During these tough times, many employees have observed their companies taking very difficult decisions. These decisions helped some and were not enough to keep afloat some others. I experienced the latter, and unfortunately observed a once-profitable company go into bankruptcy protection.
This sounds like one of many stories we are hearing today. The situation I experienced is different in one major way: The company was a business experiment to apply a theory. Well, it did not work in the end but the path to the end was interesting and enlightening, if I may say so.
The CEO, President and the Board of the company strongly believed in “the combination of clever, committed people working together with a powerful approach could achieve any goal.” And, they either hired accomplished people or re-positioned those already in the company to significant roles. They explained, in excruciating detail, the methodology to apply and tools to use. People were committed to making the company successful.
What went wrong then? Some accuse the economic downturn, I beg to differ. Clever and accomplished people, thrown together and given tools, is not sufficient to achieve a goal. This is good leadership; place capable people to effective roles, give them the tools and show them the vision. It is necessary but not sufficient by itself.
The path to success is full with obstacles, detours and misconceptions. Good managerial skills and operational savvy is also necessary to navigate through ever-changing conditions, personality issues and communication problems. In my opinion, that is what caused the company meet its unfortunate end.
In summary, creating a vision and setting a goal is only a beginning to a business journey. Success depends on the capability to take the team to the goal, one day at a time, through good management.
I hope you find this posting helpful. I invite comments and feedback on my posting. You may reach me by writing to ferhan.bulca@intrascope.ca.
Ferhan Bulca, Ph.D. 