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only marginally productive. Profitability was the result of efforts of too
few members of the workforce.
■ Because people expected to work autonomously, some resented attempts
to train and manage them. They neither understood nor appreciated the
value management brought to the product.
■ Some mid- and lower-level managers conspired to keep top leadership
away from the work, fearful that management might try to control
working conditions, work flow, staffing, or hours.
With a mandate to make his department profitable, Andrew had to con-
front the culture directly. First, he formed a leadership team with the four top
managers. They identified the organization’s strengths and problems, and they
began working on the weaknesses. A new financial information system was
installed that assigned hours to jobs and provided reports to top management
that showed which jobs contributed to profitability. Weekly time sheets tracked
the time of particular projects as well as administrative, sales, and product
development time. Profitability took on much greater importance as staffing
and pricing policies were revised. Employees and midlevel managers received
monthly reviews of their hours and productivity.
Most importantly, Andrew met with employees individually and in small
groups on a regular basis, asking, “What are you doing? What’s difficult? How
are projects coming? What are the problems? What do you need? What’s
next?” He did this once, twice, three times a week with members of his lead-
ership team, mid- and lower-level managers, and line employees, and in
biweekly department meetings. He touched base with everyone frequently,
including the support staff and workforce, and he set an example for other
managers to follow. He managed by walking around, listening attentively, and
responding honestly and directly.
Gradually, the culture began to change. People became more attuned to
profitability and accountability. Mid- and lower-level managers, more mind-
ful of the expectations, began to ask for more work and responsibility. Perhaps
most importantly, those who most strongly defended the old culture and
resented the constant supervision, the accountability, the meetings, and the
talk about profitability eventually left the company. Those who replaced them
were selected partly because they had the needed work habits and skills and
partly because in their interviews, they indicated that they expected a differ-
ent culture. The company became hungrier and leaner.