“Put that playbook away! It’s going to be your kiss of death,” was the thought that popped into my mind when I read about Carlos Ghosn’s plan for Mitsubishi. “At Nissan, I was the pilot without a guide,” the Chairman and CEO of Renault and Nissan said.
“In the case of Mitsubishi, we already have a reference. We have enough assets, knowledge, knowhow, experience and goodwill on both sides to make things work.”
But do they? Relying on an old playbook in a new time and new location may not be the wisest move.
When Bob Willett stepped off the plane to take the helm as CEO of the Al-Futtaim Group, a conglomerate of over 40 companies across various industry sectors, he brought with him his tried-and-true “playbook”. He came to the region with an accomplished executive pedigree, having most recently been CEO of Best Buy, a $50 billion (Dh183.5 billion) consumer electronics corporation with 167,000 employees.
I am sure he thought, “Why should it be any different here at Al-Futtaim? I will do what has always brought me success.” So, in his first few days surrounded by his executives and numerous employees he waved the Best Buy playbook in the air declaring his plan for Al-Futtaim, which included several “housekeeping” strategies.
Expected to lead the group into a new era of positive change, his importing of non-native leadership practices earned him an unexpected early return ticket home, not even completing one year as CEO.
Hopefully, the outcome for Carlos Ghosn will be different at Mitsubishi, if the deal for Nissan to buy a 34 per cent stake goes through. After all he is known as “Mr Fix-it”. This Brazilian born (of Lebanese blood) CEO successfully restructured Renault to profitability and shortly thereafter turned around the nearly bankrupt Nissan in 1999.
It’s very tempting for any leader to bring with him what brought his previous success. After all, why wouldn’t you assume that if it worked before it’ll work again. This may be the logic that supports the oft-repeated comment when describing a leader who hops from company to company using the same playbook, “He doesn’t have 10 years of experience, he has the same year of experience 10 times.”
I once had a client like this, at four different companies, he brought the same playbook in and repeated it over and over again. What shocked me was in four different industries, his assessment concluded the same solution was needed. His reliance on the same playbook may very well be the cause of his repeated short tenures.
What made me cringe when I read Ghosn’s words were, “What if his previous success actually came from not having had a playbook?” Its very possible that not having a playbook and not knowing what to do led him to dig deeper and learn more.
Now he’s going to rely on what worked before, when want really worked before was a completely fresh perspective. In all likelihood he’ll be blinded by similarities rather than see what Mitsubishi really needs. I hope for his sake — and time will tell — that the situation is exactly what it was at Renault and Nissan. Otherwise, the investors are going to get far less than bargained for.
Each new opportunity deserves a fresh look. Of course, you bring experience and you should use it, but the real experience you bring is the process that led you to the playbook rather than the fully-baked playbook.
So instead of bringing pre-used solutions, bring a process that generates sound solutions. Your experience is confined by the time and facts that shaped it.
Today is different, so be different. First, understand the desired outcome and then figure out how to reach it. This is especially imperative in the region when it is overly tempting to import what worked outside.
The point for you is to avoid the colonialist mentality of taking what worked elsewhere and assuming it will time and again. You may get lucky, but you will do better to rely on logic. Otherwise you may end up with 10 years of the same experience rather than 10 years of experience.
The writer is a CEO Coach and author of “Leadership Dubai Style”. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com
