Bold Exec

Top Heavy

  AMF, several years ago, was ripe for a hostile takeover. The company had (a) many self-sustaining and viable operating divisions (AMF bowling, Rossignol skis, etc.), (b) serious financial problems (never a single quarter of positive operating profit), (c) Taj-Mahal-like corporate headquarters, and (d) a corporate staff of 293. The division presidents stated that the large corporate staff burdened them with constant information requests, report requirements, etc., adding to their costs. So we executed a hostile takeover (day 1 of new AMF): on day 2 the corporate staff was reduced from 293 to 3! The divisions flourished; to my knowledge all or most have done well...........Hmmm, let's see if I can draw any current parallels to the State of California.

Pavlov's Dog

  Pavlov's experiments related a single event, a stimuli, to a dog's reactions. The ringing bell, when implemented during feeding events, eventually was of itself sufficient to initiate the dog's salivary reactions.

Humans are a little more complex and can process multiple incentives, multiple stimuli, and multiple reactions. But sometimes we're not more intelligent. I hate to keep picking on yesterday's General Motors: I wouldn't if their atrocious management practices were isolated rather than just being more-publicized examples of broad practice.

Letting Go

Every organization has one, or several, or lots. People who just can't pull their weight. Maybe they don't have the skills, or maybe not the drive, or maybe they're misplaced. You can be certain that either: (a) they know they're not doing the job and are miserable each day or (b) they don't care. In the latter cae; who cares? In the former case, it's always a good idea to demote the person to a job he or she can do and then you'll have a great employee. But there's not always an available landing spot. So what do you do?