I was talking to the CEO of a prospect the other day about strategy and strategy execution and he said something that I thought so simple and yet was so wise. First some background. This gentleman has built his reputation on going into ailing companies and turning them around. He has turned around companies of all sizes and across a number of industries. Not once, he told me, did he ever go into a company and have to retrench people en-masse. Yes, he had got rid of people, but they tended to be incompetent managers/leaders.
When I asked what his general approach to strategy was he said simply 'the pursuit of happiness'. People/employees want to be happy, he said, and in the main, they want others to be happy so in general they relate to discussions around happiness. If leaders could simply explain what would make them happy in simple terms, them employees would be more engaged. However, leaders tend to get consumed with measures and terminology that the majority of employees don't understand or can't relate to in terms of the overall pursuit of happiness of the organization.
It is a simple concept for sure, but it is a wise one nevertheless and one that needs more thought. I wonder if when talking to our employees we started with the phrase 'It would make me happy if .......' and then outlined in simple terms what would indeed make you happy. Worth a shot I think.
Yours in execution.
ian
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Posted by: Daniel Milstein | January 27, 2012 at 12:09 PM