Do you have an inquisitive mind? If you do, I’m certain that from time to time you look at a business experiencing economic hardship and wonder, “How could that happen? They have access to the best talent the world has to offer. They have access to the top consultants… the top financial analysts… the top bankers… the most efficient suppliers… The list goes on and on. And then you realize, none of this matters. Simply having “access to the best” is not enough. Because culture has the ability and capacity to trump change. In effect, culture can just about kill anything it wants to, if it so chooses. This is why leaders must build cultures that embrace change, rather than killing it.
A case in point is illustrated by Steve Rattner, the ex-car czar who helped orchestrate the bailout for the Detroit automakers. Here are a few of the comments from a Huffington Post article.
Everyone knew Detroit’s reputation for insular, slow-moving cultures. Even by that low standard, I was shocked by the stunningly poor management that we found, particularly at GM, where we encountered, among other things, perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company. GM’s board of directors was “utterly docile in the face of mounting evidence of a looming disaster” and former GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner set a tone of “friendly arrogance” that permeated the company, Rattner wrote. “Certainly Rick and his team seemed to believe that virtually all of their problems could be laid at the feet of some combination of the financial crisis, oil prices, the yen-dollar exchange rate and the UAW,” Rattner wrote. “We were shocked, even beyond our low expectations, by the poor state of both GM and Chrysler.
Although Rattner’s comments are recent, one doesn’t need to search too far to find further evidence leading to GMs demise.
“We have vastly underestimated how deeply ingrained are the organizational and cultural rigidities that hamper our ability to execute.” Elmer Johnson
What’s interesting about Johnson’s comment, it was made in 1987.
Bottom Line: Having “access to the best” is not a competitive advantage, nor is it a winning strategy. At times, it can even be a silent problem. Developing an organization that works efficiently, effectively and can leverage the talents within will win in the long run.
What are you doing to leverage your talent resources?
Tags: access to the best, change, gm, Rattner
