Who's in the Room: How Great Leaders Structure and Manage the Teams Around Them

210 Pages·2012·0.81 MB·English

by  Bob Frisch

Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pageiv
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pagei
‘‘Although there are some differences between managing non-
profit institutions and for-profit companies, a common set of
unwritten rules defines decision making in the executive suite
of almost any organization. Bob Frisch understands those rules,
and in Who’s in the Room? he clearly describes both why they
are so pervasive and the detrimental impact they can have
on your management team dynamics. More importantly, he
presents a straightforward approach to making the rules of how
your organization makes critical decisions more transparent and
effective.’’
—CharlesRoussel,CEO,CollegeofAmerican Pathologists
‘‘CEOs—and the people who work for them—are going to be
talking about Who’s in the Room? This important new book
addresses how decisions really get made. It takes the issue of top
team effectiveness out of the realm of traditional team building
andintoquestionsofprocessandstructureandrequiredflexibility.
Itprovidesapracticalguidetoraisingyourimpactasaleader.’’
—GretchenW.McClain,CEO,XylemInc.
‘‘Who’s in the Room? offers executives unique insights into how
executivedecisionsreallyhappen.Frischdrawsonhisexperience
and shares stories of how senior leaders make decisions, use
kitchen cabinets, and unleash employee energy. He also offers
guidance on structures, processes, and roles for high-performing
teams. The book is pragmatic and relevant for any executive
who realizes that much of today’s work has to be done through
relationshipsandcollaboration.’’
—DaveUlrich,professor,RossSchoolofBusiness,Universityof
Michigan;andpartner,TheRBLGroup
‘‘Companies, and the numerous issues that arise around decision
making, are always much more complex and dynamic than the
whittled-down portraits typically offered by the media and in
business school cases. Here, Bob Frisch does the opposite of
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pageii
that. Instead of over-simplifying reality to make solutions more
accessible, he provides a more sophisticated and elegant set of
frameworks to directly acknowledge the complexity of organiza-
tions, and specifically how people act within them. The result is
abookwhichisengaging,andmostimportantly, practical.’’
—Eric Korman, senior vice president, strategy and business
development,RalphLaurenCorporation
‘‘Are you in the room when your company’s important decisions
are made? Do you have the right people in the room when
you need advice on key decisions? Bob Frisch’s deep experience
and insightful analysis will help you build stronger teams and
makebetterdecisions.Who’sintheRoom?isessentialreadingfor
anyonein,oraspiringto,theseniorexecutivesuite.’’
—Charles Fine, professor, MIT Sloan School of Management;
andauthor, Clockspeed
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pageiii
Who’s
in the
Room?
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pageiv
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pagev
Who’s
in the
Room?
How Great Leaders Structure and Manage
the Teams Around Them
BOB FRISCH
Frisch f01.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:21am Pagevi
Copyright©2012byJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
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SomeofthediscussioninChapterFourofexecutiveteamsaslegislatureshasbeenadaptedfrom
‘‘Off-SitesThatWork,’’byBobFrischandLoganChandler(HarvardBusinessReview,June2006,pp.
117–126),and‘‘WhenTeamsCan’tDecide,’’byBobFrisch(HarvardBusinessReview,November2008,
pp.121–126).
SomeofthediscussioninChapterSevenoftestingwallsandfenceshasbeenadaptedfrom‘‘When
TeamsCan’tDecide,’’byBobFrisch(HarvardBusinessReview,November2008,pp.121–126).
SomeofthematerialintheextendeddiscussionoftheMarquisdeCondorcet’svotingparadoxin
ChapterFourhasbeenreprintedwithpermissionfrom‘‘WhenTeamsCan’tDecide,’’byBobFrisch
(HarvardBusinessReview,November2008,pp.121–126).Copyright©2008byHarvardBusiness
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Frisch,Bob.
Who’sintheroom:howgreatleadersstructureandmanagetheteamsaroundthem/
BobFrisch.-1sted.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN978-1-118-06787-1(hardback);ISBN978-1-118-17007-6(ebk);
ISBN978-1-118-17008-3(ebk);ISBN978-1-118-17009-0(ebk)
1. Decisionmaking.2. Seniorleadershipteams.3. Chiefexecutiveofficers.
4. Executives. I. Title.
HD30.23.F7552012
658.4(cid:2)022-dc23
2011039775
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
firstedition
HBPrinting10987654321
Frisch ftoc.tex V3-11/17/2011 11:23am Pagevii
Contents
Introduction: Who’sintheRoom? 1
PART ONE: FROM PROBLEM TO PORTFOLIO 5
1 MostCompaniesAreRunbyTeamswith
NoNames 7
TheMythoftheTopTeam
IllusionandReality
TheProblemThatIsn’tThere,ButWon’tGoAway
2 TeamBuildingWon’tSolvetheProblem 21
WhentheShrinksGoMarchingIn
AftertheShrinksHaveGone
3 Don’tBlametheBoss 29
InSearchoftheIdealLeader
InsidetheBox
Dothe‘‘Rights’’Thing
4 FourFundamentalConflictsattheHeartof
SeniorManagementTeams 41
MissionControlVersusKnightsoftheRoundTable:
FunctionalSpecialistsorReflectionsoftheCEO?
TheTeamVersustheLegislature:TheRepresentative
fromFinance,theSenatorfromOperations
TheHouseVersustheSenate:AreSomeMoreEqual
ThanOthers?
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viii contents
TheMajorityVersustheMajority:TheImpossibilityof
Deciding
MaybetheProblemIsThatThereIsNoProblem
5 CaseStudy:HowOneCEOTransformedHisTop
Team 57
ThePastasPrologue
MovingfromaSingleTopTeamtoMultipleTeams
TheTeamThatSitsTogetherWorksTogether
TailoringtheStructuretoSuitYourNeedsasaLeader
6 BestPractices:DesignanOrganization That
DeliverstheOutcomes YouNeed 73
TheThreeCentersofGravity
FlexinginFiveDimensions
ThePortfolioandthePayoff
PART TWO: THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT
TEAM UNBOUND 91
7 EngagetheSeniorManagementTeaminThree
CriticalConversationsNoOtherTeamCanHave 93
8 AligntheSeniorManagementTeamArounda
Common ViewoftheWorld 99
TheStartingPoint:AligningAroundTrends
ClusteringTrendsintoDriversofChange
UnderstandingCapabilitiesandAssets
WalkingtheBoundariesoftheCompany:TestingWalls
andFences
DefiningandSelectingOpportunities
9 PrioritizeandIntegrateInitiatives toHit the
StrategicBull’s-Eye 119
AskingtheNearlyImpossible:PrioritizingInitiatives
TheRealSourceoftheDifficulty
ChangingtheConversation