When the spark has gone...

When a company transitions from being founder-led to being shareholder-led, a very sharp shift occurs. No longer is the inner fire the driving force; instead, value generation takes precedence. This marks a shift from intrinsic motivation to extrinsic motivation, from passionate involvement to seeking maximum returns. From that moment on, profit, ‘making money,’ becomes the priority. Even the language changes. It shifts from a deeply held vision, often dreamt by the founders, of what could be achieved, to a polished PowerPoint presentation with the mission, vision, and strategy. From a genuine purpose to a metaphor. From ‘we are going to show the world that everything can be glued together with what we’ve invented, because it’s one-of-a-kind fantastic!’ to something like ‘Our mission is to solve problems through science and technology, enhancing lives and creating lasting value for stakeholders'. You feel the difference in genuine passion?

On the stage, the owners-leaders fade into the background, and the managers appear. Then come the KPIs, the metrics, the processes, the departments with team leaders. Timesheets appear, along with posters displaying ‘the 2030 strategy.’ And suddenly, ISO 9001 becomes a real business goal, complete with its own manager and team.

Organograms suddenly become crucial, especially to display what has (unfortunately) become enormously important: the formal hierarchy. For many within the organisation, the goals deep down in their hearts become ‘managing people.’ Status replaces passion.

What were once groups of people with a common goal turn into teams with a manager, who sometimes even leads the team as if it were a group of schoolchildren. Career ladders are designed, where truly advancing in the organisation means climbing the management ladder, rather than achieving the highest level of expertise.

Once this is clearly visible and is seen by the people in the company as the normal state of affairs, the transition is complete. Then it’s simply about working for the money. And the strange thing is that what I’ve described above is often seen in much of the management literature as ‘normal,’ as ‘professionalisation.’ That it’s necessary for growth, you need shareholder money, investment. And they want ‘ROI.’

Really? Is this truly the way things go? But when the internal drivers of ‘the fire’ turn into ‘making money for the shareholders,’ something else happens. Something mental within the company: the ‘owners’ are no longer truly involved! The interest is in returns. Perhaps some moral drivers remain, but these are the exceptions… Shareholders are, therefore, involved in the company in a completely different way. And it shows.

The misery is that this also becomes a disaster for the environment of that company. Through the pursuit of returns ‘no matter what.’ I think we’re all familiar with the examples…

To finish off positively: I recognise that this is recognised. That true passion regains momentum. Not in the least because the youngest generations want that. They are my beacon of hope!