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192 Just Promoted!

            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.
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