Had my semi monthly Executive meeting today. The meeting went really well till the very end. Not great when the whole meeting goes really well and at the end goes really bad. Kind of makes me think I should have skipped that last topic till next meeting and just brought up a lighter subject. Problem was I didn't have one ready. (mental note for next meeting)
So what happened?
Had the projector set up and had taken them through how an industry leader just included us in a huge press release. It was picked up by major news sources and will be read by thousands. Ohh the guns are a blazing. Afterwards, went through how a hot new strategy was moving forward better than expected. We're humming along in the meeting. Not bad for 10 minutes preparation.
The meeting was going as planned, everyone in the room was energized! Then pulled out some icing. New technology samples for everyone to touch and fell. The samples looked great and certainly were impressive. I discussed how I was going to use these samples to communicate with our largest client to expand their capabilities and grow additional revenue. The news just got better and better. We were rolling.
I looked at the clock. 12 minutes till the hour is up. My thought.
'I should use the time I have with them. They'll appreciate me trying to use their time wisely.'
So to end the meeting, and I knew I was bringing up a subject that I was not totally worked through yet, I let it out.
I began, 'I have been thinking about the difference between a division and a department. And it makes sense to me that many things we are doing are more difficult because we are functioning as a division and I think we should function more as a department. There are likely pro's and con's to either direction. But it's interesting to me that I've been seeing this clearer and see the real differences. I think the reporting structure has a lot to do with it.'
Now I thought I set the table for the discussion fairly well in tone and content for a discussion. I was sincerely looking to share a thought and get some thoughts in return to help clarify what will be the best direction for the business. Unfortunately the response had nothing to do with a discussion at all. It was a reaction and it was immediate. It all started with a smirk in the face and then it all came out.
'Of course you should be functioning as a department. You divorced from this company and if you're going to come back you need to come back all the way and do things our way! You know 3 years ago when you started down this path I knew you were wrong. All the difficulties you've caused. This business would be so much more profitable. It should have stayed a part of the company. That was a mistake. There was no reason for you to separate out like that alienating yourself. And now, now you want to come back. You'll need to come back clean and you need to come back all the way.'
Wow. Slow down. I didn't know what happened. One minute we're flying on good topics and then next we're bringing up sore pain points from the past. Old wounds not yet worked through. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
He continued. (while he continued on this 'rant but little rave', I was thinking this guy is partly right and partly wrong. Another thought as well, was that he's so wrapped up in his world he has no clue what he's talking about. He meets the same people over and over again and he's a in a box reaching out. He doesn't have a clear picture.
Then he continued, '3 years ago you made a decision to do this and it was wrong. You know you have caused a lot of people heartache and difficulty. And it was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary. I don't think you're on board all the way or ready to come back either,. And you won't be able to come back if you're not 100% on board but you better be. That's what needs to happen. You need to do things our way. You need to jump in with both feet and be ready to do things our way.
And he concludes, 'no one in the room is going to disagree with this.'
Pause. Breathe. Pause.
I mean I'm not the enemy over here guy. Remember me. I built a multi-million dollar business from nothing. (not by myself of course). Put the ball on the tee and wack it. What did he want from me in that moment? I stated something so incredibly obvious to him that he needed to bring up frustrating points about the course of how the business got built?
My response is pretty much a blur needless to say. Whatever it was I did say it definitely wasn't fantastic. The good thing is that I didn't put up a fight or defend or attack (too much) in response. But didn't stay cool enough, didn't stay quiet enough. The best medicine I could have given him there was silence.
The pres jumped in defending me left and right. Same with the CTO telling a story he's told over and over again how I broke out of customer service, how he disagreed, till years later he finally sees that I was right.
I need to share though. It did bother me. It was disappointing to hear the most senior exec member be stuck in the past. Very uninspiring for the future. This is the 2nd time in 3 meetings that he's lashed out on this topic. There's clearly stuff going on. Maybe some has to do with me and my group and most of it probably has nothing to do with us. If I could psychoanalyze the situation a bit.
He's been quiet all these years and now is his opportunity to vent? Not a quality communication process happening here between middle management and executive management. He's summarizing into very simple, aggressive statements that he believes are unequivocally true. Yet, in most cases the topics he's commenting are debatable. Right and wrong? Not sure that exactly comes into play. This was a business decision. It wasn't wrong. Did it have consequences? Absolutely but it also had its rewards. He's buckling this down too far. Oversimplification is under comprehension. He's just not seeing what it took. Guns were a blazing in those years. We were just starting out and the 800 pound, 100 year old company didn't quite have the spice, flex or innovation in its bones to make it happen so I did. Why are you upset about that?
Important to note: This person (type 8) is very passionate and he cares very much about the company, it's important for me to remember that. He handles all the financials for the company. And the last bunch of years have not been good. The financials of the business unit I'm running as well are not awe inspiring either. Certainly not where the executive team wants them to be. When I think more deeply about this, He cares a lot. He doesn't like to create financial statements that look like these statement look. He does nonetheless, of course, and he does it objectively but he doesn't like to see the numbers look this way.
So this hurt. I think the decision I made way back when to do things in the way I thought the business needed to function was correct and solid given all the circumstances. Looking back he wants to assess and find the holes where all the problems are? That hurts. Hey the middle manager who doesn't do everything right, sounds like a nice dumping ground for executive frustration and little backed up bitterness.
Had some ideas on next steps with him. It'll be good.
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