“I want you to know how much I appreciate your clearing schedules to allow us to meet this morning. I also want you to know just how much I appreciate all the information you’ve been sharing to help get me up to speed quickly. You’ve done everything I’ve asked, and you couldn’t have given me a better introduction to the company. Thanks especially to you, Kari, and to you, Tony, for arranging visits to our key customers and our plants. Those were beneficial trips and really helped me understand how the business is working today.

“As you know, Susan and the Board are expecting great things from us. They expect us to turn the business around quickly. I would like to take it a step further. My vision is that within 10 years, Cosmetics Products will be the largest, most profitable operating division in Amalgamated Consumer Products and one of the top five largest producers of cosmetics products in North America.”

That statement brought the leadership team upright and to the edges of their chairs. Glances were exchanged among Greg’s Leadership Team before there was a consensus of nods and smiles. It was a clearly stated vision and was already energizing the team. It was also, by definition, a breakthrough vision since no one in the room had any idea how they could make it happen. They all tacitly agreed, however, that it was a vision worthy of a strong leader and just might get the organization moving.

“I sense as I look around the room that you can buy into that vision. That is very important because it will take enormous effort and will require each of us to change the way we do our work. Further, it won’t happen overnight or be driven by wishful thinking. It will take more hard work than you can imagine. I will understand if any individual wants to opt out. If you do, let me know by tomorrow morning and I’ll work with you to make the transition out of the business more than fair to you. If you are in, I want you to let me know that, too. I won’t put you on the spot now; let’s do that one-to-one later today or first thing in the morning.

“What I’ll share with you today are some specific directives and marching orders that will get us started as we work together to clarify our strategy and action steps. My overall assessment, based on my three weeks here, is that the Amalgamated strategy is excellent. The Cosmetics Products strategy is supportive and pretty close to what it needs to be, but lacks clarity. It needs some work and a more precise statement of the future to better match the environment we’re in. Our execution of the strategy we do have has been something less than poor. That’s why I am going to state my expectations today.

“Just so you know, I discussed this yesterday at great length with Stu. He is in fundamental agreement, but thinks I am being a bit too aggressive. He continues to believe we should be patient, push for a product breakthrough, and then marshal all the ‘marketing brilliance’ we can pull together to propel the division into a leadership position. As you might have guessed by now, I am not that patient; nor is Susan; nor is the Board. We either turn the business around very soon, or Amalgamated might be back to three divisions again. That will not happen on my watch!

“On May 1, I will share this information and direction with Susan. I expect that by then we will have taken many of these steps and will be delivering some early positive results. If you have any concerns about the directives I lay out, or believe I have misinterpreted any information you shared with me, let me know before I go to Susan. Otherwise, I’ll expect complete alignment and support from each of you. The ‘enemy’ is outside the walls of our buildings, but any outside observer who has heard what I’ve heard would believe that the enemy is inside. That must end now. Any questions before I begin?”

No one voiced any questions or concerns, but the tension in the room was plainly evident. To date, no one had heard Greg speak so directly or seriously. He seemed to be a different person.

“First I want to say right up front that each of you, and every individual that works for us for that matter, is a part of Amalgamated Consumer Products Corporation’s Cosmetics Products division. Our old companies no longer exist. We are members of the same team and must start behaving like we are. That means we adopt some common procedures and stop comparing how we do things here with how we used to do them in our old companies.

“Next, you were open with me. Now I want you to be open with each other. If one of you has a problem with what someone is doing or how someone is performing, I want you to talk with that person and decide together what to do about it. If you can’t resolve the difference, let me know and I will help facilitate resolution. We must stop wasting time and energy with internal conflicts that only drain energy.

“Now let me turn to some operational expectations I have. It is no secret that our results are unacceptable. I wish all of you could have been with Kari and me when we visited our customers. They told us pointedly that we are unreliable suppliers. They and their customers like the quality and value of our products, but they all told us that we are costing them money when our shelf space or display pegs are empty. I might add that those empty spaces are also costing us money and are delighting our competitors. From this point on, I want a daily report of any orders shorted or shipped late. Every one; every day. I expect that report to include an analysis of the cause and the action steps being taken to eliminate the problem.

“Beginning right now, we will operate from the position that all customer orders are sacred. We will no longer tolerate not having the product to ship when we get an order. To that end, beginning next week we will meet every Friday afternoon at three to reach agreement on the following week’s volume forecast and quarterly volume forecast, and to look at our performance against volume and profit commitments for the month and quarter to date. If we are behind, I expect a plan to catch up, and I want recommendations on how to keep from getting in that position again. Kari and Sara, I would like you to lead those meetings. By the way, Kari, I would like your Sales and Marketing directors, Charlie and Sharon, to participate in those meetings every week, even if it’s by conference call.”

Zachary offered a suggestion. “Greg, I recommend that we have those meetings on Thursday afternoons. I don’t mind staying here until well after six during the week and normally do, but I like to get an early start on the weekend. I know that’s true for several of us on the team. Anything magic about Friday?”

“When we meet, Zach, I want us to have all the information possible to predict the upcoming week and assess what happened in the current week. But you may have a good idea. Our biggest customer has similar meetings every Saturday morning. Given their history of growth and the fact that they are the largest company in the free world, they may be on to something. Would anyone prefer Saturday morning over Friday afternoon?” The meeting time remained as scheduled, Friday at 3 P.M.

Tony spoke up, “Could I ask a clarifying question, Greg?”

“Of course you may, Tony.”

“What do we do when one of the Field Sales people places an order for a product that exceeds the entire inventory that we have in the distribution system?”

“That’s an issue that you and Kari need to discuss and resolve. If you need my help after you’ve talked, let me know. Just remember, we will operate as though customer orders are sacred. We don’t cut product from orders and let the customer find out about it when the truck arrives at their dock. This is especially critical in the first three months of a product launch. Let me be perfectly clear. There is just no acceptable excuse for cutting a customer order during the first three months of a launch.” Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

“Closely associated with that is how we utilize our supply organization’s assets. On paper we have plenty of manufacturing capacity, but based on what I observed in the plants, we are spending too much unplanned time changing from one product to another. A couple of key performance measures that I will look at monthly include our efficiency and our utilization of those assets. In other words, the percentage of the hours in the week the production assets are actually running, and how close they are coming to producing ideal output during those operating hours.

“By running more steadily and better, I expect that we can build the inventory we need to improve customer service. I know our warehouses are bulging at the seams, but I think the problem is that we have underestimated the amount of inventory it takes to provide good customer service in this industry. Building more inventory will increase costs, but costs are not our most pressing problem today. We simply have to eliminate customer service problems in a hurry to buy the time we need to work on costs. I’ll make sure Susan knows our direction and that our first priority is customer service. I know Susan well enough to know that she will be totally supportive.

“Tony, I expect you to keep me informed of our performance and let me know what you are doing if we are headed in the wrong direction on those measures, or, for that matter, if we are running at maximum capacity and still can’t keep up with shipments.

“Kari, there’s a piece of this measure that’s up to Sales. I want a plan on my desk a week from today that shows how we are going to start selling some of the product that is still in the warehouse from older product launches and promotions. We need to do a better job of selling what we already have while Tony gets caught up on the products that have a low inventory level. I would also like to know just how much of our total inventory falls into that category. David, I’d like you to help gather that information for Kari. It’s great that Field Sales can oversell forecast on the products that are easy to sell. I want to see them begin to oversell forecast across the board!”

Tony started to object to that directive, but stopped just as quickly as he started when Greg continued without pause.

“Additionally, Kari, I want you to rein in the entertainment spending your Sales team is doing. That shouldn’t be a problem since we will be improving the customer service results. The money saved can go directly to fund your marketing plans. And I want the marketing campaigns to be more effective in building the business.

“Let me go back to new product launches for a minute. We will not delay the product launch dates in the future. We will begin following the formal launch protocol today. If there is any probability that an issue will delay a launch, I want to know about it immediately. I also want a recommendation about what to do to resolve the issue. Matt, I’ll look to you for that. If, for some reason, there is no way to overcome the issue, I will make the delay decision. I fully expect that I will never have to make that decision.

“Finally, two other points about cost control. Until we get the business growing again, and with the exception of routine purchases of materials required to make our products, I want to make any purchase decision over $50,000. David, I’ll expect you to ensure that those purchases of raw and packaging materials are reasonable and absolutely required to run the business. I also want each of you to personally approve any other expenditure over $5,000 requested by people in your organizations.

“One other thought, Kari. If you would like me to go over these points with Charlie and Sharon, I would be happy to do that. Same offer is in place for you, Tony, with Savannah and Brion. Just let me know. Other than that, any questions?”

Greg answered a few minor clarifying questions, but was surprised that the normally vocal group was so silent. He offered them the use of the conference room for the rest of the morning and excused himself. Greg suggested they use the time to begin working on plans to carry out the new directives.

After Greg left the room, they all agreed that they had just entered a new era. Stu had never been so direct or intense with them as Greg was in this meeting. There was no question that the baton had been passed. With that transition came the weight of accountability they had not felt in quite the same way before. The vision of being Amalgamated’s largest division and a key player in the industry was galvanizing to the team. They talked together for the next two hours about how they could make that happen, but each of them had unspoken reservations about their collective ability to pull it off.

On May 1, having had no one opt out and no significant input from his team, and having made no changes to the directives he set out just a week before, Greg met with Susan as she had requested. He reviewed the current operating results, marketing and sales initiatives, new product plans, and the results from his visits with key customers. Greg was particularly optimistic about the launch of “Quiet Nights,” a new aromatherapy formulation that had a remarkable ability to provide consumers a restful night’s sleep despite their level of daily stress. Perhaps it would be that breakthrough product Stu had been counting on. Greg explained to Susan, however, that he was not counting on any particular product to deliver a quick turnaround. He reviewed with her the meeting with his Cosmetics Products Leadership Team. He covered each directive, his rationale, and the expected results. Greg made a compelling presentation and assured Susan that these action steps had worked for him in the past, although he had never been in a position that required taking all of them simultaneously; and he hoped to start delivering business results within the next three months.

Susan asked some probing strategy questions. From his answers, it was obvious to Susan that Greg was confident about his plan. She certainly hoped it would deliver the results she needed. She especially liked the plan for a weekly meeting in which the leadership team would agree on the monthly and quarterly plans to close any gaps.

Greg finished his presentation by reviewing his assessment of the Cosmetics Products Leadership Team, the development plans he had in mind for each individual, and his concerns about some of them, including Tony’s apparent inflexibility. Susan was impressed.

“You’ve done a magnificent job of quickly getting your arms around Cosmetics Products, as I knew you would. It sounds like the plan you shared should stabilize the business and get it growing again. My next request of you is to do a deeper review of the overall business strategy. I would like your thoughts about the current mix of products, services, and channels, what additional lines we might add and what potential consumer needs we should be addressing. I still believe, as you do, that Cosmetics Products will be the biggest and most profitable division. Nothing would make the Board and me happier. I’ll get an hour on the Board’s agenda in July so that we can present our updated strategy and plans for Cosmetics Products.”

It had been a tough month of travel, meetings, and long hours, but Greg was pleased with his accomplishments during his first month as President. He had taken the reins and was obviously in control. Stu suggested that he and Greg switch offices and that he spend very little time in the office. Stu wanted the Leadership Team to see that he was no longer running the show. “I’ll be on call for you, Greg, either at home or on the golf course. Don’t think twice about picking up the phone and calling me about anything at any time.” What Stu did not say was that he had some serious reservations about the radical changes Greg was making. He did not want to be seen as responsible for the fallout he suspected was coming. He had told Greg to be patient, but that was not in Greg’s make up. Greg quickly agreed to Stu’s offer since he, too, wanted to be seen by the staff as the clear leader of the business.

The transfer of Presidents was completed a month early. The stage had been set. Greg was confident it was now only a matter of time, hard work, and follow-up with his staff until the results improved.