CEO's Column, 1st Quarter, 2011
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Chip Emery, CEO |
If You Don't Know Where You're Going...
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there” – Lewis Carroll
One of the most frequently asked questions about Supply Chain Services from potential hires – whether they are sales people, engineers or administrators – is “what’s your objective?” Indeed that same question keeps coming up at the bank, from friends and even at home. My answer has always been to build a better, stronger, financially-viable long term business. Unfortunately, that answer often doesn’t resonate with my audience. In this era of data overload, people are looking for a simple, catchy answer such as “double the size in two years” or “dominate the data capture market.” People seem to want “tweet” length, sound-bite visions that are easy to understand and quickly digested.
Unfortunately, IMHO the real world isn’t quite that simplistic. While it’s important to have the big picture objective and a concise elevator phrase to articulate it, what’s truly essential is the roadmap to get you there. Without a roadmap or plan, you never know whether everyone’s reading from the same playbook, whether you’re making progress or if you’re even on a useful path.
Last fall the management team here at Supply Chain set out to build that roadmap which centered on growth. We spent a brief time articulating what we wanted to be when we grew up, and then set about digging into all the ways we could possibly get there. A dozen white boards later we drew up a one year plan, the successful implementation of which would put us on a path to the “grown up” vision. The plan has five specific tasks, each with specific assignments. It has agreements on who’s accountable for what and how we are to measure success. We then took the plan to our employees. We laid out the whys and the whats and the priorities. They know what we are trying to do and are excited about our future. When they have questions, they ask us about progress.
It’s only one quarter into 2011 but we know where we are. Employees are clear about the company’s future and regularly throw in new ideas or info on how to move down the path. We are ahead on some of the tasks and behind on others, but the clarity, consistency and commitment in the message make Supply Chain an exciting place to work. To sum up, we know where we’re going, and we’re not on just ‘any’ path. Stay tuned!
