Friday, May 11, 2012

Your New Leaders

Succession planning is not just for the top tier. Who's gonna back-fill them when they're promoted?

I just came from the 20th Annual Gathering of Games for the Great Game of Business. It started as the sharing of the methodology created from the school of hard knocks learned by Jack Stack and others at Springfield Remanufacturing Company. At one reception, Jack said, "Work everyday to create leaders so that you don't lose business." He elaborated on the point but here's my take-away. You're always one generation of leadership away from losing momentum, losing business, etc. If everyone acts like a business leader in your organization, they'll recognize good opportunities for your company.

Here's how you get everyone to act like business leaders, in outline form:

  • Teach everyone the rules of business
  • Keep track of the score and take action accordingly
  • Give everyone a stake in the outcome
There's a lot to each of these things. One of the keys is to know what your critical number is, your one thing that will drive success for your organization. You have teach everyone what it is and how they can influence it. 

There were powerful stories of companies coming through the last recession. Several companies almost closed their doors. Following the SRC methodology, they were able to recover and grow. I talked to one home construction company who has actually grown 40% in the last few years, taking market share from their larger competitors. Most companies at this conference have created jobs in the past two years. Talk about an economic policy that should be duplicated.

Check it out. If you team isn't a group of leaders, then you're not getting the success you could. Do you want to? As Jack would say, "You gotta wanna." It takes courage and confidence to follow their model. But, man, is it worth it!!

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