Sure. . . You want profitable growth. Who doesn’t? But have you heeded the admonition to “get the right people in the right seats on the bus?” What is this bus everyone is talking about? What if your company can’t even afford a bus?
Let’s back up a bit. In 2001, Jim Collins published a book called “Good to Great.” It has a red cover and is accumulating dust on many an executive’s bookshelf. Grab a copy at your local used book store. If you’re lucky, the best parts are already highlighted by the previous owner. In the book you’ll find that Collins and his team studied hundreds of publicly traded companies to determine which ones ‘outperformed’ the others as illustrated by doing significantly better than the market for at least 15 years beyond the breakthrough wherein they began pulling away from the pack. This seems like a stretch goal for most of us, but why not shoot for “Great?”
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The Bus
You entrepreneurs will appreciate the fact that it wasn’t a team of celebrity leaders running these companies (sorry Jack Welch). These were “self-effacing . . . blend(s) of personal humility and professional will.” My previous blog on Authenticity speaks to this concept in more detail. You’ll probably be as surprised as the researchers were to find out that these leaders’ first area of focus was NOT vision and strategy. These successful leaders “first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – then they figured out where to drive it.” That sentence is worth reading again. Go ahead. Read it again and I’ll wait for you.
This bus everyone’s been talking about represents your business. The seats are the different roles or tasks that need to be addressed to achieve team alignment. What skill sets are needed for future success? These will naturally be very different than the skillsets needed when you were just starting up. To be successful, you must look at each key person in the organization and determine what their skills and strengths are; whether the business needs those strengths and if so, at what level of performance and in what role. You’ll undoubtedly need to do some pruning or Strategic Firing – the subject of my next blog.
Never Settle
You’ll also need to search outside for people who have the skills your business needs. NEVER settle for good enough when hiring. Hold out for the person with the skills you need, who fits your culture, “wows” you at the same time, and will accelerate team alignment. The toughest thing you need to do is to look at your own skills. Are they what the business needs to go to the next level? What do you need to delegate to a more capable or more experienced person who can help you execute? In what areas might an experienced, trusted advisor be required to help you learn and grow, and perhaps act to hold you accountable? Who’s the absolute best person to drive the bus?
This is a step that requires much forethought and planning. Another book that speaks to this concept is Doug Tatum’s “No Man’s Land.” One of his 4 M’s stands for Management. Regarding companies outgrowing their management, Doug points out that you “must balance between continuity and change.” This isn’t an easy balance -- but it's critical for achieving team alignment.
Making those tough personnel decisions is required and you need to do it before you stomp on the accelerator pedal and send your bus . . . um business . . . careening down the road with the wrong people working on the wrong things.
Share your experience on how you improved team alignment in your company below, and don't forget to download our free guide "Business Growth Challenges Defined: You May Be In No Man's Land."
This post was originally published in October, 2012 and has been updated. We believe it remains relevant to the challenges that our blog readers face.
