Integrity in Leadership

"The spirit of an organization is created from the top" Peter F. Drucker :

When you have a job offer, evaluate the character (culture) of the CEO and top management. When you want to enter into a "relationship" with a supplier or a customer evaluate the character (culture) of the CEO and top management. When you want to "acquire" a business with its team, evaluate the character (culture) of the CEO and top management. Etc. etc. etc.

If you do this systematically and objectively, you will save yourself a lot of trouble, and achieve success in your endeavors faster.

Example 1: Not too long ago, a company in the "daily organizers" business bought a fast growing "motivational publishing" company, in order to combine capabilities to launch a new product group. The buyer team was characterized by "operational effectiveness", while the acquired team was characterized by "sales effectiveness" (others are entrepreneurial, Product development, etc.... watch out, no characterization is definitive). Immediately, the buyer imposed a sales and marketing team leader from their own "culture". Two years later, the acquired business had shrunk to a fraction of, even the old size, and the "new" business was going nowhere. They had placed team leaders according to their culture, in order to "control" the new business. But inadvertently put in place people with the wrong "cultural" leaning for the team on the ground, made up primarily of fast growth sales people.

Example 2: Although somewhat "homespun", this one really floored me. I wrote my MBA thesis (way long ago) on what characterized Venture Capital deals that were done (significant investment made), and those that were not done. This at the end of multiple, rigorous investment analysis by each of the 20 VC's I investigated (thanks to the VC Association of Canada). When the investment options were analytically "filtered" down from the 1000's that came into the "hopper", I was frankly stumped... what was it that tipped the scales between the three, or so finalists? Get this, one answer that was characteristic, was: "I take the founder to my favorite Blues club, we spend the evening there, and if we have a great time, and want to go again, I will do the deal!" or, I'm sure you have heard similar before: "I take the founder out for a round of my favorite sport "golf", if she doesn't cheat, we do the deal!" In essence, the answer became: "... can I work with this person when the going gets tough?"