The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable

The first step is to embrace the idea that, like so many other aspects of success, organizational health is simple in theory but difficult to put into practice. It requires extraordinary levels of commitment, courage and consistency. However, it does not require complex thinking and analysis; in fact, keeping things simple is critical. It can even be summarized on a single page (see facing page).

One way that I help executive teams identify their fundamental values is by asking them to think about the two or three employees whom they believe best embody what is good about the firm. These would be people whom they would gladly clone again and again, regardless of their responsibility or level of experience. Then I ask them to write down one or two adjectives that describe the employees they selected. Usually a relatively short list of common or related terms surfaces.

Another approach to identifying values involves focusing on the common behavioral values of the people who founded the organization. This can be particularly useful in relatively new companies where there is little opportunity to reflect on past and current employees.

Again, I ask them to write down one or two adjectives that describe the people they chose. Almost without fail, the same adjectives appear on most team members’ lists, and these often embody the antithesis of the company’s fundamental values.

To help them solidify their thinking, I then ask them to identify the one or two employees who have left the firm, or should leave the firm, because of their behavior or performance.

Beneath a thematic goal there should be major strategic goals that span the organization and support its overall theme. For instance, if an organization’s thematic goal is growth, then its major strategic goals might include increasing revenue, adding new customers, hiring new employees, expanding to new sites, increasing market awareness, and improving infrastructure. If the thematic goal were survival, the categories might be achieving financial stability, retaining employees, retaining customers, and improving public relations.

How Does an Organization Go About Achieving Clarity?
One of the best ways to achieve clarity is to answer, in no uncertain terms, a series of basic questions pertaining to the organization:
Why does the organization exist, and what difference does it make in the world?
What behavioral values are irreplaceable and fundamental?
What business are we in, and against whom do we compete?
How does our approach differ from that of our competition?
What are our goals this month, this quarter, this year, next year, five years from now?
Who has to do what for us to achieve our goals this month, this quarter, this year, next year, five years from now?

Behaviorally, achieving real clarity in an organization requires an executive team to demonstrate commitment and courage. The teams I have worked with that do this are not necessarily smarter than their competitors, nor are they more experienced within their industries. However, they are definitely less afraid of being wrong.

If this is so powerful, then why don’t all executives create clarity in their organizations? Because many of them overemphasize the value of flexibility.

Employees in these organizations seem to have amazing levels of autonomy. They know what their boundaries are and when they need guidance from management before taking action. Their ability to make decisions for themselves creates an environment of empowerment, traction, and urgency.