Umbrage? When Paper Generals Talk

"Right People, Right Job"

In our line of work in BlackStorm Consulting , our experience tells us that many companies that don't do well have a few common mistakes and one of them is hiring the wrong people for the jobs.

Why?

The wrong leader sets the wrong mission, vision for the business and the entire company follows it.

Talents who don't agree will eventually leave and along they brought their experience and connections away with them.

The wrong leader hires people that he sees as best fitting, which overtime creates an environment where everyone agrees with the same direction , not knowing it is wrong. You don't bite the hands that feed or hired you. Especially if you are from a totally different industry but parachuted in for various reasons.

Time passes, and questions be raised why are we not progressing as well as we wanted? Why are more and more people leaving? When did the competitors became stronger? Why are we spending more time solving problems than developing newer innovative products? Who are our customers? Etc. Etc. Usually the problems be pointed to the subordinates and seldom the wrong leader who started it all. Because he is the supreme leader, heavenly picked by the shareholders.

The cycle runs with more new blood injected in and those who don't conform will leave the company, turning it into an emptier shell for business.

In fact, shareholders who think they know most and picked their fav leaders, are not the one who runs the business on a daily basis. But power, money and reputation tend to give them a boost of confidence that they are seldom wrong. A few sessions with the selected leader, be it via family connections, close relationship, ex class mates, and the deal is sealed to bring in a friendly party in. Fitting or not, is secondary as many shareholders believe that the new leader will adapt.

No. They won't.

The business world is harsh where the speed, the hypercomplex and competitive environment makes you run on the toes, build a plane on the way down, manage complicated business relationships, hustle and even taking daring steps to motivate your peers and at the same time leap of faiths with suppliers and partners too.

Can military generals do all these? We should instead look at the way our government leaders pick and parachute these wrong people into the jobs. Not the first time, nor will it be the last. Their mindsets are the same to begin with.

The mindset that these generals should be rewarded for serving the countries and thus be rewarded with a high position with responsibilities that can be vastly different running in the forest or where ranks speaks louder than talents...are they the govt leaders even the right people to manage the country?

We should start there to stop such cycle from even beginning and have only getting the right people to the right job by offering to those with actual talents to deliver instead.

That is where we the citizens should "Umbrage" or whatever...on the system that been in placed to reward the talentless people into the jobs and causing ripple effects.