Leading Through Language

1 YOU MUST START WITH LEADERSHIP

It was the night before a critical company town hall and Rick, the CEO of a struggling manufacturing company in New Jersey, was wondering what to say to his employees. For many years, his company had been recognized as an efficient, tightly run business. They had always been proud of manufacturing in the U.S., and of their ability to turn a profit while doing so. They had also built incredibly strong relationships with their customers. But over the last three years, things had been going downhill for Rick's business. His competitors outsourced production and were able to drive their costs down. Rick's major customers valued their long-standing relationships and were at first unwilling to switch to the now-lower-cost competitors. But over time the gap between Rick's prices and his competitors widened, and even long-standing, loyal customers began to defect.

To respond to these pressures, the leadership team – made up of Rick, his Chief Operating Officer, his Chief Financial Officer, and a few of his Vice Presidents – had begun a relentless “productivity optimization drive” to “close the margin gap and improve the value proposition.” Yet, a full year into the “strategic initiative,” Rick and his leadership team were frustrated that their efforts were not bearing any fruit. They realized that the company's middle managers and front-line workers were not buying in to the plan. They knew this because these employees were increasingly vocal in their ...