Common Purpose by Joel Kurtzman

Author:Joel Kurtzman [Kurtzman, Joel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

SOCIALIZING THE MESSAGE

Leaders can do a lot to get their messages out and build support for their plans. One of the best ways to do that is by bringing people together.

When he was CEO of Rhône-Poulenc from 1986 through 2001, Jean-René Fourtou would get together with his top sixty or so executives three times year. He wanted a frequency that would keep people in touch with each other but wouldn’t be too intrusive. Meeting too many times takes away an executive’s autonomy, he said. Usually these meetings took place in France, where Fourtou is from, and would have periods when the sessions were very informal.

Fourtou is from the Bordeaux region of France, one of its most important wine-producing areas. And because he is knowledgeable about the wines and food of the region, he would take time to do wine tastings with his managers and also share meals with them.

These sessions (if session is the right word) were opportunities to bond, elicit feedback, and share insights. They were opportunities to test ideas in a low-stakes environment. But they were also opportunities for Fourtou and his executives to get to know one another better.

I realize that to Americans, especially, the idea of wine tasting, sharing meals, and getting to know each other might seem counterproductive and perhaps even frivolous, especially in tough economic times. Americans like to be productive, or at least be busy.

But Fourtou’s ways should not be dismissed out of hand. Getting to know the people you work with is important. After all, leaders depend on leaders to get things done, and you need to know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Getting insights into each of these could be done by questionnaire or by e-mail, I suppose, but to really understand others requires developing a relationship, which takes time.

Fourtou would give these relationships time to build. Then, as he explained, when a leader in Tokyo or Shanghai needs help, he or she knows who to call in Paris or New Jersey.

At Booz & Co., it was the same way. Each year, the firm held a partners’ meeting that was part fun and part work. How well the firm did determined what type of an event was held. One year we met outside Washington, D.C., at a conference center, while another year (a much better year), the meetings took place on a cruise ship.

It is difficult to overstress how important it is for teams of people working together to meet informally from time to time. At Revolution Prep, the young, fast-growing company I mentioned previously, people working at the firm’s Santa Monica headquarters office go out for beer together most Friday evenings. On special occasions—a senior team meeting—they gather at a karaoke bar.

The point is that you cannot lead if you do not know the people you are leading, and the best way to do that is informally.

At FM Global, in good times and in bad, senior executives at the beginning of the year travel to each of the firm’s

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