As CEOs of Ford Motor Company, Nokia, and Microsoft set out to change their respective company’s core business and/or culture, they each established golden rules for leading transformation. As you set out to change your company, why not follow their lead? Begin by identifying the golden rules for transformation that will best serve your company. Then practice them with your senior team.
Golden Rules for Leading Transformation at Nokia, Ford and Microsoft
Risto Siilasmaa became chairman of Nokia, in 2012 as the company faced possible bankruptcy. But Nokia leaders have transformed the company many times during its 150 year history. What started as a paper mill grew, or shifted, it’s core businesses from:
- Paper, to
- Forestry, to
- Rubber, to
- Cables, to
- Phones and power cables, to
- Telecommunications and mobile, and now to
- Networking, or what Risto calls the programmable world, leaving room for new products and services to meet an ever-changing ecosystem
In this latest transformation Risto sold Nokia’s phone business to Microsoft. He is also leading the company’s biggest layoff in its150 year history. To anchor his team through the turbulence, Risto set his version of golden rules for leading transformation.
- Assume other people have good intentions
- Be honest about bad news
- Laugh out loud and have fun
- Be data driven
Risto’s golden rules support leaders as they make emotionally difficult decisions. Assuming good intentions, instead of assigning blame or dubious motives, prevents defensive behaviors, and facilitates collaborative problem solving. Being honest about what’s not going well, creates opportunities to solve smaller problems instead of reacting to bigger crises. By following Risto’s mantra, “any meeting in which we do not laugh out loud is a complete failure,” the team applies a proven effective method to reduce stress. Using data to review decisions help people make the emotionally difficult calls to support Nokia’s life saving transformation. Laying off one person is difficult. Laying off what may be as many as 15,000 employees is daunting.
Allen Mullaly’s Golden Rules at Ford
When Allen Mullaly became Ford’s CEO, he encountered a toxic culture marked by political infighting and finger pointing. It was in no way conducive to solving longstanding problems that put Ford on the brink of bankruptcy. Mullaly immediately implemented his version of golden rules for leading transformation. He needed senior leaders to shift from fear of admitting problems and blaming each other, to a team of peers who identified problems and asked for help. Fellow team members would collaborate to solve the problem and implement solutions. At every meeting managers were asked what they learned by following Mullaly’s golden rules.
- Airing concerns
- Making course corrections and fixing problems together
Ford went from a company on the verge of bankruptcy many times over, to resume it’s position as one of the world’s most successful automobile companies.
Satya Nadella’s Golder Rule at Microsoft
As Nadella transforms Microsoft from a PC company and industry leader, to a company that focuses on the potential of cloud computing, open-mindedness is critical. Learning, rather than knowing, will anchor the ship as it turns. Nadella’s golden rules for leading transformation include:
Be a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all.
What does being a learn-it-all look like in action? It begins at the top, with Nadella. On a daily basis, he asks
“Where was I too closed-minded, or where did I not show the right kind of attitude of growth in my own mind?” If I can get it right, then we’re well on our way to having the culture we aspire to.
What golden rules for leading transformation will you set for yourself and your team? Keep in mind the rule is not only an anchor. It creates the transformation by identifying and visibly practicing new behaviors that are the foundation of the transformed company.