Reality Means taking action
CEO Perspective
Originally printed in the IASA's official publication,
the Interpreter -
Showcase 2002 - Special IASA Convention issue
By
Dennis Sullivan
Chief Executive Officer
Transforming vision into reality –
what a great topic for senior management to discuss. They look into the
future, preferably the distant future so no one will remember, and project
growth, profitability, increased market share and industry dominance.
“We will be number one!” management proclaims.
We’ve all seen the rosy articles in annual reports, heard
the keynote speeches at annual company gatherings and seen the press releases
when the new executive arrives on the scene. It is great material for
the far-removed. But, for the front-line agent; the customer service representative
handling 100 calls, 50 new applications and countless billing questions;
and the haggard systems analysts juggling 1,000 “priority one” enhancements
to an already jury-rigged system, such proclamations all too often ring
hollow.
When I was approached to reflect on the past five years
of CEO interviews I have conducted for the Interpreter and address the
theme of this year’s annual conference, I thought I would first conduct
a little research. I reviewed every one of the past CEO interviews, conducted
a few follow-up calls and then reflected on how this concept of “transforming
vision into reality” actually plays out.
What I realized was that we are now operating in a drastically
different business environment than just a few years ago. So much has
changed in the past five years that senior management’s “vision” is no
longer a wish and a nebulous dream. The blinding speed of change, action
and reaction, is now the norm. The world as we know it can change overnight,
and we have seen that happen. We have seen major corporate empires fall
in a matter of months and we have seen one of the pillars of the consulting
industry come under such extreme pressure that it may not survive.
So what does this new environment
mean to the executives running companies today?
I think it means today’s vision
has to be real. It must be concrete, with clearly defined objectives that
can be measured at milestone horizons of 6, 12, and 24 months, vs. three
to five years. It means executives need to rely more on the ground troops
to help shape that vision and make sure that the blocking and tackling
is in place to deliver.
Am I saying that vision is a tactical issue now? No way.
I am saying the tactical support system must now be more closely linked
with the executive vision. Leadership at the top must incorporate significant
involvement from the front lines.
Turning vision into reality involves leadership and, perhaps
most important, action. I contend the action step is where many leaders
“exit stage right.” Why? Action requires engagement and involvement, and
that is difficult, messy work that requires relentless commitment. Business
strategies and processes have lifecycles and success can quickly turn
to failures when things change. Such change could come from a competitor,
a new market requirement or a significant environmental shift outside
of your business model. In today’s business world, change comes quickly
and often unannounced. Even the best leaders can’t predict that kind of
change, but the best organizations are built to adapt rapidly.
During the past 10 years I’ve talked to literally hundreds
of insurance executives, and I’ve found the truly successful ones are
able to describe the environment they are trying to develop with enough
detail in the framework that people can take action. The have such a deep
understanding of what customers expect that they are able to assemble
the forces, communicate a framework, inspire the staff and support the
actions of their team. I sense that most true leaders are able to envision
the future and help take the first few steps to demonstrate the action
and then back away to let the creativity of their staff take over.
When vision, leadership and action come together, real
things happen and top companies begin to separate from the pack. John
L. Thompson, head of the Department of Management at the University of
Huddersfield in the United Kingdom describes this visionary leadership
quality as “the feel” successful business leaders have for their
businesses. The details are not all laid out, but these leaders rely on
the skills and talents of their staff to deliver. It requires constant
involvement of the management team with a tangible thread throughout the
entire organization. This is not new, but it reinforces the challenge
of getting good people, arming them with tools and information and letting
them go. The controlling leader gets things done his/her way rather than
relying on the creative talents of the team.
In a February 1998 Interpreter interview, Ben Cutler,
chief executive officer of Fortis Health, talked about getting alignment
within the organization and getting people to act. He shared with us the
following:
“It is hard to get a team of
people to realize that past success does not necessarily portend future
success. It’s been a struggle, but we’ve spent an inordinate amount of
time this year meeting on a regular basis with our top 200 managers and
executives to communicate our vision, values and strategy.”
Now that is involvement. It shows how one executive felt
deep involvement and understanding of his vision was critical for his
organization to take the necessary action steps to improve and compete
in the very competitive healthcare market.
In our first Interpreter CEO article in 1994, Lon
A. Smith, president of The Hartford Life, made an interesting comment
about communication and employee involvement. He relayed a story about
addressing an employee session where he asked the group to close their
eyes and picture themselves driving into work each morning, getting out
of the car and looking up at the building and seeing their name on it,
“The Bill Smith Insurance Company.” He said, “that would be job satisfaction,
and it illustrates how we have to run our company.” He mentioned that
every once in a while someone would ask him, “How are you doing with my
insurance company today, Mr. Smith?” That story, almost eight years old
now, is about having a vision and tying success to the involvement of
employees.
What About Dreams?
Am I saying stop dreaming? Absolutely
not. I’m saying you may have to wake up a little sooner and prepare to
work overtime to make that vision happen. You may have to change the way
you work to compensate for today’s business velocity.
I read an article recently about the University of Connecticut
women’s basketball team and the article was reflecting on the four super-star
seniors. Sue Bird, the team’s Player of the Year point guard and a hard-nosed
competitor said, “We (the four freshman recruits) arrived at Connecticut
4 years ago and set a goal to win 4 national championships. Then we began
the daily hard work to get there. We made it to three final fours and
have one championship and we hope another in a couple of weeks.” This
young leader had a vision for her team. Lofty? Absolutely! Unrealistic?
Many would say yes. What rung true to me was that the recruits immediately
recognized the amount of hard work and commitment necessary and they were
engaged from the start. Leadership of their coach helped. The tradition
of a successful program helped, but the individuals had the drive to succeed.
Businesses need that same drive if they are going to “transform vision
into reality”
For vision to become a reality, the leaders of today’s
organizations need to be willing to “get their hands dirty” and get much
more involved in crafting the outline to reach the vision. I’m not saying
make all the decisions, but I am saying that leaders must take personal
responsibility in helping to craft the framework that will ultimately
attain the vision. Then it is a matter of giving your resources the freedom
and ongoing guidance to deliver.
Strategic thinking has entered a new era. It no longer
equates to long-term. This collapses the traditional business model and
pulls the leader closer to the action, whether they like it or not. I
don’t think the traditional management operating models have changed that
much – culture, organization structure, processes, financials and metrics
are still the core components.
What has changed, however, is the integration of the leadership
role in the transition from vision to action/reality. There is an essential
need for leaders’ active involvement. More than a few will need a deeper
understanding of their role of influencing change in the organization.
Leaders may ask, “How can I allow myself to become mired in day-to-day
details when I’m supposed to be creating new strategies and keeping my
eye on the future?” The answer is that strategy doesn’t create value until
it becomes reality. The more you know about the realities of your organization
by “getting your hands dirty,” the more you can help build a functional
roadmap for turning vision and strategy into reality. Spend an hour in
your call center. Enter a transaction in your policy administration system.
Audit some of your training and development programs. Find out whether
those systems and processes serving your vision.
Leaders Need To Guide, Not Criticize
Bill Russell, famed Boston Celtic
player and coach of the 1950s and 60s, is still active on the speaking
circuit. I attended a speech of his when I was a college senior in 1971
at the University of Rhode Island. I was a huge Celtics and Russell fan
and wanted to hear about all about the great games and championships he
had won. I was surprised to hear him talk mostly about relationships with
teammates, being a black superstar in Boston in during that time and how
the Celtic team shared a common vision initially set by their coach. He
talked about teamwork and how everyday was focused on accomplishing something
to help reach their goals. Everybody wants to win when the games is on
the line, but only true champions are willing to do the things necessary
to prepare to win.
I recently read about a very successful college coach
who also had been influenced by Russell and how it changed his whole approach
to coaching. This coach had attended a conference where Russell was the
keynote speaker. Someone asked how he got his team focused on winning
and improving when they weren’t playing well. “I show them films of when
they are playing well. I put together a series of plays where they scored
a basket, made a great pass or made a great defensive play,” he said.
“Too many leaders talk to their people about what they did wrong, but
I like to show them when they were successful so they remember it, replay
it and repeat it.” We all need to work on fundamentals all the time, but
we reach our goals with a positive vision of what the future will look
like.
I’ve always subscribed to the theory of “small victories.”
This concept is tied to the action component of turning vision into
reality. Ask your employees to search for customer service improvements,
operational process improvements or even cross-departmental changes that
improve your business processes. Implement them, recognize the change
agents and celebrate the success. If you live in a controlling culture
where everyone waits for directions, then this will be especially challenging
for you. But don’t be deterred. Once this atmosphere of improvement begins
to take hold, it snowballs. It has a wonderfully positive impact on culture,
morale and overall employee engagement. An individual’s idea can become
a tangible, measurable improvement. And, don’t get sidetracked by building
a big program with buttons and banners, or by trying to build the perfect
formula-driven compensation component. Those will evolve in time. Instead,
act now! As Mike and Mia say in the Nike commercials, “Just do it!”
Members Make It Happen
We’ve talked about strategy, vision, leadership and action. What role
does IASA play in helping organizations transform vision into reality?
My firm has a long-standing and active relationship with many of the insurance
industry’s top associations. These associations are constantly challenging
themselves to better support the industry and their member companies.
To gain some first-hand insight about this ongoing challenge, I called
Don West, former IASA president and vice president at State National Cos.
Don talked about the ability for people to exchange ideas, challenge
ideas and work with other industry professionals to develop solutions
to common problems. “Our organization gives people an opportunity to research,
analyze, challenge and build new solutions, without the fear of making
a mistake,” he said. “The association provides its members with exposure
to the broadest array of ‘best practices’ being used in the industry with
a network of professionals second to none. It is up to each individual
member and their company to leverage that network by volunteering to work
on projects sponsored by the association.”
In other words, you get what you give. Just as leaders must actively
involve themselves with their company’s day-to-day issues, companies must
involve themselves with IASA and other associations in order to take the
pulse of the industry and to leverage one-of-a-kind opportunities to exchange
real-world information.
IASA is working to turn its own vision into reality. That is a challenge
with such a large group of members all looking for something special.
West emphasized that, “IASA has no titles. That allows the bright young
systems analysts to serve on a committee with a 20-year veteran when evaluating
new technology or a new operating system. What a great opportunity!” IASA
gives you the forum to get involved in new ideas and take action while
gaining a broad knowledge of industry solutions.
The Bottom Line
So, how does a company transform vision into reality? There
is no magic bullet. There are, however, some key concepts that will help
you:
