Bartlett, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Shack, a professor at London Business School, published an article entitled "Changing the Role of the Boss" in the September issue of Harvard Business Review (1994 ~ 10). Both of them put forward the latest management trend: no longer relying on strategy, no longer superstitious about architecture, and the boss of a successful company is no longer just an all-round strategist. They broke through the maze of management, set company goals, created an organization that employees can be proud of, and rewritten the meaning of management.
After the company strategy is formulated, there will be a company structure. The company system supports the company structure. These two proverbs are deeply rooted in the thinking of western companies, and no one can surpass them so far. They not only affect the mode of big companies now, but also determine the role played by high-level bosses. However, these two proverbs and their derived management dogmas are no longer appropriate, and their work prescriptions for senior company bosses are no longer appropriate. Now, senior company bosses of large companies must go beyond the fields of strategy, architecture and system, and further establish systems based on objectives, processes and people.
(1) Shen Zhi's ambition
Traditionally, the bosses of high-level companies have been trying to gain the rational commitment of employees through logical persuasion of strategic analysis. However, the objective and calm strategy and the contractual relationship between employees and the company can not inspire employees to make extra efforts and persistent commitments. Only by having all these can the organization create stable and excellent performance. Only from this point, the company needs to really care about employees, and employees and the company should also have deep feelings. In the successful companies we studied, the bosses of high-level companies are deeply rooted in their corporate ambitions in the following three ways.
① Attract the attention and interest of employees.
It is not easy to define a company and make employees feel that the company's goals are meaningful to individuals. Most of these narratives are too vague, which are of little use to some company bosses, often divorced from reality and even lose credibility.
at & amp； T) President Bob Allen found that the company's past ideas and practices were similar to protecting public utilities. Now, at&; T must be changed, and it must be changed when the industry is turbulent. The company planning department puts forward the definition of key strategic tasks, that is, carrying more capacity on the existing network and developing new products to meet the needs of emerging information industries. But Allen decided not to use such rational and analytical terms to talk about the company's goals. There is no strategic intention to focus on the competitive situation, such as invading AT & amp； T counterattacked in the domestic market. Allen chose a very human term. He said: "The company is committed to bringing human beings together so that they can easily contact each other and access the information they need conveniently-anytime, anywhere." This sentence expresses at & amp； T's goal. But he used very simple and personal language so that everyone could understand. It is important that employees can be proud of such a task.
② All organizations are involved.
Establishing the company's ambition is only the touchstone of establishing organizational commitment. The company's ambition must be quite inclusive, so as to induce the participation of all employees in the organization and let the company's ambition be reflected in its daily work. In fact, it is good at using the existing knowledge and professional skills in the organization.
When talking about the importance of stimulating discussion and debate within the organization, Intel President Grove said: "We must make the strategic focus of top management softer in order to create more possibilities within the organization." It is not easy for the bosses of many high-level companies to soften their strategic focus. They are worried that the organization will interpret this approach as a vague strategy, and even think that senior management is hesitant. However, when the bosses of senior companies realize that they are not giving up their responsibilities because of the strategic direction, but are improving the quality of strategic formulation and increasing the chances of strategic success, these concerns will disappear.
③ Creativity
For the bosses of high-level companies, the third challenge is to make the whole organization willing to contribute to the company's goals and make this effort persistent. Everyone must believe that a clear enterprise ambition is reasonable and feasible. It is not a flowery rhetoric used in public relations, nor is it an exaggerated propaganda to boost morale. Such information can be confirmed if the company's top management can make specific commitments to properly defined goals.
Hafton, president of Corning Company, showed that he was serious about his beliefs. He appointed the most competent and respected senior company boss to take charge of the quality management of Corning Company. Despite the severe financial crisis, Hafton allocated $5 million to establish a new quality management college, which is responsible for Corning's large-scale education and organizational development plan. He also promised to increase the training time of each employee to 5% of working hours. Corning's quality management plan soon reached Hafton's goal. As the boss of a high-level company said, "it not only improved the quality, but also brought back self-esteem and self-confidence for employees."
Most companies pay attention to financial results. The strategic goal is to make the company one of the best bosses in the industry, so that the company can achieve the predetermined target of 15% turnover growth. If it is difficult for the company boss to achieve these quantitative goals, the top management will usually achieve these goals in a more irresistible way. For example, using some kind of crisis to stimulate employees-whether it is real or fabricated.
(2) Cohesive organizational values
More often, the boss just keeps explaining these goals in detail and gets everyone's approval. I hope employees will understand them and accept them further. If everyone wants to make extra efforts to achieve the company's goals, they must be able to identify with them. Identifying, communicating and shaping organizational value is more difficult than clearly explaining strategic vision, because the former relies less on analysis and logic and more on emotion and intuition.
Companies that express their opinions boldly usually attract employees who agree with the company's values, and for companies that realize these values, these employees will also make deeper commitments. Lin Dao, vice president of ABB Group, said, "Bosses are not loyal to a boss or even to the company, but to a set of values they believe in."
The body shop, a British-based cosmetics retailer, can best show the strong power between employees' beliefs and the company. Anita Roddick, the founder, created an organizational value, which attracted a group of employees and some customers. They all agree with the organization's commitment to environmental protection and the company's belief. I believe that companies can become agents of social change. When Roddick described his way, he said, "Most companies spend their time on making profits, which I think is simply boring. I want to create a kind of current and enthusiasm so that everyone can get close to the company. Especially young people, you must try to capture their imagination. You must make them feel that they are doing a very important thing. "
(3) Give employees a sense of work.
Every employee who becomes a member of the organization will gain a sense of personal accomplishment and experience the most basic sense of belonging. In order to make dedicated employees realize their own value, organizations must implement great ideas and bold and positive practices at the individual level. The boss of a senior company must establish contact between the company and every employee. Links mean the meaning of mutual commitment. In this relationship, employers do not regard employees as costs that must be controlled, but as assets to be developed. Employees not only invest their time, but also their feelings, so that their company can play a greater role in efficiency and competitiveness. To put it simply, the goal of the boss of a high-level company is to change the relationship between the two, so that employees no longer feel that they work for a company, but make sure that they belong to this organization.
Among the companies we studied, the bosses of the top companies that are best at reaching this new relationship pay attention to the following three activities:
① Affirm personal achievements.
The bigger the company, the more likely employees are to feel like screws on the machine, rather than members of the team. Only with sincere respect and heartfelt concern for employees can the top management of the company lay the foundation of mutual trust. Then, they can show the same concern for the growth of the company and the development of all members of the organization, and continue to develop on this basis.
(2) Develop the potential of employees.
The bosses of high-level companies must look at the training and development of employees from a broader perspective and make more efforts than in the past. Companies should not only train their employees' work skills, but also develop their personal potential.
Andruilin, president of ISS, headquartered in Denmark, believes that one of the reasons why his company is located in 16 countries and has 1 14000 employees is his respect for employees. In addition, he encourages employees to develop and expresses his support and commitment. Andrea believes that training is the key to turning employees into professionals. In addition to training employees' basic work skills, he also further improves their centripetal force and gives them confidence.
③ Cultivate individual initiative and positive spirit.
In a few companies, individual contributions and contributions still constitute the cornerstone of the organizational process. 3M Company is one of them. Since its establishment, 3M Company has always attached great importance to the unlimited entrepreneurial potential within the company. The management has developed the corporate culture and affirmed that individual initiative and enthusiasm are the driving force for the company's growth. Moreover, 3M Company has confirmed this idea and institutionalized it through policies and working procedures. For example, employees are allowed to spend 15% of their working time on the "smuggling plan", which must have development potential for the company. When these folk innovations develop into great undertakings, the company will spread many stories of entrepreneurial heroes, whose influence is more direct and concrete. Through the organizational structure of 3M, the company maintains inspiring beliefs, and employees also believe that individual efforts are important and have a practical impact on the overall performance of the company.
When the bosses of high-level companies set company goals, the three major tasks they face are interdependent. If the company's ambition only emphasizes the company's narrow egoism, it will eventually lose the morale, support and commitment of employees, and these feelings will only appear when the company's goals are linked with broader human ambitions. When organizational values become blind and selfish, companies will soon lose their sense of identity and pride. The existence of these feelings not only attracts employees, but also attracts customers and others. When management's respect and attention to employees' ideas gradually weakens, employees' motivation and commitment will also weaken.
Goals, not strategies, are the reason for the existence of an organization. Defining goals and explaining them must be an important responsibility of the company boss.