Page 221 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

THE LESSONS

before returning to the private sector as senior vice president and chief tech-
nical officer for Texas Instruments. His next stop was Bellcore (now known
as Telcordia Technologies) in 1991, where he served as CEO and faced one
of his largest professional challenges.
“At Bellcore I inherited an organization that fought hard to retain its
paternalistic, entitlement-oriented, and hierarchal culture,” Heilmeier
recalled. “While it was no longer possible in American industry, they
wanted me to guarantee them job security and annual salary increases
regardless of contribution. There was little personal responsibility or
accountability. Setbacks were always someone else’s fault.” Heilmeier
knew he would have to clear the air at Bellcore in a hurry; that toxic envi-
ronment was no place to grow a successful business model. But how
would he even begin to solve a problem that large? By thinking about it
in a logical way.
During his time in Washington, Heilmeier developed what he calls his
“catechism” for managing projects or implementing change. Whenever it
was time to launch an initiative or institute a major change, Heilmeier
would ask himself the following questions to help organize his thoughts
toward the development of a workable plan:

• What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives without using
jargon.

• What is being done today, and what are the limitations of the current
practice?
• What is new in your approach, and why do you think it will be
successful?

• Who cares? If you’re successful, what difference will it make?
• What are the risks and the payoffs?

• How much will it cost? How long will it take?
• What are the midterm and final “exams” to check for success?

At Bellcore, Heilmeier used this “preflight checklist” and then taught
it to the people in the company who would be implementing the ensuing
changes. Thus, he and his team arrived at a well-conceived plan to rewire

206