with the Volvo driving Apple evangelists If you share your vision and the response is silence your staff hasn39t processed the information and they have no intention of committing to the plan They are going to wait you out and hope you forget the plan or get fired The person who asks the hardest questions the toughest questions and keeps asking them is your true best friend5 YOUR RECEPTIONIST KNOWS EVERYTHINGThe elevator door opens and you are greeted by atelephone and directory of employees Not a receptionist a phone You look at the list and usually the person you want to visit isn39t on it What a lousy way to welcome a guest having them work the switchboard After you dial in the extension twicethe first time you will dial it incorrectlythe phone rings on some poor loser39s desk that has a fulltime job and now also has to be a receptionist The guest stands in the hall for longer than you can imagine and a very distracted resentful employee then lets them in DumbInstead staff the greeting desk and empower that greeter Let them know they are your eyes and ears You will be asking them what they think of guests job applicants and vendors When the meeting with the guest starts invite the receptionist to sitin and express their opinion Watch the face of the visitor when you do thatBy having the receptionist participate in the flow of information at your company there will be many positive results First heshe will 100 contribute to the execution of your vision Secondly it will be clear you39re running a democracy and in the long run they last Third a tone of humility is established and humility means quotto be teachablequot Finally executives who are too quiet too reserved will find ways to participate and contribute to your vision because they don39t want to be shown up by the receptionistThanks for reading this In the comment section if you have thoughts about why visions vanish at most companies it would be great if you shared themThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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