I read news articles with an eye for spotting silent problems, today is no different. I came across an article in the NY Times titled, “For Private Equity, A Very Public Disaster,” by Louise Story.
Still, if you peel back Mr. Johnson’s argument, you quickly find a story of an automaker that was already in peril by the time Cerberus came on the scene. For example, he says the body shop at his plant couldn’t produce Jeep frames fast enough to keep up with the paint and assembly lines. Instead of fixing the problem, he says, the factory paid the body shop workers overtime to come in Sundays to keep up…
Ms. Keller says that the company that Mr. Feinberg took over was already suffering from myriad problems: a bad cost structure, a limited product line and no pipeline of more diverse offerings. In short, she says, Cerberus had simply bought “a basket case.”
As the number of Silent Problems increase, business performance declines and vice-versa
Several years ago I discovered that a direct correlation between silent problems and business performance exists. Companies that deal with their potential and real silent problems quickly perform at a much higher level than companies that allow their silent problems to accumulate. The graphic illustrates this point. So naturally as an executive coach, I spend a disproportionate amount of time working with clients identifying, quantifying and finding solutions to silent problems. And when a solution is agreed upon, I work with them on an implementation strategy and the confidence to move forward. Not surprisingly, as these silent problems move off the plate, business performance naturally improves. So if you’re a business coach, a consultant, or a business leader, I encourage you to become educated on the silent problem phenomenon, because it will become a dynamic tool that produces fantastic results for you and your clients.
In a future blog, I’ll present why business performance and silent problems are directly tied to each other. But for now, I encourage you to look at the world around you and the clients you interface with, with an eye for identifying silent problems. It will change how you look at businesses and business performance.
Lastly, I will leave you with a quote from Anne Mulcahy, the 2008 CEO of the Year, and former CEO of Xerox. When she was promoted to CEO at Xerox, it was filled with a multitude of silent problems and Xerox’s business performance reflected it. Mulcahy went after those silent problems and turned Xerox around. Here is what she said,
If you have a tough decision to make, don’t wait, because it’s not going to get any easier. In fact, it’s only going to get tougher.
Bottom Line: A direct correlation between Silent Problems and business performance exists. A business will find it increasingly difficult to perform at a higher level if it doesn’t address and solve the problems it has been avoiding, neglecting or are going unnoticed.
