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Are you on Fire?
October 2009

A recent presentation that I gave to a group of CEOs prompted some great questions and comments from attendees. One of them was an “opinion” that is illustrated by the chart below. He suggested that most business leaders could not take the steps required to make a radical change to their business; for instance, Polaroid dumping their film business; music industry executives embracing web distribution and a new pricing model; newspapers changing formats or focusing on more distinct audiences.

Take a gander at the chart below. Make sense to you? While not absolute, I believe that it is directionally correct.  The personality of a CEO/owner/leader has a great deal to do with how they think strategically and deal with change.



Here is another way to look at this. I have a colleague, Bob Dodge, whom I have done numerous presentations with on strategy and change. He has a marvelous metaphor to illustrate the challenge of change. He sometimes carries a wooden 2x4 into the room, puts it on the floor and asks his audience to imagine that it lies across the top of 2 tall buildings which are 500 feet in the air. “Who would be willing to walk across the 2x4?” he asks. No hands go up. “What if I put a large amount of cash on top of the other building?” he asks. A few hands go up. “What if you discovered that the building you are standing on had started on fire?” he asks. You get the picture.

Once your company is on fire, your ability to get “unstuck” and think about a new strategy is magically enhanced. The challenge is that we can often see that buildings are in danger of fire, but until the flames are lapping at our feet, we are unwilling to accept dramatic change.

Some executives are able to not only foresee the fire, but also act as if the building is on fire even when there is no smoke. Andy Grove and Jack Welch come to mind. It takes a great deal of mental toughness and conviction to change when you are currently healthy. Too many will wait for the fire and try to outrun it.

If your business requires dramatic change and a new strategy, what are you doing to light the building on fire? Better to start it yourself.

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Todd Ordal helps CEOs and senior leaders connect the dots between current reality and a compelling vision of the future. He consults on strategy and serves as a thought partner for CEOs because he understands from his days as a CEO that it is lonely at the top. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info or call 303-527-0417.