Turnaround Management - It’s time to stop watching and get into the game

The Bowl games are on for college football. There seem to be more each year. Perhaps this is indicative of our population becoming more and more watchers of the events rather than actually participating in them. We sit at home in our easy chairs with our favorite snacks and beverages and just watch. Similarly, watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV is the only way to see it for most people but those that have been at the parade or better still actually in it, say that there is a world of difference in the experience.

Are you a watcher? Are you a watcher at your company? I don’t mean are you alert to all that is going on around you. I mean, are you just watching the company game or parade?

There is a big difference between watching the game and actually playing it. You have to get your hands dirty for one thing and you actually feel the intensity of the moment. You get the satisfaction of the contact with the world and not just the sound bites. You do it and learn from it and don’t have the replay to live it again and again with the armchair quarterbacks. You learn from doing.

Leadership is about not just getting involved but also setting the direction and getting the rest of the organization involved and playing. It is being the team leader on the field. It is standing shoulder to shoulder with your colleagues and putting all your energy, intelligence and talents into the game. You are a player not a spectator.

Here are some tips on how to get involved:

1 What the game plan?
Do you have a written business plan that you and the rest of the organization know and are following? Can you imagine playing a game without a game plan?

2 How good are your players?
Take a look at the executive team and the colleagues around you. Are they "A" players? You can’t win with sub par players. Evaluate them vs. the plan requirements and trade up in caliber.

3 How good are you?
When was the last time you took some refresher courses or honed your skills? Do you have a coach? All game players have at least one and all successful “C “level people do as well.

4 Have you focused on the right targets?
Do you have the right clients and customers? Have you identified their unmet needs and have you positioned your services or products to meet those unmet needs?

5 How are you using your resources?
Successful teams harness their resources to maximize the ROI on them. Resources are scarce and can’t be wasted if you expect to win. Cull through the project lists and prioritize. Eliminate the low potential or high resource constraints.

6 How are you measuring your progress?
Football teams always have the yard markers which tell them exactly where they are and how they are doing? What are your “yard markers”?

If you are finding that you have negative answers to the tips above as you reflect on your company, you need help. Contact us. We can help you and your company.

Don’t let the parade pass you by. Get in the game!!

Its time to stop watching and get actively involved.

Thanks.

John


John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management