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ã 2000 Hopkins and Company, LLC
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Polarized constituents
The next President and
Chief Executive Officer of the United States will lead 49 million voters who
selected him; 49 million voters who chose someone else; and about 49 million
eligible voters who decided not to vote. As of our publication date, we still
don’t know who that President will be. That new president will face a
situation most executives deal with daily: how to lead and manage a polarized
and diversified constituency. Which constituents come first, and why? Can a
diverse workgroup, like a team of employees, work together for common success?
What conditions can an executive create to ensure that the organization
prospers along with its constituents? What does an executive need to do to
ensure inclusion and cooperation? When does an executive need to act in ways
that are not supported by key constituents? When is an executive left out in
the polar cold after alienating board members, shareholders, employees,
customers, members or voters? Then what? Enjoy reading this holiday issue of Executive Times, which contains our
expanded book list, including highlights from 2000 reading and a look into
2001. Readers of the print issue can go to http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/et1200sub.html
to access the links in the web version.
Forward to the past
At least two more
companies brought back a former CEO recently, following disagreements over
strategic direction. Maytag
Corporation announced
in November that Leonard Hadley (CEO from 1992 to 1999) will replace
CEO Lloyd Ward who resigned following “a difference with the Board of
Directors over the Company's strategic outlook and direction.” Ward’s short
tenure was marked by a big decline in stock price, and rumors of Maytag being
acquired by a European company. The October 1999
issue of Executive Times called
attention to the early trial by fire faced by Ward following an earnings
surprise, and we predicted, in error, that Ward would “prove to be a great
CEO for Maytag.” The Board disagreed, and gave the company’s reins back to
Hadley while they search for a “permanent” CEO. Newell Rubbermaid announced the
resignation of CEO John J. McDonough and his replacement with former
CEO, current Chairman William P. Sovey. According to The
Wall Street Journal (11/2/00),
McDonough was unable to generate earnings growth following Newell’s merger
with Rubbermaid in 1999.
How do you
know when it’s time to reverse direction? Signs like stock price and merger
flops can lead directors to change CEO’s quickly. What signs do you use to
initiate changes? When you differ on strategic direction, what do you do? Who
will you rely on during a transition? Can a former CEO step in? If you are a
CEO, how do you assess the alignment or differences with your Board of
Directors? If a former CEO sits on your board, what’s your relationship with
that person? If you’re grooming yourself or being groomed to become a CEO,
what key skills are you focused on? What will make you the best CEO for the
organization?
Dimpled chad
What is it about reverses
in strategy and changes in direction by others that some of us find amusing?
Is there a seasonality in trends to diversify and attempts to focus? Are
those seasons changing faster than ever before? Like the dimpled chad on
keypunch voting cards, what’s the intention of companies that begin to seek
out others, and then back away abruptly? Recently, we were surprised when Coke
engaged in talks to acquire Quaker, gaining the strong Gatorade brand,
but also acquiring a diversification into food that would move Coke away from
its long-term exclusive focus on beverages. It appears that Coke moved
because Pepsi was interested, then backed
away when the Coke Board voted no. Hewlett Packard moved forward to
explore acquiring the consulting business of PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
then backed
off. CEO Carly Fiorina reaffirmed the strategic logic of the deal, but
given the failure to come to terms, decided to remove the distraction.
Tomorrow is another day.
What leads you
to look outside your core business? Are you tentatively punching chad,
leaving a dimple and an uncommitted exploration of a new business, or have
you decisively penetrated into a new business arena? Are you distracted by
the actions of competitors, leading to a change in your direction, or do you
remain focused on your own plan? When do you decide to move ahead, and when
do you decide to walk away? What causes you to focus, and what distracts
you?
Reading
(Note: readers of the web version of Executive Times can click on the
book covers or titles to order copies directly from amazon.com. When you order through these links,
Hopkins & Company receives a small payment from amazon.com. Subscribers to the print version of Executive Times
can receive the web version at no additional cost. Send e-mail to hopkinsandcompany@att.net with a
request to be placed on the web version distribution list. Also, not all books we read make it to the
pages of Executive
Times. Check out other
book selections on our bookshelf at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/bookshelf.html).
Based on suggestions from
readers, this year’s expanded book section highlights the best and worst from
the 2000 issues of Executive Times
as well sections on books that never made these pages and books we’re looking
forward to for 2001.
The Top 10 Recommended Books from Executive
Times 2000:
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Title
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Author
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Issue Date
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Executive Times Advice
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Purchase
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Flawed Advice and the
Management Trap: How Managers Can Know When They’re Getting Good Advice and
When They’re Not
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Argyris, Chris
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05/00
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Having trouble implementing the recommendations of consultants?
Argyris explains why and takes on other consultants in the process. Highly
recommended.
|
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First, Break All the
Rules
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Buckingham, Marcus and Coffman, Curt
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2/00
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Buy this book and pick and choose some approaches used by great
managers that fit your individual style.
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Leading
the Revolution
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Hamel, Gary
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10/00
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Reading this book is annoying, disturbing and uncomfortable, which are
three great reasons to pick it up. Read
more about this book.
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Birth of the Chaordic
Age
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Hock, Dee
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4/00
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Great story about the founding of VISA International and the
principles on which the organization was based. Hock proposes ways for
organizations to reinvent themselves. Highly recommended.
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Of Money and Markets: A
Wall Street Memoir
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Kaufman, Henry
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8/00
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Economic history at its best. Kaufman’s writing is careful and
clear. Highly recommended.
|
|
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Trusted
Partners: How Companies Build Mutual Trust and Win Together
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Lewis, Jordan
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09/00
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Highly recommended, practical book that tells detailed stories about
what line managers actually did to form alliances with other companies.
Text is accompanied by tools that you can use in exploring your own
alliances.
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The New New Thing
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Lewis, Michael
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5/00
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The story of Jim Clark of Silicon Graphics, Netscape and Healtheon
fame as told by a great writer.
This book is a reading pleasure and we recommend it highly.
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When Genius Failed: The
Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management
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Lowenstein, Roger
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11/00
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This is a great story of hubris and dumb mistakes by very smart
people. Read
more about this book.
|
|
|
Winston and Clementine:
The Personal Letters of the Churchills
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Soames, Mary
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2/00
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Highly recommended. Eavesdrop
on their sixty year loving relationship.
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Taken
for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off with Chrysler
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Vlasic, Bill and Stertz, Bradley A.
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8/00
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Great book that discloses the behavior of key players as Daimler
steals Chrysler. Reads like a good mystery. Recommended.
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Non-Zero: The Logic of
Human Destiny
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Wright, Robert
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6/00
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A well-argued thesis that organic history and human history have a
direction. If we are heading somewhere, Wright thinks it’s likely to be
toward mutual cooperation, hence the non-zero concept from game theorists.
|
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Worst 5 Books from Executive Times 2000
10 more recommended books not reviewed in Executive
Times 2000
Print
readers can access “read more about this book” at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/books/list.htm
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Title
|
Author
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Comments
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Purchase
|
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Postville: A Clash of
Cultures in Heartland America
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Bloom, Stephen G.
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When a group of Lubavitchers opened a kosher slaughterhouse in rural
Iowa, the town of Postville changed dramatically. Read more about
this book.
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A
Friend of the Earth
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Boyle, T. C.
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Readers are likely to either hate or love reading Tom Boyle’s
novels. This latest one makes fun of environmentalists while presenting a
fairly depressing tale if you take him too seriously.
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|
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The
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
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Chabon, Michael
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Chabon’s done everything we want a good novelist to do: well developed
characters, engaging plot, descriptive language. Highly recommended. Read
more about this book.
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|
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The
Devil Never Sleeps
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Codrescu, Andre
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This book of essays by poet Andre Codrescu is funny and irreverent,
two good reasons to pick it up. You may have heard him on National Public
Radio, or checked out his online periodical, Exquisite Corpse.
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American
Pharoah: Mayor Richard J. Daley---His Battle for Chicago and the Nation
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Cohen, Adam and Taylor, Elizabeth
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Flattering biography of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Some of his
complexity is explained and the reader learns as much about Chicago as
about Daley. Well worth reading.
|
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Cowboy
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Davidson, Sara
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A well-told love story. Unexpected romance and love strikes the
heroine and leads her to adventure. Davidson hooks you early on, and
reading each page is a pleasure.
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Big City Eyes
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Ephron, Delia
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Enjoyable and engaging. Sometimes Ephron leads the reader to
laughing out loud; most of the time, one reads with an ongoing smile. A
pleasant evening’s reading. Read
more about this book.
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|
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Never
Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Peyton
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Peyton, Walter with Don Yaeger
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Inspiring story of Peyton’s life and his courageous fighting spirit
as an athlete and in battling cancer. Read
more about this book.
|
|
|
EVEolution:
The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women
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Popcorn, Faith
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If you’re marketing to women, this book is required
reading. Popcorn presents eight truths with clarity and examples. Read more
about this book.
|
|
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Generations
at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your
Workplace
|
Zemke, Ron
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This is one of the few books we’ve run across that delves deeply
into what it takes to ensure that a workplace nurtures the skills of
workers across different generations, and ensures that they listen well to
each other and work together effectively.
|
|
10 books we look forward to reading in 2001
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Title
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Author
|
Comments
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Purchase
|
|
Nothing
Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad
1863-1869
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Ambrose, Stephen E.
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Ambrose writes history with care and joy, and the reader usually
comes away with information and interest, stimulated by fine writing.
Building the railroad was a significant feat, and the technological
obstacles were considerable. We expect Ambrose to lead us through this book
with his usual skill.
|
|
|
The
Blind Assassin
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Atwood, Margaret
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We’ve liked other Atwood novels, and expect that this Booker award
winner will be a joy to read.
|
|
|
Joe
DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life
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Cramer, Richard Ben
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Where did the myth end and the man begin? What about this hero was real,
and what was made up? We look forward to reading this book, said to be
meticulously researched by its Pulitzer-prize winning author.
|
|
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The
Informant: A True Story
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Eichenwald, Kurt
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Mark Whitacre’s name was all over the business press during the
early 1990’s when the former Archer Daniels Midland VP went undercover for
the FBI to reveal a price fixing scandal. Later, we learned Whitacre was
embezelling from ADM. We expect this book to read like a novel, and look
forward to picking it up.
|
|
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The
Inextinguishable Symphony: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany
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Goldsmith, Martin
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Listeners to National Public Radio’s Performance Today have
come to appreciate Martin Goldsmith’s love of fine music. This book
presents the story of Goldsmith’s family and the suffering they endured in
Nazi Germany.
|
|
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Damn
Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger
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Lowe, Janet
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We’ve all heard of Warren Buffet, but his long-time partner Charlie
Munger has taken a lower profile. We’re curious to see if Munger really is
“the brains behind Warren Buffet.” We know that Munger’s a staunch advocate
of ethical business practices, and look forward to reading what else this
book has to say about him.
|
|
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Darkness
in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon
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Tierney, Patrick
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Controversial book about exploitation of the Yanomani, a native
Amazon culture. Tierney claims that warfare among the Yanomani was
instigated by the anthropology researchers working there. If you liked
Jared Diamond’s | |
