Think about your company and the particular group you’re part of. What’s the worst thing about the way it’s set up? I’ve asked this question of different executives in different companies, and here are some of their responses:
- It takes forever to turn an idea into a program.
- The system is set up so that we can’t move on anything until we reach consensus, and consensus often means compromised ideas. Plus, it slows things down.
- Responsibility is divided creatively but unclearly; we have a lot of synergy but not much follow-through.
- We’re supposed to have knowledge exchanges, but there’s no real incentive for people to share their ideas with other groups.
- We have so many teams working on so many different projects that it’s tough to coordinate everyone’s efforts.
- When market conditions change, we’re not set up to change with them. We’re such a big, complex company that we lack flexibility.
- Our flattened structure lets us move quickly, but the way it turns out, we have ten different groups moving quickly in ten different directions.
Take a moment and assess whether your structure is as adaptable, simple, and clear as the Soprano family organization. To help you with your assessment, I’ve created the ABC Quiz, which asks you to assume that your company is in a business similar to that of the Soprano family. If Tony were to take this quiz, he’d pass with flying colors. Most business leaders in most organizations would fail; see how you and your organization fare.
ABC Quiz
If you were trying to schedule a "hit" on one of your competitors, how fast could you assemble and free the right team of people?
Overnight
A week
A month
If your top team and Tony’s top team (Paulie, Sil, and Christopher) were in a competition to see which team was more cohesive and trustworthy, how would your team do?
We’re ready to take ‘em on (remember, Paulie does talk to Johnny Sack every so often).
We’d probably come in third . . . that is assuming there would be another team. Team, what team?
We’d get creamed.
You and your team see an opportunity to corner the market on fenced plasma TVs and you come up with a great strategy. Other factions of your organization, however, raise objections to your strategy once they realize you’re going ahead with it. You don’t think these objections are valid, but their strenuous objections give you pause. Would you:
Keep going? They had their chance to voice their concerns during the planning phase.
Understand their concerns but continue moving forward?
Stop the presses!? Regroup and revisit the strategy.
Your team recently spent a full day with the Supply Chain "probabilities" team (your bookies) clarifying roles, responsibilities, and decision rights. Who does what is all mapped out. Two weeks later, one of the bookies "plays out of position," doing a major piece of work that one of your team members was supposed to do. You:
Call the head bookie immediately and meet and clarify roles and responsibilities.
Call the bookie who played out of position and get in his face about his mistake.
Let it go. You don’t want to deal with the crazy bookie and figure it won’t happen again.
One of your direct reports who also has a dotted-line reporting relationship to one of your peers comes to you because your peer has threatened to whack him if he continues to prioritize the assignments you give him. You:
Call a sit-down with your peer and your direct report to resolve the issues, but make it clear that the way things are structured, you have the last word on this subject.
Tell your direct report to suck up to your peer but continue to prioritize the assignments you give him.
Do nothing. It will sort itself out.
You believe you need to hire someone externally who has expertise in an area your team is lacking experience in—you’re looking for a safecracker who is skilled at digital combinations. Your team is upset—they think they can handle this assignment internally—and communicate they’re against the hire. You:
Hire the person. It’s your decision.
Put off the decision for a while. Take some time to educate your team on the intricacies of cracking a digital combination safe and wait to hire the person until they change their mind.
Don’t hire the person. You don’t want to upset things right now.
You issue a directive informing everyone that from this moment forward, all interactions with buyers of stolen goods, prostitution and gambling customers, and partners in all scams and schemes must be summarized in a report and submitted within one day. Your people would:
Immediately do what you ask without questions or reservations.
Do what you ask but drag their feet a bit.
Question your directive and passively resist doing it.
One of your direct reports tells you he’s quitting the business to find less risky work. You are:
Not surprised because your extensive contacts in your industry told you when he started interviewing for other jobs.
A little surprised but had a sense that he was unhappy.
Shocked. You didn’t see it coming.
You hear a rumor that one of your best customers is going to "flip" to your competitor. Where did you hear this rumor?
From your right-hand man, who heard it from his right-hand man; your network always communicates this type of customer information quickly and accurately.
From your wife, who happened to overhear it over lunch.
Rumor, what rumor?
You’ve never wanted to get into the casino business because it appears to invite too much federal scrutiny, but you meet a politician who you trust and who has the clout to minimize that scrutiny. You:
Immediately change your strategic plan and get into the casino business.
Form a committee to study the feasibility of entering the casino business.
Adhere to your current strategy and avoid the casino business because you’re afraid to try something that had a lot of risk attached to it in the past.
Scoring:
More than eight a’s: Tony will make you his right-hand man.
Half a’s and half b’s: Junior needs a flunky.
Mostly c’s: You can be the assistant manager of a strip club.