Harry S. Dennis III, For SBT
This month I’m going to discuss a syndrome that really goes by no name but, like a computer virus, it can wear and tear a business in a slow marauding way. And it’s hard to pinpoint its genesis, as is true with most viruses.
The iceberg tip takes on several different colors, but usually shows itself in one or more of the following forms:
1. Bad news is routine, good news the exception.
2. People who have had the habit of staying late seem to be leaving early.
3. Customers who were always available seem to be increasingly unavailable.
4. Common mistakes in simple data procedures are becoming the norm, not the exception.
5. Project timelines are not being met.
6. Budget overages are occurring too frequently.
7. A key manager takes another job at the same pay and responsibility level.
8. Vendors are tightening their credit requirements.
9. Company "hygiene" is looking like a worn rug.
10. Rumors about everything are everywhere.
This list is not exhaustive. I bet if you are getting my drift, you are already adding to it. Like I said earlier, a virus runs in a marauding way. But in many respects, a multi-symptomatic virus in a business organization offers up an opportunity to take quick and decisive action.
Specifically, the CEO should stop and smell the roses for the moment. What got us to where we are today? Who made it happen? Who was on the sidelines cheering us along (bankers, attorneys, consultants, peer counsel, etc.)? What are our underlying competencies that no one can steal from us?
I like the idea of implementing an "authority matrix." This is a way of redefining roles in the organization according to the following legend:
L = Assigning lead responsibility to someone who has a 100% mandate to make things happen.
C = Coordinating authority for the lead person to selectively involve others in the resolution of particular issues.
J = determining that for a given area and issue more than a lead person but a counsel" should be utilized to recommend and act on it. The CEO heads the counsel, and its composition changes from one issue to the next.
T = Forming a permanently designated team to work on an ongoing basis to address and resolve issues assigned to the team.
The "authority matrix" is a nifty way to improve a company in the following areas:
1. People matters (hiring, firing, delegation, project assignments, compensation decisions, motivation strategies, etc.)
2. Financial matters (budget development, management, amendment approvals, tax issues, etc.)
3. Administrative matters (expense approvals, office supply needs, work hour schedules, dress codes, HR compliance, etc.)
4. Strategy matters (developing strategy, making strategic choices, building business vision and missions, building competitive response models, etc.)
5. Operational matters (work priorities, work assignments, efficiency and productivity modeling, quality assurance, etc.)
6. Communication matters (downward, upward, horizontal to all stakeholders).
You take the legend, go down these six areas, and get your key players to join with you in deciding how to allocate authority within each area. If you have a business suffering from some or more of the symptoms described above, this is a mechanism to move out of reverse and move forward.
The last piece is accountability, of course. It’s a word we probably all want to gag on. But the fact of the matter is that without it, we’re lost at sea not knowing where we are or really where we want to go.
A TEC member once described an incredible voyage on his sailboat crossing Lake Michigan. They had stalled and lost their diesel, about 40 miles over. A huge summer gale storm erupted. Everything was pointing toward disaster.
He and his wife sat down and worked out a plan. They agreed who would be responsible for what and when. They kept their word and they survived.
This is not rocket scientist stuff. As I said at the beginning of this column, I don’t know how to name this "thing." But whether in a business or a boat, the same principles apply. The biggest one is that if we see the storm on the horizon, or if we are already beginning to feel its onslaught, let’s beat it at its own game!
Remember, in the beginning, all we see and hear are a bunch of symptoms – "tell me it ain’t so, Joe." In the end, we ignore them and sink, or rise to the occasion and put them in their place. Until next month, "good sailing."
Harry S. Dennis III is the president of TEC (The Executive Committee) in Wisconsin and Michigan. TEC is a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at 262-821-3340.
May 10, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
