The year was 1881.
This was the year of the Old West’s most notorious shootout, the “Gunfight at the OK Corral.” It lasted 30 seconds. It left three men dead, three others wounded….
…and enough questions to occupy western history buffs for more than a century.
Fast forward to 1984.
I will never forget it. I was sitting in a room with over 2200 folks, including employees and the local press, as we were introduced to our new President and CEO. We got to witness him in person, while about 8,000 more were part of a larger simulcast.
Within his first five minutes on the job, “Dennis” pulled out his six-shooter and completely took down his chance to lead every single person in that room.
Total, utter annihilation. Wyatt Earp would have been impressed.
Dennis came out shooting. His first promise was a “rapid death of the status quo.” He then went on to translate. I preserved his words with a handheld recording device, so I’m able to share them with you verbatim:
“Most recently I met with my board regarding your problems and to fix things. Within the next consecutive 60 hours I will be taking a hard look at every single one of the 50 or so managers in this company, reviewing the quality of your work. I will be changing this company as fast as I possibly can. I am committed to change. I have some heavy decisions to make. If you do not meet my standards for performance you will be looking for another job. The good thing is that 60 hours goes by very, very quickly. At the end of that time, I will put in place a new order, a new organization, which I will present to the board. I believe most of the remaining employees will support what I see that needs to be changed. For those that will make this first cut, I will give you a chance to change. I believe most of you will. Some just won’t.”
And then he walked off the stage. The shootout was over. He had fired all his bullets, and his gun chamber was empty.
28 years later, many of the people who were part of that shootout are still asking questions.
The answers to these questions can provide us with some terrific lessons about what NOT to do when you want to generate change as a leader.
So let me ask you: What did Dennis do that flew in the face of bringing about change as a leader?
Well…what did you come up with? Have you written your responses down? Did you think this question was rhetorical? Or are you expecting me to just tell you what I think?
Sorry, not on this blog! I want to see your best thinking, so I’d like to propose a reward.
Give me your three (3) best lessons by commenting on this blog entry. Keep each lesson to one sentence. Make it pithy.
The most insightful lesson shared (as determined by an internationally renowned panel of 487 experts specializing in the science of establishing the validity and pithiness of business lessons) will earn you a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of Coach Raymond.
To qualify for the reward, your response must be posted by 5pm PST on Monday, April 12th.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Tune in next week for my thoughts on the 5 key things NOT to do when bringing about change as a leader.
No related posts.
Hi Coach,
Really excited to have you blogging and sharing that amazing mind of yours. Okay here are my 3 pithy take aways.
1. He alienated his team immediately by saying “my board” and “your problems”. No need to get your opinion, I’ll ask the established high level leadership what they think. Not looking at a servant leader here.
2. He commits to making enormous organizational changes and reviewing the work of 50 of so managers in a ridiculously short period of time and before he even knows what he will discover. Is the change he is predicting even the right kind of change?
3. He offers no hope for personal development or adaptation to his leadership style. He will be the judge of whether you are worthy to work with him or not. No option to learn about him and adapt your style or actions. Your in or your out — 60 hours and ticking.
Thanks for a great post and look forward to more Coach Raymond.
Dan
Wow…there is some low hanging fruit here, but at the highest level, this leader is not aware that “the people buy into the leader first, then the vision.” Having said that, he lost that opportunity in 3 ways:
1) He was a villian — “if you don’t meet MY standards, you are out.“
2) He was a victim — “I have heavy decisions to make.“
3) He was a hero — To the board of course, not the employees.“I will change as fast as I possibly can.”
All 3 of these ‘characters’ are recipes for disaster for a new leader, or ANY leader for that matter.
Glad to see you posting, Coach!
Who would WANT to work under him in ANY capacity?
1. He made it personal.
2. He was unrealistic.
3. He denigrated every person’s abilities sight unseen.
Hey Coach —
1) He created paralysis by using fear without hope.
2) He created resentment by showing a complete lack of respect for the people and the institution.
3 He created apathy by forcing every employee to wait for answers instead of seeking solutions.
JP
Had a public speaking course a while back and one thing really stuck with me. Our prof said “The second you ‘shout’ or raise your voice to it’s highest level, you have just subliminally told people that you have nothing more important to say, and they’ll quit paying attention.”
In essense, this guy did just that–he put it all out on the line right at the very start, and I’d bet that people pretty much quit listening to anything useful he might have had to say from that point forward.
When initiating change you do not want your “teammates:”
1). Helpless
2). Hopeless
3). Alienated
Coach Raymond… Awesome blog! I will now look forward to it every week.