Should have gone to specsavers....
A young woman, in her early 30s, just a few years out of business school, is thrust into a leadership position in her engineering company. The company’s position is precarious: a woeful balance sheet; little cash; and large numbers of immediate repairs needed (and we are talking significant infrastructure here). The needs are profound, the resources nowhere near deep enough. As she takes charge, bringing new personnel and new priorities, more chaos is whipped into the pre-existing chaos. The resulting decision-paralysis should have been inescapable. And it likely would have been if Jenny hadn’t made clear exactly what needed to be done.
She decided her top priority was to lift the company out of its precarious, cash-strapped financial state. To do this, Jenny and her 45 year old CFO developed four rules to govern the company’s spend:
2020 vision
Rule 1 - money will only be invested in projects that allow the company to earn more revenue in the short term;
Rule 2 - the best solution to any problem is the one that costs the least money up front - even if it ends up costing more in the long term, and even if it is a lower-quality solution;
Rule 3 - options that would fix a problem quickly are preferable to slower options that would provide superior long term fixes;
Rule 4 - reusing or recycling existing materials is better than acquiring new materials.
By dint of this clear focus (unblock revenue, minimise up-front cash, faster is better than best, and use what you’ve got) Jenny and team were able to turn things around.
This story is about clarity. And as we come to the end of 2019, it provides a convenient lever to think about three key areas leaders should reflect on:
what do you see as your core ‘responsibilities’ as a leader?
what are the core priorities for your organisation next year? and
what are YOUR core priorities for next year?
Core Responsibilities as Leader
Jack Ma, recently departed Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group (one of the most successful companies of all time) defined his as follows: set a clear and strong vision; find the right people (smarter than you in what they do); and make sure they can work together - by driving the right culture.*
What are yours?
Core priorities for your organisation next year
Are you then clear on the core priorities for your organisation next year, and what ‘rules’ you need in place to make sure they happen? The easy answer might be “just look at the strategy document” but have you? And is it still valid?
YOUR core priorities next year
And finally, time is precious, so what are your core priorities. One of my favourite Stephen Covey mantras is: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” In deciding this as leaders, it’s not just about thinking what the organisation needs. It’s also thinking specifically about what it needs from YOU. Which is why I love this from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: “one of the things we sometimes confuse is all of the things we should be doing versus all the things only you could do.”
There are of course challenges around this, not least that it can be easier to do the ‘other stuff’. Bill Walsh, legendary San Francisco 49ers coach and author of the bible for many sports coaches, The Score Takes Care of Itself, notes how focusing on time-consuming trivialities can create a false sense of control and accomplishment. John Wooden, another legendary American coach and leader, this time of basketball, made the same point: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”
So what’s your focus for 2020?
Time is precious, use it wisely.
*This comes from a recording of Jack Ma’s Q&A session at Davos in 2018. It’s a brilliant 55 minute listen, containing gems including:
as a leader your job is to say unhappy things when everyone is happy, and happy things when everyone is unhappy;
the best product of your company is your employees; and
being a great CEO is like being a great teacher - always aspiring for your students/people to be better than they believe they can be, always learning, and always sharing.