I'm Serious That Change Is Always the?Answer?

People need clear direction and a sense of urgency to understand how serious you?are.?

I was working on a Board of Directors with an entrepreneur helping her find her way out of some troubling situations.

Cash was tight.

Employees were leaving.

Monthly financials were not being delivered on time.

Board meetings had vanished.

Investors were nervous.

Two years ago, there was a level of enthusiasm that the company could grow to over $100mm.

That vision appears to be gone.

I met with this entrepreneur to ask questions and understand what had gone wrong.

What is the purpose of your company?

What is in your way to achieving this purpose?

What happens differently when you achieve your purpose? It must be meaningful and differentiating.

By achieving this purpose, will positive cash flow be available to sustain the business?

Is the business growing sales and EBITDA? If not, why?

These aren’t easy questions for anyone to answer.

Is the problem the next generation?

In the echos of dusty conference rooms and annual meeting halls, I hear that “this new generation” just doesn’t get it.

What don’t they get? That a business must make money, or they will not get paid? This new generation is full of smart people and that thought is naive.

I hear that leaders must be more sensitive to their employees, or the employees will quit.?

Really?

I accept that the leadership of a company must be sensitive to the environment within which employees work. The results of the company will not be sustainable if the work environment is unhealthy.

The optimal environment should be defined by the leadership team with input from all employees. However, the company leadership has a right to ask for and expect commitment to the company’s purpose and financial performance.?

And to deliver on these commitments.

Does this new generation not understand the economics surrounding these principles?

I believe that the leadership, which is not the next generation, has gone soft and is using this as an excuse.

Change is the answer, which takes courage.

Enabling change requires three components.

Change Equation = (D x V >?R)?

Dissatisfaction times Vision of the Future is greater than Resistance to Change. Beckhard-Harris 1960's

Having the experiences to share with the CEO of the above-mentioned company, this is what I coached her to do with her culture.

• Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for herself and each of her leadership team. specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Manage the performance metrics closely and if you have a sales growth problem, you engage heavily with your sales and marketing leaders to understand what and or who the problem is. Realizing that when you focus your efforts on the areas that are troubled, the leaders of those departments take it personally. As they should.
• If you don’t see change happening in a positive fashion (meaning financials starting to improve), you must start a performance improvement plan with the sales leader.?

This is how that conversation goes. CEO says,

Mike, we have worked together for several years now and unfortunately, you and your team are not growing sales at the planned rate. Thus, I am placing you on a PIP (performance improvement plan).?

Look, we are senior executives and there is another option. Rather than work through a PIP that you and your team aren’t likely to achieve, I want to offer you the option to resign. I will help you with this transition and you can leave the company on your terms.

Here is the lesson from this situation. You are executing accountability. Whatever Mike does, his peers and sales team see that change is happening, like it or not.?

You handle it with class, respect for the individual and send a powerful message to the organization. Whether it is your action or their action.

Change is now alive in your business. You need results and if the current team can’t deliver, someone else will.?

You have the opportunity to take advantage of a momentum shift that comes from the change in leadership. This will likely be the CEO acting as interim Head of Sales, while a search is started for a full-time replacement. Engage with the field sales leaders and pay attention to what they are telling you about the sales team and how to get them to perform.

Your next steps are to continue to hold your leadership team accountable as you identify others who may need the motivation of a PIP or potential exit.?

This is increasing the dissatisfaction level of your team. By taking these actions the “D” in the Change equation is accelerating change in your business.

The Change methodology works

The leader of the business must step up and do these things with no compromise.

In my experience, the organization sees these things happening with the top-level leadership and it is reassuring to them.

Everyone is being held accountable not just front-line employees.

You are not in the leader’s role to make friends. Either your team respects you or they are afraid of you.?

A little of both is ideal.?

Ultimately you are accountable for the performance of the business, the level of employee engagement, and the satisfaction level of customers.

How serious are you? Dead serious.