Tom owns a growing, profitable, company, but is being told by employees and advisors that it is time to make changes. This is a live situation. This report describes his options. What would you do? Send me your recommendation. I will publish the results of the poll next week.

Tom's company is divided into two divisions. The first, called Research does contract research and develops technologies for non-invasive medical tests. The second, called Commercial, sells products to the medical device market. Here are the issues:

• There is a disconnect between the technologies developed and the products sold. For all practical purposes the two divisions could be separate companies because few synergies have been developed.

• The scientists in Research are frustrated because the technologies aren't turned into products.

• Management in Commercial is floundering because they haven't had recent success developing new products.

Because Tom is cautious he seeks advice before he acts.

The first advisor Tom considered hiring was from Strategic Advisors, Inc. (SA) and had an MBA and PhD among his credentials. SA specializes in strategy and organization design. Their credo is: you need to know where you are going and organize properly to get there! SA's analysis was that the current structure gave the respective executives no incentive for collaboration or for developing a strategy that transcended their responsibilities. The focus of research was only research. The focus of Commercial was to sell products not develop technologies into marketable products. SA recommended altering the structure by adding a third function, Technological Development. This new function would be responsible for seeking and getting contracts for research that would allow the company to develop promising and marketable technologies and for taking those technologies and developing them into successful products.

The second advisor Tom considered was from Talent Snatcher, a leading executive search firm. Their credo is: there is no substitute for talent! Their analysis was that the top executive in Commercial was under-performing. Why wasn't he influencing research? Why wasn't he better tuned into markets? The right executive would be worth whatever he cost. They also thought about the recommendation from SA, which they considered promising. They said, "If you created the new Division you will need the right person. Perhaps, indeed, you would need two people, one for Commercial and the other for Technological Development."

The third advisor Tom considered Management Team Coaches LLC, a top Organization Development advisor. MTC's credo is: strong teams move mountains! For them, the problem was all about teamwork and process. They saw a company pulled in different directions by lack of focus. They offered coaching to Tom about how to focus his team on developing the company, not just separate divisions. Beyond coaching the program consisted of a strategic planning process, revitalized incentive programs, individual goals linked to company plans and the new incentive program and retreats and training to foster problem solving and mutual respect.

The last advisor Tom considered was a psychologist from was Self Development Dynamics LLC. SDD's credo is: before you manage others, manage yourself! He helped Tom see how the dysfunctions in his company mirrored his own internal conflicts and his fears about taking steps to make the company healthier. He proposed helping Tom confront his fears and demons to remove the blocks that prevented more proactive and forward-looking management.

TOP OF PAGE

After thinking about this advice, Tom believed that these were his three options.

• Preserve the status quo and keep taking money to the bank.

• Pick one of the recommended strategies.

• Adopt a broader perspective and see change management as a complex effort that requires long-term commitment. Following this path meant that he had to commit to the learning required to lead such a long term effort or find someone he could work who possessed the management and leadership expertise to guide the company to a new level.

If you were Tom, what would you do?

Here are the results.

TOP OF PAGE