Stand by over the next couple of hours when I share with you our friend Ram Charan's reaction and response to how American Government and Private Business have reacted to the global recession gripping us all.
Fast forward to May 21: After weeks of travel, I have returned to Jersey, ... and here is a collection of Ram's thoughts, grading President Obama and the ramifications thereoff.
1. Our guest leadership and management guru first looks to the Obama administration as a company with a CEO...
a. The President is a consensus-building leader and a good recuiter of talent.
b. With the world blaming the USA for the world's economic woes, our CEO has to restore faith in American leadership. Ram passes him on this, seeing a deceleration in the deterioration of the economy.
2. What has worked?
a. Obama executives Bernanke and Geithner have opened the gates for credit to flow into our financial institutions, with toxic securities elimination as the target to grease that flow.
3. Geithner's performance in particular?
a. A clear thinker.
b. Not a pawn.
c. Not a great communicator, but with Obama as the CEO, ... who cares??!!
4. Administration use of information...
a. The President is surely transparent, but more information is needed about the 30-40 banks.
b. Ram is confident it will come.
5. Automobile Industry
a. Carrot and stick approach is working.
Ram's lessons learned for Corporate America:
- It's all changing, ... tailor your changes accordingly.
- Recognize that with limited credit, people are spending differently.
- Match your investments to changed consumer behavior.
OK, Ram Charan has not gone too deeply here, but it looks like he's confirmed the need for Leadership, Communications, Talent Acquisition, Strong and Knowledgeable Management, Honesty, and the Realization that Change requires Change. As my friend Dr. Mike Kormanicki reminds me:
"DON'T DO DIFFERENTLY, ... DO DIFFERENT... ALTOGETHER."
It will take time for that to settle in.
Yes, Ram and we just skimmed the surface, but at least we are all trying to learn from this massive reset of behaviors in business and government, ... and in our private lives.
Joe Cervasio
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