What does 3 slash 5, career path mean? I had no idea where I would end up many years ago, but knew what I could do best—fix things. I started with farm tractors and bicycles, but figured out that hard labor was good for the soul, but not got for the bank account. So a wise mentor of mine told me—you are worth nothing by yourself, you are only as good as the sum of the people with whom you work.
Five years ago I got a call from a VP who had a strong background in the transportation industry, but he knew little about vehicle maintenance even though he was sharp as a tack and streetwise. He “summoned” DWS Fleet Management Services for help. As a result, we paired up and he became a client and quickly a close business friend. He is one of the sharpest guys I have ever been around. His mission was to disassemble the vast network of business locations with aggressive growth of the company and dismantled, centralize and rebuild its transportation and maintenance network into a well-oiled machine. He turned me loose on the iron and off we went.
Let me outline this sort of change takes place—and it is actually quite parallel to my career. You get the job, fill the position and are left alone to do the job. You start to turn over every rock, kick every stone, dig and sort out things and build a team of loyalists. That takes about a year, first dealing with low hanging fruit, the next year you begin moving more quickly—pull things apart, rebuild the structure together assemble back together in and organized fashion. During this time, a few positions and people may fall by the wayside—planned and unplanned—and some folks need to be removed because cultural change did not come easy.
Instituting change
As the pieces start to come together, management doesn’t initially want to be on that team because of the fear of getting caught up in the hard work. When year three comes along, and the honing starts (a year of honing, honing, honing) the naysayers’ start to nose in just a tad. Then come the bean counters, the auditors and the “procedure people” start to get involved. When the fourth year begins, costs are still down, budgets down and margins up, and the company is staying ahead.
That’s the point when corporate management starts to get involved suggesting a few changes. These are the folks who gaze into the fishbowl from above and deem that recovery was easy; so, they start to drive in their changes looking for the same results—often they are the same folks who did not want to be involved at the beginning—but they intervene now. As we get deeper into the forth year, the strategic sourcing (“SS”) group wants to get involved (or tries to) and human resource people now wants in, promoting their own agenda by tearing down other departments. The finance department now sets budgets—but often it gets adjusted (mysteriously out of the air) ending up in a lower the budget based on history rather than needs.
It goes on. The fifth year begins (line-in-the-sand-year) and everyone is now a resident expert. HR wants to control all manager activities. Without any input, finance sets unrealistic goals that cannot be achieved. Employee salary increases become so small and complicated that the loyal teams starts to become fractured. Procrastination stagnates progress and the adrenalin rushes of the first three years is now diluted so the fifth year becomes verification of the what you saw happening around you and your world you put so hard together. Compensation based on performance is now impossible to achieve, because bonus goals are to high to qualify and have been manipulated out of range, and controlled by the forces of 3/5 evils.
Then the ultimate insult—responsibility is taken away and divided. Someone else is promoted to take away part of your responsibility, because the new person needs to have something to do.
Actually, this true story—it has happened to me. I used to believe the stages of change I described here was just a state of mind and not really apparent when it happens to you. But I watched all of this happen to someone else, whom I believe is one of the sharpness managers with whom I have ever worked with. I was sad to see it happened to a competent manager, but relieved that it didn’t just happen to me.
I guess you could say that this corporate strategy is an unwritten style of power reduction through divide and conquer, but in the end, it is probably the beginning of a new time in life. I guess if you’re the one who is replaced, you need to not let your ego get in the way, but pack up, hold your chin high and go on to the next life’s project. The only caution: At three years of one project you need to start to look for the next opportunity. Plan a strategy that allows you to move during the fifth year. It is better to plan your goals, not have them planned for you.
Outside the emotion, I think it is probably a good business strategy primarily that times breeds complacency in most. If you are as good as you think you are, then you will grow and the company benefits from your talents and skills that were passed on to the team members who are left. Chances are, some companies will regress, but then it will all begin again—and then a new adrenalin rush.
For more information, visit www.darrystuart.com or email comments or questions requests to Darry Stuart.
