Transforming organisations

Appraising the CEO

People sometimes ask why I appraise the CEO at the beginning of a consultancy assignment. Well I don’t do it right at the start. There is something that has to be done first and that is the bull’s eye.

The bull’s eye is a measurable statement of excellence for products / services, sales / profit aspirations and customers for the organisation. It is the answer to four simple questions. Question one = What do we want to be? The answer will be something to do with high quality products and / or exceptional personal service. The knowledge economy demands that we aspire to this level of performance.

Question two = How much of it? For a commercial organisation the answer to this question is usually a sales and profit forecast.

Question three = For whom? The answer to this question is customers. The steeper the flight path on the profit forecast towards the bull’s eye then this answer will be about more or bigger or better customers. And if this is the case, then this answer will also require a new marketing strategy.

Question four = By when? The answer is usually three years from now.

This unique ‘bull’s eye’ technique will clarify the direction of any organisation. The clearer we are about where we want to go the more likely we are to get there. This is the process of directors discussing, debating, agreeing and finally signing off ONE bull’s eye. The demands of the global knowledge economy require this degree of clarity of direction. Vague, wordy, meaningless mission statements and visions can all be binned when you have a bull’s eye.

Establishing the bull’s eye is just the first step in transforming an organisation but when we have one, then we can turn our attention to the CEO.

posted by Tim @ 1:29 AM