I've been to the table, and I've lost it all before
I'm willin' and able, always comin' back for more
Squeezin' out a thin dime 'til there's no one hanging on my arm
I've gambled on a third time, a fool will tell you it's a charm
If I'm bettin' on a loser, I'm gonna have a devil to pay
But it's the only game I know to play, it doesn't matter anyway.
—Clint Black, “A Good Run of Bad Luck”
In a game of poker, the goal is to end up with a hand of cards that beats every other hand at the table. When bets are made, whether they are in the hundreds of dollars or merely matchsticks, each player must make the decision whether to play the round or fold. “Folding” means the player does not think he has a winning hand and opts out of the round while losing any money or matchsticks he has already bet. If the player opts to stay in, he must either “call” the hand or raise by increasing the pot. Calling the hand means he believes he has a winning hand and wants to end the game to determine if, in fact, he has won the hand. Sometimes, rather than merely “calling,” a player will raise the stakes to increase the winning pot. The player may be confident of this move or may be merely bluffing in hopes that the other players will fold, thus allowing him or her to win the hand. At the record company, management was upping the stakes and not bluffing.
It had been three years since the company had adopted the new metaphor of the tennis ball, which served them well as they made organization-wide changes. The process, however, wasn’t without its challenges. Jason realized that if he were to do it again, he would hire a consulting firm to help them through the process. Taking recommendations from consultants allows the organization’s management to deflect controversy to some degree. Acting as an uninvolved third party allows the consultants to remain somewhat detached while having enough knowledge of the organization that they can be effective. Not all consulting firms understand the use and power of metaphors, so that would be something Jason would need to consider for the future.
Function Follows Structure
The new structure of the company’s record label is probably the first and most visible result of the transformation. They flattened the organizational structure to give others more access to Jason and the other leaders. They were able to do this because they sold off the television and movie departments, and went from 15 vice presidents down to 7. They combined several of their remaining music departments and put directors and managers in charge with full authority to make decisions as long as they could justify how these decisions supported or activated elements of their vision and mission. Some of these were promotions, while others were demotions. Jason knew it was hard on those who were demoted. He tried to help them understand that the company needed to do this to align the organization with the vision and mission, which were aligned to the metaphor. They lost two highly gifted executives in the process.
A few promotions to managers opened up opportunities below them; however, the company didn’t automatically fill these positions. Their assessment of job descriptions, the communication audit, and process audits revealed that they were overstaffed in some areas. As departments initially felt the pressure of trying to do all the work that had previously been done but now with less people, they discovered that some administrative activities were not needed.
The company also discovered that there were many processes that were redundant and replicated in other departments. They shut those processes down, though not unilaterally. They brought the affected departments together to work out the issues between them and presented an efficiency plan back to the now, much smaller, Executive Team.
Although the seven remaining members of the Executive Team reported directly to Jason, he also sought out regular input from the directors, managers, staff, and every person in the organization. At first, the senior leaders felt uncomfortable with this arrangement and pushed back. They were concerned that their authority would be undermined. Jason realized that, as the CEO, he was the only one who could prevent this.
Jason brought the entire organization together for a town hall meeting, something that that had been started at the beginning of the transformation process. During one of the early town hall meetings, he told everyone about the new communication model, but he also told them that they should only use this open communication channel to him to provide feedback on processes, markets, customers, or their culture. It was never to be used to complain about someone up or down the chain. They would use other protocols through their Human Resources ombudsperson to address grievances of this sort. Jason was tested early on when a person in the warehouse tried to talk to him about her supervisor. Jason shut the person down pretty quickly, and it got around that he meant what he said. He never had this happen again.
The Right Tools and Training Make a Difference
The business management tool turned out to be a real godsend. In times past, the company was never able to measure soft people skills. The feedback in this area from performance reviews was always subjective in nature. Now, with a new method for quantifying soft skills, the management was able to identify poor cultural alignment with vision, mission, and values, as well as poor leadership skills. Another added benefit was that employees knew exactly what was expected of them, and how to achieve their performance and alignment goals. The guesswork had been taken out of the equation.
Jason could tell that the organization was becoming a fun place to work. People smiled more, were more ready to help one another, and took greater part in trying to solve problems that came along. They felt empowered because of the intensive leadership training they had received early on. First-year supervisors were required to attend regular leadership training courses, where they developed clear career paths to various leadership positions. With the business management tool, managers were able to identify those employees who were promotable one or two levels and made sure they were well prepared before they received their promotion opportunities.
With the success of the leadership training, the company decided to expand their training program. They had a consulting group bring in their catalog of courses in face-to-face and online formats. Their curriculum was extensive and was well received by employees. They set up an in-house skills university and taught courses year round. It went so well that some of their competitors found out and asked if they could send some of their staff to take courses. At first, the company thought this was odd, but they decided it would be a good way to build goodwill and a more collegial atmosphere in their industry. They charged a minimal fee and gained a lot of good PR in the process.
Questions to Consider
1.How would your new metaphor likely affect the organizational structure of your organization?
2.What tools could your employees and the organization benefit from as the change process is implemented?
3.What is your plan to provide these tools?