WSJ's The Experts

Founders Need to Get Up from Their Desks

Withdrawing from the front line puts your growing enterprise in danger.

By James Allen

Published on August 27, 2015
min read


This piece originally published in WSJ.com's The Experts. Too many small businesses are falling prey to a current management trend I consider foolish: As companies grow, advisers increasingly coach CEOs to stay in their box—to work through the organization structure and not directly with the front line. Advisers tell senior leaders to manage to an agenda and trust their direct reports to communicate with the rest of the organization, so that every part of the organization feels valued. That might empower employees, but it also can lead to a lack of direction within the company and an eroding sense of what really matters. When a company is small, hundreds of good reasons prevent senior leaders from getting out to visit with customers and front-line employees. The leaders do a half-dozen jobs, from marketing to making bank deposits. And as the company grows, leaders often get sucked deeper into the inner recesses of the back office. Learn More Founder's Mentality Fast-growing companies can become global leaders without losing the values that helped them succeed. Bain’s research explores how large incumbents can also reignite their growth by recapturing their Founder’s Mentality®. Withdrawing from the front puts your growing enterprise in danger. No survey or report can replace direct contact with your employees and customers. Getting out into the field yields information you simply can’t get through filtered analysis. Moreover, field forays can use scarce company resources more efficiently. Reporting to leadership takes employee time to compile statistics, survey customers and report on trends. As the head of your company, you reduce complexity by assuming the burden of information flow—that is, make it your job to go to the source for information—rather than requiring employees to report all possible answers to questions they think you might ask. You might find you can get away from the desk more often than you think, at least virtually. I know of one company that set up a phone number that allows executives to listen in on customer service calls. The CEO listens during his drive home, and he told me that he sometimes ends up sitting in his driveway, not wanting to get out of the car until an individual call ends. CEOs need to get out of the box all those well-meaning folks want to stick them in. They need to stir up a little trouble, create some waves and remind folks of who’s in charge. As long as they are acting on behalf of their customers, that’s no bad thing. James Allen is co-leader of the global strategy practice at Bain & Co.

This piece originally published in WSJ.com's The Experts.

Too many small businesses are falling prey to a current management trend I consider foolish: As companies grow, advisers increasingly coach CEOs to stay in their box—to work through the organization structure and not directly with the front line. Advisers tell senior leaders to manage to an agenda and trust their direct reports to communicate with the rest of the organization, so that every part of the organization feels valued.

That might empower employees, but it also can lead to a lack of direction within the company and an eroding sense of what really matters.

When a company is small, hundreds of good reasons prevent senior leaders from getting out to visit with customers and front-line employees. The leaders do a half-dozen jobs, from marketing to making bank deposits. And as the company grows, leaders often get sucked deeper into the inner recesses of the back office.

Learn More

Founder's Mentality

Fast-growing companies can become global leaders without losing the values that helped them succeed. Bain’s research explores how large incumbents can also reignite their growth by recapturing their Founder’s Mentality®.

Withdrawing from the front puts your growing enterprise in danger. No survey or report can replace direct contact with your employees and customers. Getting out into the field yields information you simply can’t get through filtered analysis.

Moreover, field forays can use scarce company resources more efficiently. Reporting to leadership takes employee time to compile statistics, survey customers and report on trends. As the head of your company, you reduce complexity by assuming the burden of information flow—that is, make it your job to go to the source for information—rather than requiring employees to report all possible answers to questions they think you might ask.

You might find you can get away from the desk more often than you think, at least virtually. I know of one company that set up a phone number that allows executives to listen in on customer service calls. The CEO listens during his drive home, and he told me that he sometimes ends up sitting in his driveway, not wanting to get out of the car until an individual call ends.

CEOs need to get out of the box all those well-meaning folks want to stick them in. They need to stir up a little trouble, create some waves and remind folks of who’s in charge. As long as they are acting on behalf of their customers, that’s no bad thing.

James Allen is co-leader of the global strategy practice at Bain & Co.