Page 242 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

Organizational leaders, like politicians, have to prove their humanity—
or at least that they are not so divorced from reality that they can’t recog-
nize good work when they see it.
At John Hancock, the forums we held for all our employees every other
month or so gave me that opportunity. I’d always begin with something
funny. Once I picked someone I didn’t
know out of the front row and said,“Do
me a favor. Go to the cafeteria and
YOUR EMPLOYEES
count how many people are sitting
CAN GET A VERY
there.” Everyone was supposed to be at
GOOD SENSE OF
the forum.
WHO YOU ARE IN A
He came back and said, “Fifty-five.”
Q&A. AND WHEN
I said,“They may be smarter than us.
YOU DON’T HIDE
I’d rather be having a cappuccino, too.”
FROM THEM, THEY
The audience laughed loudly. And no
KNOW THEY HAVE A
one ever went to the cafeteria again dur-
LEADER.
ing one of my sessions.
The forum would also include a
straightforward presentation of how our businesses were doing. Then I’d
take questions from the audience—silly questions, tricky questions,
embarrassing questions alike.
This was hard to do, as difficult as holding a press conference. But your
employees can get a very good sense of who you are in a Q&A. And when
you don’t hide from them, they know they have a leader.
I remember being asked at one forum,“How many hours do you work
a day?”
I answered, “It depends. Some days, 2 hours. Some days, 20. The fact
that I’m in my office 10 hours a day doesn’t mean that I’m working all the
time.”
This is directly contrary to the myth of the bionic executive who hits
the gym at 4 a.m., is at the office by 5:30 a.m., works all day, heads home
at 6:30 p.m., and then uses the hours after dinner to catch up on the day’s

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