StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Special Edition 34a – An Interview with Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better, part 1 of 2 examines how U.S. Cellular achieved superior results by becoming a Dynamic Organization, a transformational change that focused the organization on the customer and on valuing its front line associates. During our discussion, Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better and Principal at Esler Kruger Associates, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:
performance gains U.S. Cellular made from 2000 to 2008 by evolving into a ‘Dynamic Organization’
what a ‘Dynamic Organization’ is and the model’s major components
tools used to implement the ‘Dynamic Organization’ concept
Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better, is a Principal at Esler Kruger Associates, a consulting firm that for more than 20 years has helped organizations and their leaders become more effective. Dave has a corporate background in communications and human resources from Metropolitan Life and Nortel Networks and several years of consulting experience. He is the author of many articles on a variety of business topics.
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You have expended a lot of time and money to earn your degree. You are representing a well-respected firm who is interested in developing your talents. You are putting in long hours and earning a great salary in return.
To be successful in business today, however, you must have more than a JD and a reputable organization behind your name. Climbing that slippery ladder of success means being thoughtful and engaging with those around you. In fact, the attention you pay to detail is the main ingredient that differentiates you from evolving from a business person to a business professional.
Where are you in your evolution from business person to business professional? Picture yourself in the following 17 situations to find out:
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Ann Marie Sabath is the founder of At Ease Inc., the 23-year old business protocol and development Cincinnati training firm. Her Strategies for Gaining That Competitive Edge in Today’s Workplace and other business development programs is a regular part of many organization’s Business Development programs. Sabath also is the author of eight books on domestic and international etiquette. Her newest release, Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and Savvy [Third Edition] was published by Career Press (www.CareerPress.com), and hit bookstores in March 2010.
Do you have an etiquette question? E-mail it to Sabath at [email protected] or call her at 212-956-1807.
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Changing circumstances and constrained resources challenge the on-time, on-budget completion of every project. And in the real business world, some projects incur significant scope changes and others will fall behind schedule.
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What would it be like to have the ultimate home court advantage? How about:
Defining the rules of the game;
Changing the rules of the game, in your favor of course, at any time after the game has started;
Refereeing the game and being allowed to choose when and when not to penalize your team for rules violations;
Enticingly recruiting the opponents best players; and
Examining the other teams’ playbooks, trade secrets, and other confidential materials on demand?
That’s not just a home court advantage, it’s cheating – and in the business world there exists laws against such behavior… or does there?
Anti-trust laws and regulatory agencies overseeing monopoly businesses prevent any one company from gaining such significant market dominance as to create an unfair competitive advantage and establishing conditions of consumer vulnerability. Other laws, most notably the recently enacted Sarbanes-Oxley regulations, establish separation between auditors and the audited to eliminate conflicts of interest.
Recent bailouts by the U.S. government created an imbalance in the marketplace; introducing a ‘super competitor’ who is business owner, rule maker, and law enforcer. This ‘super competitor’ has no marketplace rival with even a fraction of its power and no immediate oversight as ballot box accountability occurs in only two year increments. As executives from Goldman Sachs learned, having had to sit through the U.S. Senate’s berating and vulgarities, there is little defense to be made once government officials have decided to target your organization.
As business owners, government officials act to further their companies’ goals; the problem is they have demonstrated a propensity to further their political interests as well. While at the center of the U.S. economic meltdown of 2008, poor business practices by mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now owned by the U.S. government, are not addressed by the proposed financial markets regulatory bill being considered by Congress.1 And this is not be the first time Fannie Mae appears to have benefited from Congressional favoritism.2
StrategyDriven Recommended Practices
The conflict of interest created by the government’s entry into the marketplace is not likely to end soon. Therefore, StrategyDriven recommends organization leaders take the following actions:
Always behave ethically and promote ethical behavior among your employees. The best way to avoid government scrutiny is to not place yourself or your organization in a position of question. Ask yourself… How would this read on the front page of The New York Times? or Would I be proud to tell my mother I did this?
Respond to legitimate, legal government/regulatory requests for information; providing only what is asked for in a clear, concise, and truthful manner. Providing government officials with information they are either not entitled to or that is extraneous invites further questioning and scrutiny. This presents officials seeking a diversion from their own political ills an avenue to shift the public’s attention to you and your business; inappropriately if you and your organization have behaved ethically.
Establish an email content policy. Business email systems should be used for business purposes only – not for personal communications. Additionally, if emails are written for only business purposes, then they should only contain business appropriate language – no vulgarities.
Create an email/document retention and destruction policy. Some emails/documents must be retained for legal purposes; others for business reasons. Emails/documents not having a legitimate retention need should be destroyed within an appropriate timeframe.
Act quickly to restrict departing employee access to email, files, and records and quarantine their business materials particularly if they are joining a competitor or the government. This practice is unfortunate but necessary. As a corporate leader, it is your responsibility to protect your organization’s intellectual property and confidential materials as well as that of your clients and suppliers. Now that the government is a competitor and regulator, those going into government service represent a real business risk as government officials have demonstrated a propensity to act in both the interest of government companies and their political careers.
Don’t accept government bailout money. Companies accepting government funding become beholden to politicians whose goals and ambitions may not align with that of the business or its shareholders. Avoid the conflict of interest by not allowing it to exist in the first place.
None of these recommendations should be construed as a suggestion to avoid legal requirements or ethical behavior. Rather, they are recommendations to comply with the letter and intent of the law and to act with the utmost integrity. What we are suggesting is that action going beyond compliance or showing generosity toward the ‘super competitor’ U.S. government is unwarranted and should be avoided.
Final Thought…
The purpose of this editorial is to highlight actions executives and managers should take in this era of heightened government business ownership and marketplace participation rather than debate the unfortunate and often inappropriate actions of those responsible for these circumstances. StrategyDriven does not condone the actions of Goldman Sachs leaders and employees. We are also disappointed by the unbecoming behavior exhibited by Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) during the Goldman Sachs hearings3 and the other seemingly inappropriate relationships between members of Congress and various financial institutions.
Final Request…
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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
and Principal at Esler Kruger Associates, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:
performance gains U.S. Cellular made from 2000 to 2008 by evolving into a ‘Dynamic Organization’
Ann Marie Sabath is the founder of At Ease Inc., the 23-year old business protocol and development Cincinnati training firm. Her Strategies for Gaining That Competitive Edge in Today’s Workplace and other business development programs is a regular part of many organization’s Business Development programs. Sabath also is the author of eight books on domestic and international etiquette. Her newest release, 
was published by Career Press (
Changing circumstances and constrained resources challenge the on-time, on-budget completion of every project. And in the real business world, some projects incur significant scope changes and others will fall behind schedule.
What would it be like to have the ultimate home court advantage? How about:
“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.”
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