SETU J September 1, 2011 No.15 If you want to get ahead be a bridge Synergy*Excellence*Transformation*Unlearning Letter to a New Leader
Time and again one comes across some piece of writing that is straight from the heart and has almost eternal value and relevance. This month we bring you a charming letter to Jane from Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy. Within each of us, irrespective of age and experience there is a Jane, who will not fail to be inspired, reminded and charmed by the letter. The letter is the last chapter of the bestseller Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done. The book is about how to be effective in delivering business results by getting jobs done. Ram Charan is legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors. Larry Bossidy is turnaround expert and stellar CEO of GE & Allied Signal (later Honeywell).
Dr. Ram Charan (born Ramcharan in 1939 in UP), worked in his family's shoe shop in Hapur. He did his engineering from Institute of Technology, BHU and later studied at Harvard Business School, for an MBA (1965) and a Ph. D. (1967). Before becoming a full-time consultant in 1978. He taught at Harvard Business School, the Kellog School of Management and Boston University. Charan is not married.at age 67, he purchased his first apartment in Dallas. Before this he did not have a home and spent every night in a hotel room or at an associate's residence. His assistants in Dallas send him new clothes via courier and he returns his dirty laundry to them. His books include Talent Masters, Leaders At All Levels', Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times, Boards That Deliver, What The CEO Wants You To Know, Boards At Work, Every Business Is A Growth Business (with Noel Trichy), Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business, Confronting Reality, Know How and Execution (with Larry Bossidy)
Lawrence A. ("Larry") Bossidy (born March 5, 1935) is retired CEO of Allied Signal (later Honeywell), and spent over 30 years rising at GE. Bossidy joined GE in 1957 in the company s financial training program. He became Chief Operating Officer of GE Credit in 1979, Exec. V. P. and President of GE s Services & Materials Sector from 1981 to 1984, and Vice Chairman and EO of the GE from 1984 to 1991.Bossidy was reputed to be a quick thinker, who could energize others around him. When he got behind an idea, he lit up a room. He had both the mental toughness as well as the broad perspective that was necessary to lead and deliver results. From 1991-1999 Bossidy served as Chairman and CEO of Allied Signal Corp. Honeywell was acquired by AlliedSignal in 1999. Later he became a director of the pharmaceutical company Merk. His favourite author is James Joyce. The Bossidys have six daughters and three sons and thirty grandchildren.
Letter to a New Leader : Salient Points
Through a process of self assessment determine the skills your job requires against those you already possess. If you're short on experience in one area (most leaders are at some point in their careers, as you know), be sure you ve got someone who's strong in it. How well do you know your organisation? Make sure you get down where the action is, talking with people at all levels, asking them questions, and listening to the answers. You'll learn much of value about the realities of the business, and you will establish the personal connection that is a hallmark of a great leader. Try to get an early understanding of the beliefs and behaviours of the people under your direction. Your own behaviours have a great deal to do with your success.
Are you among like-minded people in your new job? Does this business have an execution culture, one where people get things done because performance is recognised and rewarded? Do people embrace reality and engage in constructive debates? Or is the place full of political gamesmanship, butt covering, and denial? If so, start creating the social software you'll need to change the culture. People are your organisation's most important assets, but your stewardship of the people process is what will convert that belief to reality. Make your people process second to none. Your success will be determined by the number of "A" players you have and the extent to which you can harmonise their efforts. You need to know at least the top third of the people in your unit in terms of their performance and their growth potential. You need to be certain that appraisals are honest and direct, and that your people get the feedback, coaching, and training they need to grow. And because compensation is the ultimate driver of performance, you must ensure that your compensation system rewards the doers.
We encourage you to compare your people with those of the competition, to ask whether the performance bar is high enough, and whether people have the necessary discipline to win consistently. Getting the strategy process right is crucial to your longer-term success and that of your organisation. Are business leaders driving the process, or has it been delegated to nerdy and isolated planning types? Does the plan have the right information to allow an accurate assessment of your position versus your competition? Is it sufficiently detailed so that your people can see how they will achieve both growth and productivity improvements? As you know, if you don't identify, debate, and resolve the critical issues, the business stalls. Also, are resources allocated in proportion to opportunities, or does every opportunity get some resources and none get enough? Is the plan straightforward, concise, and easily understood? Remember, you want everyone in your business to have a good grasp of it.
You have a budget, but do you have the action plan the budget should represent? We see countless cases where the numbers are assembled painstakingly and presented expertly but have little to do with the reality of running the business. A one-year operating plan sets forth a template for achievement. It synchronises all of the organisation's parts and links them with the strategy and the people processes. It nails down your team's commitments by tying performance explicitly to incentives, so that leaders exercise all the discipline and imagination they can muster to deal with the ever-present unanticipated events. Your personal involvement in these three core processes are most crucial. You must be in charge from the start of each cycle, to the reviews, and to the follow-up steps you take to make sure the things that are supposed to happen do, in fact, happen. This is how you acquire both the knowledge and the authority to run the business as an integrated, reality-based whole. It is how you ultimately assure that all three processes are linked.
It will be hard at times to know how you're doing. Even when an organisation gives you feedback and coaching a leader needs a confidant, someone outside the business to help her keep her head straight. This person should be someone wise, an individual who will be candid with you and help you to keep asking yourself whether you're growing, learning, and making the tough choices. And take care of yourself. The new job can be stressful, and you need to live a balanced life. Don't let yourself get too low or too high. Consistent behaviour is a sign of a contained ego, and inspires confidence in you from those around you. You have earned your leadership by your commitment to the work you've done. Keep that intensity of involvement and deepen it. Some people grow in their jobs, and others swell.
Reference: EXECUTION, The Discipline of Getting Things Done Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan & Charles Burck, Random House,2002 SETU is a monthly electronic publication of SIBM, Pune previously published as SIBM POLICY NOTES. SETU is published by Director, SIBM, Pune distributed by SIBM, Pune free of cost to corporate patrons with a view to share knowledge and perspectives only. Due care has been taken to ensure that the information published herein is correct and to mention sources of information. The editorial team and publishers take no responsibility for any damage resulting from inadvertent omission or inaccuracy in the publication. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of SIBM, Pune. website: www.sibm.edu email: sibmsetu@sibm.edu.credits for this issue Dr. Amita Shiroor. SETU team: Dr. Anupam Ghosh, Ms. Shilpa Ravalallu, Mrs. Saee Gokhale, Mr. Nilesh Kadam.