The movie we are marshall tells the story of rebuilding Marshall University’s football program after a tragic plane crash in 1970 that nearly killed the entire team and coaching staff. The president of the university was on the verge of suspending the program when the students and the community persuaded him to rebuild. Matthew McConaughey plays the trainer hired to rebuild the show.
In one scene in the film, McConaughey throws out the old playbook and devises a new offensive scheme. He realizes that the playbook was designed for a different time and a different team with different abilities. His current team needs a different approach to have a chance at success, as they are clearly failing to use the old playbook. As a coach, he makes a quick decision and quickly implements a new playbook that immediately begins to build confidence in the team. While it takes a few games for the team to get it, they eventually win again. While Marshall’s story is about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy, this scene also contains a powerful lesson for leaders in today’s uncertain environment. If the environment has changed and we’re going to be successful, that means the old behavior won’t work. If you’re the leader, you need to do more than cast a vision or rally the troops with a pep talk. You need to identify what new behavior is required and help your team learn that new behavior as quickly as possible. In the past few months, I’ve heard the leaders of several companies make bold pronouncements that “failure is not an option.” Listening to this message, do you feel that it improves your morale, confidence and optimism? Do you feel better about your company’s prospects? me neither. Here are four reasons why this approach is a big mistake:
- First, he’s intellectually dishonest, so no one believes him. Failure is, in fact, a possible outcome. The intent of this statement is to reassure employees that the business will survive and the employees will be fine, but this may not be true. Failure may not be a likely outcome and is certainly not a desirable outcome, but it is within the realm of possibility.
- Second, it insults the intelligence of your employees. Why go to all the effort and expense to recruit knowledge workers who are supposedly very smart, but then treat them like idiots? Smart people understand that uncertainty exists. Saying otherwise is insulting.
- Third, because this statement is often presented with great confidence and arrogance, it closes a meaningful dialogue. This approach suggests that by the sheer will of the leader, we will prevail. By saying “failure is not an option,” the leader is really trying to have the last word on the subject. The leader is frankly tired of dealing with the question and would rather people actually get back to work.
- Fourth, this statement absolves employees of liability. By taking the weight of the option off the table, he puts it all on the leader’s shoulder. This approach is the exact opposite of empowerment and actually increases stress among employees. Stress occurs in high-demand, low-control situations, and increasing demands on people without giving them a reason to believe they are in control doesn’t work.
So how can leaders use the lessons of we are marshall to deal with economic uncertainty and anxiety more effectively?
- Acknowledge the pain, frustration, and fear of the situation.While the failure of a business or the loss of a job is not life-or-death like the Marshall tragedy, it is immensely painful. Recognize that employees wonder about their future, but sitting idle in the face of fear is not a solution.
- Recognize that we face significant uncertainty and that it is likely to continue for some time.There are multiple contingencies depending on the economy in general, customers, competition, regulatory changes and possible mergers or acquisitions. There may be various scenarios that we can imagine, some good, some not so good. It is up to us to make decisions and take action to capitalize on the best opportunities available.
- Honestly assess your current situation and communicate the truth.Clarify your current cash position and how long you can trade under your current structure. Do you have weeks, months or years of cash? Show that you have the right resources to operate without being paralyzed by fear. This approach will help everyone in the organization understand reality and move forward.
- as the coach in Marshallmake sure you have the right playbook and the right equipment for this environment. Clarify your best market and customer opportunities to focus on during this period. Based on your current product and service capabilities, where are you focused? For example, if you have an installed base of customers, consider how to maintain or expand your business with them. If you’re looking for new customers, make sure your value proposition and lead generation activities are focused on the best opportunities. Make sure you have the right team in the right roles and make decisions quickly if changes are needed.
- Speed up your operational planning process so everyone in your organization knows their roles, responsibilities, and goals for the near future.Rather than long-range plans, these should be ninety-day plans that are reviewed within a quarter. It is essential that each person have a clear direction about their contribution. Hold your direct reports accountable for ensuring that each person they supervise has an individual action plan.
- Specify what you will NOT do. Clarify which markets, customers and opportunities you are going to No concentrate during this period. It is essential to focus all your time, energy and resources on only the best opportunities for clients in this environment. Identify specific ways of operating that may have worked for you in the past, but will not work in this environment. “Keep doing what you’ve been doing” is a recipe for disaster.
So how do you handle the question “are we going to survive?” Let me suggest a model of what you can say. My recommendation is to outline very specific actions that are required to be successful. The time for powerful vision statements is not now. Try something like this: “I understand that all of you are concerned about the current environment, how it will affect our business and what it means for you. You may be waiting for me to tell you that bankruptcy is not an option. We are currently generating (or burning) cash, so our risk level is high/medium/low and we are confident that we will be able to trade for at least a year. Technically failure is always an option if we fail to execute our plan, that is the nature of business. So let’s focus on the details of our plan: We will focus on specific customers and offers. Be sure to name them here. This means that our sales and marketing organization must immediately refocus our lead generation, prospecting, and sales activities on this group of customers. We are not going to focus on other opportunities in the short term.
Our product development organization will focus on these specific projects for future growth, name them. Our operations groups will ensure that we meet all of our commitments effectively and efficiently. We are all responsible for managing our cash effectively. All of these details require each person in the organization to play a specific role. Over the next thirty days, we will ensure that these details are translated into individual action plans for everyone, and each of you will be asked for your best opinion on how we can innovate, execute, and thrive in this environment. My direct reports are responsible for making this planning process happen. I welcome any additional questions on any aspect of the business and promise to communicate weekly as events unfold. I appreciate the commitment that each one of you is making with the company.Marshall’s coach challenges players to “put him on the line until the final whistle blows, and if you do, we can’t lose.” As a leader, you can’t ask for this commitment until you work out a specific game plan. who can win Do you have a specific game plan? If not, it’s time to get to work.
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