{"id":5121,"date":"2009-11-05t23:04:26","date_gmt":"2009-11-06t03:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=5121"},"modified":"2024-11-19t21:49:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20t02:49:21","slug":"six-leadership-lessons-for-tough-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2009\/11\/05\/six-leadership-lessons-for-tough-times\/","title":{"rendered":"six leadership lessons for tough times"},"content":{"rendered":"

finance execs can glean a few insights from how some fortune 500 ceos are riding out the recession.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by rick telberg
\nfor the finance executive<\/em><\/p>\n

few business people accurately predicted exactly when the global economic bubble would go bust, nor how much carnage would be caused.<\/p>\n

but a few savvy business executives knew how to react adroitly to limit the damage. what they did and how they did it, offer lessons for finance and accounting professionals.<\/p>\n

in a series of interviews with 14 ceos and chairmen of major firms including fortune 500 companies, mckinsey & co. highlights a few of the keys to corporate leadership in this time of turmoil. they produced a now widely-read report titled \u201cleadership lessons for hard times.”<\/p>\n

the consultants devised six useful principles that any cpa can take to heart:<\/p>\n

1. confront reality \u2014 and do it early.<\/strong><\/p>\n

mckinsey tells the story \u2013 soon to be legendary, i\u2019m sure \u2013 that ingersoll rand\u2019s business was still booming when chief executive herbert henkel noticed a line in an operating report that alarmed him: a sudden slump in the company\u2019s transport refrigeration business. to henkel, falling demand for perishable foods spelled big trouble in the global economy. \u201ci couldn\u2019t help thinking, what if that figure really is indicative of what\u2019s out ahead?\u201d he told mckinsey researchers. \u201cwhat are we going to do about it?\u201d henkel cut the division\u2019s growth forecasts to zero, though analysts thought he was crazy. it turns out he was wrong; growth fell by only 15 percent. but, henkel said, \u201cby not ignoring that one indicator, we did get a head start.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. put strategy at the center of every decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n

top companies are putting strategy on the agenda at every top-level meeting. \u201cthe world moves at a pace that requires strategy to be front and center all of the time,\u201d ncr chief executive bill nuti told mckinsey. \u201cthere are too many variables that come into play in a normal cycle, let alone this one, that can rapidly change the course of your company, so i bring strategy up at every single meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. be transparent with employees \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

mckinsey predicts that \u201cone legacy of the current downturn will be a reinforced belief in the value of frequent, transparent communication with employees.\u201d uncertainty can cause its own calamities. so savvy leaders work hard to dispel rumors and keep people focused on the job at hand. \u201cthe only way to address uncertainty is to communicate and communicate,\u201d said terry lundgren, macy\u2019s chief executive. \u201cand when you think you\u2019ve just about got to everybody, then communicate some\u00a0more.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. \u2026and with investors, bankers, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

much to the consternation, i\u2019m sure, of corporate lawyers, investor relations reps and the finance execs responsible for the u.s. securities and exchange commission (sec) filings, northrop grumman chief executive ron sugar told mckinsey, \u201cour policy is: \u2018if in doubt, communicate.\u2019 we always want to conduct our business with integrity and forthrightness.\u201d and pepsi bottling group chief executive eric foss agreed: \u201cwe\u2019re facing up to our issues\u201d and in this way, \u201cdemonstrating that we have a management team that knows what it\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. build and protect the corporate culture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201ca healthy company enjoys not only strong financials but also a culture and values that bind it together,\u201d according to mckinsey. they tell of the story of autonation, the car retailer turned around by chief executive michael jackson. when he came to the company, he confronted a \u201cgrowth at any cost\u201d mentality. \u201cwe wanted entrepreneurialism, but we also wanted the highest standards of integrity.\u201d over the next three years, he purged many of the \u201chigh-performing money makers whose risk profile would keep you awake at night.\u201d this amounted, mckinsey said, to \u201ca cultural revolution that has delivered a sustainable competitive advantage \u2014 and one that he isn\u2019t about to jeopardize by shedding his best talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. keep faith with the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

despite daily crises and emergencies, top executives need to remain focused on the long term. mckinsey calls it keeping faith with the future. but, just as importantly, many of the chief executives mckinsey talked with seem to have seen the economic downturn as an opportunity.<\/p>\n

mckinsey doesn\u2019t directly address painful layoffs, plant closures, divestitures or restructurings. instead, the consultants say, \u201cmany of the ceos we interviewed were determined to ensure that their companies emerge from this recession with a competitive advantage by setting the course for higher productivity, acquiring a footprint in a new market, or not squandering a company\u2019s talent or reputation in pursuit of lower\u00a0costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

proctor & gamble, for instance, is increasing investments in research and development and innovation, mckinsey says.\u00a0 \u201cyou can\u2019t cut the things that will impact your ability to reach your vision,\u201d said ncr\u2019s nuti.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

none of this, of course, is revolutionary. and the ceos and chairmen mckinsey interviewed are the first to admit it. what is clear, however, is their resolve in pursuing principles they thought were right, often in the face of opposition and equipped with uncertain information. \u00a0they could have guessed wrong. only time will tell. but in the meantime, they demonstrate how leadership becomes both more important and more difficult in tough\u00a0times.<\/p>\n

copyright 2009 aicpa. used by permission.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

finance execs can glean a few insights from how some fortune 500 ceos are riding out the recession. by rick telberg for the finance executive few business people accurately predicted exactly when the global economic bubble would go bust, nor … continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2259,1908,5],"tags":[575,93],"class_list":["post-5121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","category-management","category-outlook","tag-leadership","tag-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nsix leadership lessons for tough times - 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