Opportunity, Culture & Runway - A Way To Evaluate Opportunities
Sometimes it’s easy to over complicate the process of evaluating a job opportunity, a business venture etc. One of my mentors has shared with me what I think is one of the best “Big Picture” ways to best way to evaluate a situation…”Opportunity, Culture & Runway”.
Opportunity - What’s the market opportunity and your role within the organization to go after it?
Culture - Starting at the top, what kind of people will you be working with, how do they approach business, what are their values, what kind of an environment do they cultivate etc?
Runway - What’s the long-term potential of the Opportunity in general and for you specifically?
I was reminded of this advice after reading today’s NYT Corner Office interview with Stephen I. Sadove, CEO of Saks Inc. who is a LARGE BUYER of the importance of Culture. In the article, he basically answers the “why” question in the following simple way:
People —> Leadership —> Culture —> All Execution Including Innovation = Results
Seems like a good time for a Buffet’ism…
“The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.” - Warren Buffet
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/business/30corner.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business
What’s your philosophy of leadership?
A. I have a very simple model to run a company. It starts with leadership at the top, which drives a culture. Culture drives innovation and whatever else you’re trying to drive within a company — innovation, execution, whatever it’s going to be. And that then drives results.
When I talk to Wall Street, people really want to know your results, what are your strategies, what are the issues, what it is that you’re doing to drive your business. They’re focused on the bottom line. Never do you get people asking about the culture, about leadership, about the people in the organization. Yet, it’s the reverse, because it’s the people, the leadership, the culture and the ideas that are ultimately driving the numbers and the results. So it’s a flip.
What I try to teach people is, don’t ask the first question in terms of numbers. Let’s talk about the people, let’s talk about the culture, let’s talk about the ideas and the innovation.
