[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]E HAVE ALL heard of killing the fattened calf or the fattened goose for a celebratory occasion. We are also warned to not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Frankly, I’ve had geese though unfortunately I’ve never had one that laid golden eggs, just white eggs.
However, I’ve seen companies of all sizes that were geese that laid golden eggs as profit. Interestingly enough some CEO’s and owners kill these geese in an effort to get them to lay more golden eggs.
Admittedly, companies must change or be left behind and that is true of all types of enterprise. However leadership must carefully measure how much change their companies can stand and at what pace. How much can employees take? How much can the customer base handle? How much can management even manage?
Some change is caused by competition, some by changing methods and advances in machinery and technology. Some is dictated by the customer base. I’ve even seen some cases where change is caused by personnel. I was involved with one multi-national company where the young, gung-ho MBA’s pushed change through that nearly wrecked one of the subsidiary companies.
Many of the millennials entering the work force today are pushing for change. That in and of itself isn’t all bad, but one could question whether or not they have the experience and seasoning that allows them the judgement to measure how much change can be accommodated in a company without butchering the goose.
It becomes incumbent on company leadership to determine how much change all parties can handle rather than driving away customers, seasoned employees, and perhaps even lenders and investors. I am watching two companies now where the tail is beginning to wag the dog because senior management is hesitant to tamp down the enthusiasm of their new young hires.
Very nice post Ken..
Thanks, Glenn.