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When Heads Must Roll.

When should we settle for systemic improvement and when must we hold people personally accountable?

 by Dov Gordon

When there is a mess-up, be it in an organization or at the political level, we are very tempted to look for scapegoats.  It is also the wrong place to start.

Most mess ups are caused not by gross negligence or incompetence but by innocent error, miscommunication, misunderstanding, insufficient planning and the like.  Taking the time to understand the true cause of a problem rather than who is to blame is the best way to prevent similar scenarios in the future.

However, sometimes heads must roll.

The big news and the subject of heated debate here in Israel is the recently released Winograd Report.  The Winograd Committee, responsible for investigating the cause of Israel’s sorry performance in the Second Lebanon War last summer, has determined that blame for the “grave failures” during the war lies primarily with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former Chief of Staff Lt.-General Dan Halutz.

Many are calling for the immediate resignation of Olmert and Peretz.  (Indeed, a Channel 2 poll conducted after the release of the report found that if elections for Prime Minister were to be held today, Peretz would receive 1% of the vote while Olmert would take home a full 0%!)  Yet both refuse to resign.  Others claim that we must not turn this into a “political battering ram.”  Mostly from Olmert’s Kadima party, they aim to position anyone calling for Olmert’s resignation as going against the interests of the nation.  They advocate studying the causes of the problems and correcting them rather than laying blame.

Very sensible, but only as a starting point.  It should not be either – or.  In real life we must do both.

Where is the line?  When are you justified in saying “YOU are the cause and YOU must go?”

If a thorough and honest study finds that a cause – or the cause – of a problem is someone who is unfit for the job, we must let him go.  If we determine that he lacks requisite skills, discipline, judgment or responsibility and for whatever reason we conclude that he lacks the capacity to quickly grow into the job, he must go.  That’s the line and when followed it is the best decision for the individual, the company, and on a political front, the country.

I’ll leave it up to those who’ve seen the evidence up close to determine if Olmert is capable of learning from his mistakes and rising to meet prime ministerial responsibilities.  However I strongly disagree with the assertion that we are in an either-or situation.  We must work to correct the systemic failures.  We must also determine if certain key people are whip cream on top, to be prolonged and savored, or a layer of fat, to be skimmed and discarded.

THE CEO THOUGHT-PROVOKERâ„¢ SUMMARY:

When do we conclude that the cause of a problem lies with a person and when do we determine it lies with a process, system or faulty communication?

Always look first at the processes.  Then look at the people.  If you determine, after honest and objective evaluation that even with well functioning systems these people would cause problems – or they are incapable of creating or maintaining functioning systems – they’ve got to go because they are the cause.

Dov Gordon is President of The Chief Executive Round-Table, www.IsraeliCEO.com, a CEO peer advisory group whose members include the CEOs of some of Israel’s leading mid-sized companies.  He is also a sought after management and strategy consultant and author of the audio book “If You Are ‘Implementing’ Your Strategy – You Don’t Have One” at www.Superior-Strategy.com

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Resources for executives, managers and business leaders:

 Dov Gordon's audio book, “If You Are Implementing Your Strategy – You Don’t Have One:  How to Control and Grow Your Business.”  Got to www.Superior-Strategy.com and listen to the first 25 minutes on me.

Read what others say about this audio book:

"The greatest compliment I can give a book or audio program is, 'It caused me to take action.' The second best is, 'It made me think.'  Dov's audio and workbook program, 'If You Are 'Implementing' Your Strategy—You Don't Have One,' accomplishes both—and I do strategy consulting!"     

-- Bruce Johnson, President, Make it Remarkable, LLC.  (In a past life, Bruce founded and led his church from two to two thousand members.) www.BruceDJohnson.com

“Dov, your audio book on strategic thinking presents a philosophy and process that is clearer, more sensible and more actionable than any other approach I’ve seen.  Additionally, I enjoyed the numerous real life examples you used to illustrate your points, especially the story of the Curta.  - Skip Weisman, President, Weisman Success Resources, Inc.  www.WeismanSuccessResources.com

Dov Gordon’s coaching and consulting helps business leaders in organizations of any size, around the world, to sharpen their focus, open their eyes to blind spots and take greater control over their businesses.  To find out how you could benefit contact Dov.   dov@gordongroupec.com

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Archives of The CEO Thought-Provokerâ„¢ are here:  http://www.gordongroupec.com/articles.html

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Dov Gordon helps senior executives at small and mid-sized companies around the world to earn the respect and admiration of their marketplace.  Clients benefit from clarifying their strategies, sharpening their focus, better decision making, improved teamwork and growing into great leaders.

Management and Strategy Consulting.

Executive Coaching.

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Copyright 2007 © by Dov Gordon.  All rights reserved.