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CEO Tips for Hiring a Change Agent and Turning Around a Business |
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from WSJ January 21, 1998
(Whether you are in trouble or not, change ain't easy. These are great tips to consider before hiring a change agent to install a new marketing system.)
- Make it Snappy - few businesses in trouble have the luxury of waiting for deliberate and considered planning before taking action. Stem the cash flows quickly.
- Make it personal - Hold those in charge accountable.
- Take some friends - You'll have a head start if you bring along some folks accustomed to your style.
- Beware of predators - Sad stories are common when an in-place CEO changes his mind, or the change agent has a different understanding of what and how much change the organization's leaders will tolerate and support. What is the atmosphere and how much authority with the change agent have to remove predators?
- Clang the symbols - symbolic gestures are important because that is what the grapevine will pickup on and pass around to all levels of the organization. What you do is more important and sends a clearer message than what you say.
- No chain saw - The best known turn around agents take a chain saw to the place, but that's not the only or even the best way to redirect an organization. You need to assess whether the organization will be more or less able to compete minus a percentage of their workforce. In a highly competitive market, you will quickly disintegrate the organization by laying off workers (who will be snapped up by your competitors) and demoralizing the remaining workforce.
- Fit is it - Be sure you know what you are looking for before hiring the change agent. Do you want a hands-on type who will wade into the business, looking for systemic improvements? Or do you want a strategic thinker who will assess the business from the outside in and make changes such as buying complimentary businesses and realigning long term product lines? Have a clear idea of what you are looking for before you hire the change agent.
- Tell the truth - The employees always know what is really going on. They want to know whether management knows and whether they have the nerve to face the issues. Dancing around, lying about the firm's finances, putting on a Pollyanna face only disappoints and disheartens the organization. When the "stars" don't know whether management "gets it" they leave for higher ground. When the entire organization doesn't know whether management can find their way out of the problems, they hesitate to take on responsibility and are slow to react to new initiatives, because they don't want to get caught in a sudden management change.
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