“When I read that Einstein failed to figure out a Unified Theory of Everything and died thinking that the universe was ultimately incomprehensible, I realized I could scratch that problem off my own list.”
Thus spoke Robert Fulghum, describing the peace and oneness that comes with finally admitting how little each of us actually knows….about anything.
I recently found a similar kind of peace… in a piece of rather morbid news. About Layoffs. (Upcoming layoffs, to be precise).
And no, I’m not joking. I am privy to confidential information about a group of people that are about to suffer through a devastating experience (job loss), and it actually set my mind somewhat at ease.
(Before you judge me, please finish reading).
A friend recently joined the senior ranks of a billion dollar business unit of a multi-billion dollar technology company which shall remain nameless.
A few months prior, the company had hired a new CEO, who like most new CEOs brought a coterie of loyal executives with him to help get the job done. My friend was one of those lieutentants, and as such was privy to a piece of secret information: the new CEO was planning ‘regime change’. Iraq style. In other words, dozens of middle managers were to be asked to leave the company. Staff who had been with the company for years - many of whom had played key roles in the company’s initial success – were about to receive cute little pink slips of the kind that were routine at General Motors.
Why, you ask?
Simple: after spending several months MBWA (managing by wandering around), the new CEO felt that too many of the middle managers and ground-level employees were complacent.
Low sense of urgency.
High sense of entitlement.
Unwilling to change.
The usual. What leader hasn’t had to deal with problems like these at some point?
But here’s the part that blew me away. My friend’s new company - the same one planning to layoff employees who have become complacent and resistant to change - is routinely ranked by Fortune Magazine among the top 20 places to work - on planet Earth. The company pays higher salaries than almost every competitor (only Google and Microsoft are known to be comparable), with generous year end bonuses of up to 45% for every employee. The list of benefits and perks includes:
Medical (unlimited)
Dental (unlimited)
Free onsite daycare
Laundry services
Matching 401K contributions
Free lunch (5 days a week)
Matching charitable donations
Ultra-cheap onsite massage therapy
Game rooms galore with billiards, X-Boxes, PlayStation 3’s, ping pong tables, and air hockey. Even speed-chess zones.
The list goes on. And on. And on. Trust me, after listening to my friend rhyme off his new company’s list of ‘retention initiatives’, I considered filling out an application form. Though the chances of getting hired were slim to none. This company, like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Google, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Facebook, is after the best of the best – admitting fewer than 5% of the thousands of applicants waiting at the door. The managers of Studio 54 would be proud.
And therein lies the irony that brought me – for a moment at least – a sense of peace.
None of the employees at this unnamed company are fools. Ask any of them whether their company is as great a place to work as Fortune Magazine reports, and they will nod enthusiastically. They routinely turn down recruiter calls, insisting they have no interest in working anywhere else. And yet…complacent they are.
And so it turns out that a company that goes to great lengths to recruit and retain the best people, pay them the highest salaries, shower them with perks and benefits that 90% of global workers can only dream of….is still struggling with a fundamental leadership problem: motivation. Questions like: How do we get our people to realize that what they did in the past won’t work in the future? How do we persuade them to look in the mirror (not out in the window) when things aren’t going right? How do we get the team to embrace change as a matter of routine?
“When I read that Einstein failed to figure out a Unified Theory of Everything and died thinking that the universe was ultimately incomprehensible, I realized I could scratch that problem off my own list.”
Yep, me and Robert Fulghum both. Somehow, I doubt I’m going to be the one to figure out a Unified Theory of Human Motivation. There is a measure of peace in that thought. After all, with Albert Einstein dead and gone, there’d be no one around to celebrate my genius with! Well, maybe Seth McFarlane.
Big company or small business. Silicon valley hip or east coast conservative. Old economy manufacturer or cutting edge high tech. No company is immune. People are people, and as such, only human. As my friend summed up, ‘you can get complacent anywhere.”
And yet…..I sense that this peace is fleeting. Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks once said, “free speech isn’t free.” They’re right. It must be fought for and defended each and every day. And perhaps it’s the same with onsite massage therapy and big bonuses . The same with the heart and culture of an organization. Good things must be fought for and defended….through long hours, innovation, endless questioning, endless trying. As a leader, you don’t have the luxury of giving up and dying.
Einstein had it too easy.
very thoughtful and interesting article. well written and enjoyable to read. thanks.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this. I found it insightful and instructive. Thank you. I'd like to add my two cents: I've found there are two things keep people motivated: Competition (internal as well as external), and change. These two things also keep people interested. The biggest road blocks I have found when taking over an established organization is this 'complacency' that Angel talks about. Ra-ra motivational speeches are only 10% effective. Change and internal competition make the strong stronger and chase those who would remain complacent away. Drawing on the existing team to define the change, and using internal & external people to create internal competition integrates the change into the culture.
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