March 14, 2013 ? ISSN# 1545-2646
Big Game Hunter
A short time ago a prospect asked me to speak to a client of mine to get an impression of the nature of my work and interaction with the leadership. I set up the call by providing the contact information and then stepped aside to let the conversation take place.
A day or so later in doing my follow up with the prospect to determine if the call met with his needs, he provided me with the following statement.
Your client indicates you are an elephant hunter.
You are not shy about identifying the elephants in the business that no one wants to talk about and then helps shoot the elephant to get on with building a profitable business.
At first I was not sure if this was a good or bad comment. I knew it was true. I knew it is what the prospect needed to hear. I even had a suspicion the client would tell him something about my approach as being straight forward and very black and white.
Well as I thought more about this picture of me navigating the savannah in search of elephants, I started to wonder if leaders in businesses could be taught to become Big Game Hunters in their own business. Why should it take a third party to come in and point out the elephants in the room.
The challenge for many leaders is they are too farsighted and need to put on their reading glasses not only to see contracts they are signing but also what is going on right under their noses. Sometimes they can see the issues but have let it go for one justification or another. It starts out as a small calf (baby elephant) and over time grows into a significant problem that they can’t see anymore. They have built structures and processes around the growing beast so not to disturb it and thus allowed it to continue to grow and take up greater and greater amounts of space in their business. Unfortunately everyone can see the elephant but the leadership because they have allowed it to happen. The elephant that is in the room can’t be seen by them.
This can be anything from personnel issues to financial matters. Anything that restricts a business from growing to its own full potential. It may take on the shape of a family member or a product idea from a past executive. Regardless of what it is, the elephants in the business move slow and are not very agile. They might be able to lift a lot but with out specific direction must be lead to accomplish the tasks at hand.
This week put on your safari clothes and go scout your business for elephants. What are the items that are there but you have chosen not to take care of them. Ask your employees to be straight with you on what they might be. If you can identify them yourself or with input rom your staff directly, then seek a guide to explore your office terrain. Guides can be in the form of people or services. The key is to take the time to be a big game hunter and start to make your business more agile.
Need a safari guide or corporate culture map maker? Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945 or send us an email to discuss.
Questions or comments – email us at partners@jklassociates.com or call our Office at (313) 527-7945
Copyright – JKL Associates 2013
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