In the first installment of this four-part series on CEO decision-making, I emphasized that the success of making a big decision is not the quality of the decision, but the ability to execute the action steps necessary to make the decision a reality. In other words, is your management team properly aligned behind this decision and do they possess the ability, energy, authority and discipline to pull it off?
Implementing a big decision requires teamwork and collaboration. Most big decisions require significant change, which does not come easy to human beings. Adaptability is a skill and an art. The more people you have within your organization who adapt well to change, the higher your chance for success. Moreover, a company which implements big decisions on a regular basis will naturally become more adept at change and be more flexible when asked to modify their work day, process, or duties.
WHAT WE DO
CITRIN COOPERMAN IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. We merge in two, three, as many as six firms annually and completely integrate their practices into ours. This integration involves many people and an incalculable amount of hours. These integrations will last a year or more after the transaction. Executives and their teams from our IT, HR, marketing and operations departments, along with managing partners, practice leaders and many others are intimately involved. Of course all of these people have, let”™s call them “day jobs,” but they find the time (which more often means late nights and weekends) to make the integration as seamless as possible. As noted, it is not just the leadership team that is critical to executing our big decisions.
There are also ancillary benefits to integrating big decisions. These activities create wonderful opportunities for personnel in your organization to shine. Personnel that may not have otherwise received an opportunity to contribute to important strategic initiatives get opportunities to help us integrate these practices into our firm. It becomes a great way to identify and develop future leaders in our firm.
One of the important aspects that make our integrations go well is that our integration team does not look at it as something they will do after they get their “day job” duties done. This is part of their “day job” and we see it as one of the most important parts.
Another ancillary benefit to integrating big decisions is the management, problem solving and collaboration skills that our partners and employees learn integrating these firms. We have done over 40 mergers and everyone is different, with different challenges. But what we have learned ”” and it has been to the benefit of those who step forward to help in these integrations over and over again ”” is we approach these challenges with a developed set of principles and consideration for our culture, which guides us through the challenge. It invariably will involve a transparent process, with the leaders of the merged-in firm and those responsible for that part of the integration, of evaluating the problem, obtaining input, identifying the risks and determining an approach that is consistent with our culture and strategic objectives. Our employees will tell you that integrating firms is part of our DNA and what is principally responsible for the type of culture we have.
THE DECISIONS NEVER END
IMPLEMENTING BIG DECISIONS WILL INVOLVE A MULTITUDE OF SMALLER, TACTICAL AND STRATEGIC DECISIONS. Organizations that build a strong capability for making and implementing big decisions employ sound processes, including investigating multiple alternatives, seeking out dissent and fostering a culture of inquiry for weaving down the path of implementation, rather than advocacy or going with gut feelings. They also employ data and analysis because they know that on a whole, the scientific method is the best guide to making decisions.
Big decisions may involve collaboration with your customers and/or suppliers as you innovate products and services. Assigning cross-functional teams to work closely with vendors and customers will be critical to minimizing implementation missteps.
Overall, implementation of big decisions will involve multiple teams working in concert for a long period of time. During this time, regular communications amongst the groups are critical, therefore those selected to lead these groups must be adept at organization, discipline and collaboration. Most importantly, they must have the authority to drive the team and its members.
A HELPING HAND
AN ORGANIZATION MAY NEED OUTSIDE HELP TO IMPLEMENT A BIG DECISION. If change is not something that happens often in a company, the existing leadership team may need help in organizing, prioritizing and keeping implementation activities on schedule. There are plenty of consulting firms willing to help. The hard part is finding one that understands the big decision, your culture and has done it before with companies in your industry and market.
Implementation of big decisions fail most often due to lack of commitment. Whether it is the employees”™ refusal to commit the required time and energy, or management”™s lack of support for the initiative. The first big decision is always the most difficult, but as CEOs shed the fear of change from their company, its true potential can be achieved.
Mark L. Fagan is a certified public accountant and managing partner of Citrin Cooperman”™s Connecticut office in Norwalk. His areas of expertise include business formation, profitability enhancement, and mergers and acquisitions. He can be reached at 203-847-4068 or at mfagan@citrincooperman.com.
