Page 4 - Inside Access-Oct 5th Edition

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Leadership and Business Lessons
from Top CEOs
Business man, Carlos Ghosn believed that in order for one to turn around a company, the support of its employees is crucial. He was also of the opinion that his employees would be the best source of information to understand the critical problems that needed to be fixed, potential solutions, the ways to implement the solutions and the things that were working well in the company. He used to spend a lot of time talking to his employees, process managers and shop floor people. He asked them a lot of open-ended questions and encouraged them to share their ideas. He interviewed as many people as possible, particularly in critical process areas. This approach proved successful as the information he was able to gather proved invaluable to his business decision making processes.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation used to meet his employees across the table over a meal or breakfast. His philosophy was that people would be naturally relaxed without any fear or anxiety while meeting others over food. The meeting would be more informal in nature. It helped Jeffrey personally connect with his people and become close to them.
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart used to meet his employees in his stores and listen to their ideas and concerns. He would often meet his
truck drivers in the early morning at 4am with a box of doughnuts and listen to them for a couple of hours. The drivers would share information about the stores, about people working in the stores, warehouses, about wastages and about the community around the store. He loved spending time with his employees. More importantly, it made him privy to insights that would have otherwise not been available to him.
Commitment
Carlos Ghosn, once Nissan CEO, announced a “Nissan Revival Plan” in 1999 and gave one-year, two-year and three-year plans. He went ahead and publicly announced that he would resign if the company did not turn profitable within one year. His public commitment made many employees believe in him. They understood the seriousness. People don't like change unless that commitment is there.
Contributed by: Oye Jolaoso
PAGE 4 INSIDE ACCESS | OCTOBER 2020 5TH EDITION