The past year proved to be an annus horribilis for Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer that has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I sympathize with the employees, especially the rank and file. Same with the organizations associated with the brand—except the “leeches”.
I know from personal experience how awful and stressful it can be when a business is going through the mill like this.
For some employees, it’ll feel like being a passenger on the Titanic after it had struck the iceberg.
Some may have jumped ship already, not risking their livelihoods and careers to wait to find out if the company will pull through. And others are likely polishing their CVs right now or interviewing with other firms.
Yet there may be some prudent or foolish ones—depending on how you view the world—who’ll see the corporation’s ongoing calamity as an opportunity to showcase their abilities and initiative, despite the anxiety.
A similar sense of unease and alarm has likely enfolded the company’s suppliers too.
And for those that are small and medium-sized enterprises whose sales to Boeing are a significant proportion of their revenue, their staff are possibly worried as well.
“An organization going through the mill is a stressful place to be. But it can also be opportune”
Perhaps the least worried of all may be some senior managers and the external leeches.
Managers who’ll be unworried probably don’t care about the company, and maybe never did. They’ve likely stayed there for the handsome compensation package, perks and privileges. Some may be treading water just to protect their pensions.
They’re not emotionally or psychologically invested in the enterprise and its long-term prosperity.
These internal leeches may be untroubled, additionally, because they feel they’d easily find another job elsewhere if push comes to shove.
As for the external leeches, they’re no doubt salivating at the chance to make a killing. This is a time for slick sales patter rather than being worried.
These are particular organizations who see firm’s situation as a business opportunity. They include “consultants”, “experts” and all sorts of clever people, probably already circling like vultures, with their silver bullets of “solutions” and “advice” on all manner of things—including things that are unrelated to the root causes of the corporation’s problems.
The firm’s head honcho and senior managers will need to be wary of these bloodsucking charlatans masquerading as helping hands. They must judge wisely what external support, if any, is required for the company’s recovery and obtain it from practised hands.
More crucially, the head honcho must determine which of those senior managers need to go. Then get rid of them quickly. Especially in the C-suite.
“Internal leeches don’t care about the company, and external leeches are always on hand with their silver bullets”
Boeing is not the first company to face the pains of a seeming existential crisis; and it won’t be the last.
Like others before it, right now while it’s in the throes of the dark night of the corporate soul, the possibility of recovery might seem tenuous.
Yet companies can be turned around—think IBM, Hilton, Apple, Netflix, …—with the right person at the helm.
That, really, is the linchpin.
A seasoned helmsperson with a passion for troubleshooting will know from experience that the challenge will be tough and will require persistence.
Change leaders like this also know the importance of being patient.
A business turnaround is somewhat like changing the direction of a supertanker. It takes time to see the fruits of the toil at the helm.
But the head honcho at the helm will only ever be as successful at the turnaround as their senior leadership team is capable and in step.
Aligning the organizational culture, operating model and values is foundational to anything else. The leadership team will be a critical avenue to infuse the entire enterprise with a culture that embodies and bolsters the turnaround intent, and to inspire and energize employees at all levels to bring their A-game to the challenge of transforming the firm.
That’s why refreshing the C-suite is imperative.
And it may need to be as drastic as replacing a significant number of incumbents with external hires or promotions from within.
“A business turnaround is like changing the direction of a supertanker”
It may also need to extend through to other levels of management to rejuvenate the spirit of the organization.
Breathing new life and clarity of purpose into the enterprise will probably include stripping away all the bullshit usually found in big companies. Any nice-to-haves must be disregarded during the transformation—this is no time for ping-pong tables or a playground slide in the reception area. Neither is it appropriate to adopt any dim-witted management fads or jackass ideas, which may be sprouted from the external leeches.
And it’s certainly not the scenario to condone any organizational politics or inflated egos.
Turning the business around requires going back to basics.
An extremely effective and hyper-focused leadership must specify the immediate vital few key priorities for the business.
These priorities must be trumpeted loud and clear in all corners of the organization, consistently and repeatedly. Even the receptionist(s) should know what the company’s immediate priorities are.
“Rejuvenating an ailing organization requires going back to basics”
Without this clear, robust and continued communication, it’ll be impossible to direct organizational attention and energy at the crucial levers of transformation success.
That communication is an essential means of sustaining employee engagement, commitment and morale throughout the transformation journey.
It should include the essential things to avert confusion, anxiety, frustration or dissonance—like the identified root causes of the corporate sickness, the specific cures to fix the problems and prevent recurrence, a sound plan of approach, expectations of performance and behaviours, measures of success, regular progress updates on the journey, …
And it must include listening, which perhaps is the most important part of communication.
Whether it’s at Boeing or any other business, any seasoned head honcho with the requisite leadership chops will know that getting through the dark night of the corporate soul takes more than what’s encapsulated in these few hundred words.
They’ll know, for example, that luck may be a factor.
So I wish Boeing lots of good luck!
……
PS: Organizational “turnaround” and “transformation” are not necessarily the same thing. But I’ve deliberately used both terms interchangeably here for simplicity.
