Accountability
I'm constantly amazed by lack of accountability in the corporate world today. I'm frequently dealing with clients who have been handed the family business and started it on a downward spiral. Yes these members of the lucky sperm club are the one's showing up to work at eleven, leaving at noon for a two hour lunch and then calling it quits at three.
All too often when a child inherits the business and its key employees from their parents junior starts bleeding the company for all it's worth the key employees plead with the now retired owner to come back or leave and form a competitive company. The scenario I'm seeing more of is the former.
When the owner steps back in it's often the key employees that are held accountable instead of Junior's inability to operate the company and function as a responsible member of society. People are fired and salaries are cut all so Junior can continue live in the lifestyle he's become accustomed to.
My observations over the past ten years in a consultancy role for several hundred companies helps me to understand how we've ended up in the precarious situation we as a country are in today. Nobody's being held accountable or accepting responsibility for their actions.
An excellent observation Phin and one that I believe is prevalent on both sides of the Atlantic. Succession planning is limited with many owners assuming that their children have the relevant experience, knowledge and business acumen to take a company onto greater things. The eventual outcome of such assumptions is detailed in your post.
Unfortunately I'm in the reverse position - if I inherit my fathers company then I'll have to work out how to make it profitable once more and realise its potential!
Posted by: Nugget at September 16, 2005 06:14 PMInsightful post phin. When the owner of my Dad's company passed away, his daughter, who never showed an interest in the business before beagn to run it. Thank goodness my Dad got out before it tanked. Since she knew nothing about anything, she got played out big time.
Most of these kids don't realize how hard it is to run a business.
Posted by: NYgirl at September 18, 2005 05:37 PMIt can also be said that company's need to start holding their employees responsible for their actions.
At my job we are having a lot of quality issues because the supervisors are not holding the line operators reposnsible for the work they do. So they keep screwing off and up, don't get in trouble and after awhile they become lazy and take short cuts every where possible.
All the while I am kissing customers butt to keep them happy and trying to fix their problems with employees that just don't give a crap because they know they don't have to give a crap.
Posted by: Machelle at September 20, 2005 02:27 PM
