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Adversity causes some people to break; others to break records. Thinking back to the last few months of 2012, random acts of travel to various radio markets brought me into two diametrically unique group clusters over two successive weeks. I cannot recall ever experiencing such dichotomy in cultures, management styles, and direction.
With the first market in the tandem it was alarming to feel a declining climate. Even if one can't fall in love with their goals, they can attempt to keep a lid on selfish behavior. Here, an untogether team was a case study in "me-first." It's here where the phenomenon Pat Riley once dubbed the Inappropriate Entrepreneur emerges. He or she exploits a situation arising out of a crisis feeding off the miasma of a declining situation. He or she becomes a virtuoso at "cover your ass." You can spot this anywhere; inordinate time spent cranking out memos and e-mails, covering their tracks. In the aforementioned building, staff insecurity was rising, running rampant in the hallways. A couple of people were actually keeping a log for future reference when and if the core came apart.
Contrast our following week's sessions with a dynamic, forward-thinking and brilliantly managed radio group in a comparably sized large market. Here was a true "team" with unselfish role-players in a horizontal versus vertical environment; reminiscent of some elite military units. The building felt open, enabling, hard-charging, and without the presences of someone waiting in the wings to exploit the role of the Inappropriate Entrepreneur. In two weeks many states apart, a broken core climate and a together team unity; the major difference was a matter of attitude. Success is never final. All great dynasties have a life cycle: sports franchises, political parties, Fortune 500 companies and radio groups. From the decline of the British Empire to the spiral of the Dallas Cowboys, greatness can carry us only so far and if we're lucky, perhaps propel us for another period of time. If you remain uninspired, consider Peter Drucker's admonition tendered 20 years ago: "the most probable assumption is that no currently working business theory will be valid 10 years hence-at least not without major modifications."
- Does your business plan feel like confinement?
- Does your competition sometimes seem larger than life?
- Can you sense decline in your hallways and in the field?
- What does the will-to-win-meter read?
- Do staff members disagree on the competition and how to beat them?
- Is your departmental leadership spending excessive time on conflict resolution?
As I look back on battles won and lost, the seasons that have rolled around and trailed away, one implacable core-belief burns bright. Form changes, spirit lasts. Reputations can be made in a day, but character is built over a lifetime. Every group, every team, every company, can be re-set
and re-vectored away from petty infighting toward the portal of enlightenment and success.
The changes you may need to make aren't always the ones you had hoped for. When the grooves of frustration and team decline are all worn out, you can regenerate a winning climb. There's no role for the exploitation offered by the Inappropriate Entrepreneur.
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