“The best leaders don’t climb to the top, they are carried to the top!”
In 2012, Best Buy was in crisis; Amazon was killing Best Buy with its online pricing, the company was reporting huge losses, the stock was tanking, and the CEO was fired for misconduct. Who would have the courage to lead and turnaround the company at this point? Enter Hubert Joly, a McKinsey “turnaround” consultant!
We have always encouraged listening to these podcasts as they are great for improving business knowledge and learning from the experiences of others. Now, here is a podcast about someone who openly confesses he was not a born leader and never had the opportunity to lead large teams. How did he develop his leadership skills? When the opportunity knocked on his door, was he able to successfully lead an IT consulting firm with 3000 employees ?
Listen and learn from his experiences at three different companies until he took the office as CEO and Chairman of Best Buy.
Key Points to Ponder
- What is the role of a leader? Is it to be the smartest person in the room, come up with great ideas, and make good decisions? Or, is it something more? Think about how a good leader drives inspiration. Have you ever thought about inspiring your employees, and how much emphasis should a good leader put into that?
- What is the purpose of a company? The famous economist Milton Friedman said, "The role of a company is to create value for shareholders through profits." Do you think there is more to it? What about employees, vendors and customers? What about the communities they live in? Should the purpose of a company be to serve all of them?
- What are the steps to a successful turnaround? Most turnaround teams start with cutting down on extra expenses, selling off poor performing assets and streamlining operations. Layoffs is usually a key part of the strategy, but is that really the right way to do it? What did Hubert Joly do at Best Buy? Did he fire people the day he joined the company? What were his first steps?
Finally, pay attention to what Hubert has to say about customer focus
Focusing on the competition is interesting but not fascinating. It's all about a focus on the customer. If you're passionate about understanding the needs of the customers and then creating ways to provide a great solution for the customers, this is how you win!
Contact BBCCH and see how we can help you turn your ideas into your next business venture.
Now click below and listen to this awesome podcast from NPR.