The top CEO’s of the Fortune 500 companies rely on accurate information required to steer their organizations future strategy. Most CEO’s would tell you they are inundated with internal operating reports, analysis about everything and anything.
Externally they read The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes and Fortune Magazines. They also read books about strategy and reports about their competition. A Leaders job is to see the future of their market and steer the organization to that vision based on the information they have consumed. Productivity and profitability are always the under currents required to reach a vision.
The manager’s job is to execute initiatives and strategies to move the organization to the vision established by the leader. Managers are supposed to work with people and processes that enable the organization to improve the momentum by which the organization progresses towards the vision. Managing productivity and profitably is the means of reaching a vision.
What Are The Common Disconnects?
The people who are managed can only accomplish that which they are enabled to do through the systems and environments set by management. The people closes to the “system and the environment” know the most about the constraints that inhibit progress. In other words most everyone below management or the people that serves on the front line.
Cultures that have lead people to believe that management doesn’t want to hear the truth rather only truths that are convenient to their positions. Cultures which promote customer service to the external world but don’t provide the tools or the environments to truly serve the customer are a major part of the problem.
Leaders don’t see or hear of these issues because communications to the top are buffered by management.
Meanwhile customer service continues to decline and employee turnover increases. Problems are further aggravated when the organizational design consist of operating silos measured independently of the whole.
The social web is filled with stories which verify these disconnects. The conversations reflect the real story, uncensored, transparent and told by the people.
Maybe leaders should simply do a Google blog search on their company and make these stories their new reading list. One other thing, ask the people, not the managers, how to solve the problems. There lies your true assessment of your market, the conversations.
What say you?
Have an awesome week..
Slainte
Gordon
Let the shofar blow
