It is amazing to watch the three automobile CEO's sit before Congress and ask for the Federal Government to save them. The American Automobile companies are a classic case of a HARVEST strategy, which in simple terms they have sold off market share over several decades, reaped handsome profits and then collapsed.
Each of these three companies had innovative leaders:

• Alfred Sloane was the leader in market segmentation and providing unique brands and autos for each segment. He led the idea of market migration...the first buyers purchased a Chevy, then migrated upward to the ultimate a CADDY.
• Henry Ford was the low cost, manufacturing genius, introducing the assembly line and offering one color BLACK.
• Chrysler focused on product innovation and differentiation and introduced man

Each of the companies prospered until the early 1960s, when they all assumed that there would be FEW automobile companies and they could compete against themselves and ignore the new comers, Japanese automakers.

In fact they allowed the Japanese to take control of the small, economy car segment because its margins were lower than the big, gas guzzler segments.They all moved to a manufacturing strategy and ignored the markets and the trends. They sacrificed quality and innovation for lower costs and then gave away the shop to the UNION, providing unreasonable benefits and increasing salaries. They sold the same cars under different brands and downgraded the quality of the high end, prestige brands, like Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler.

All of these companies instituted "cookie cutter" manpower and educational systems, so that all of the candidates looked alike and were "automobile" men.

Further all of them divested their non automobile subsidiaries to focus on just automobiles. For instance, General Motors sold its Frigidaire appliance business, its ALLISON division, its locomotive business and so on. All of which were market leaders, but didn't fit the automobile mentality

The reason that it has taken decades to put these companies on the edge of collapse is that they had very large share and were so big. It takes time to harvest giants, but ultimately they meet the same fate of smaller companies, they go out of business. This is the point they are today.

I have mixed emotions about whether to save them or not, but I do think that all of the current leaders, the company's Board of Directors SHOULD RESIGN now... but the problem is that because of their COOKIE CUTTER development systems, it is unlikely they have replacements that can do the surgery and competitive/ market based strategic thinking and development requried and unfortunately it has been demonstrated that bring in outsiders doesn't work either.

Further it is difficult to do creative strategic thinking when you are in the EMERGENCY room and just trying to stay alive. Strategy MUST Be DONE when you are healthy and have options and not when you are trying to survive.Sloane, Ford and Chrysler must be turning over in their graves.

Bill Rothschild, author of the book that shows why GE is different and hopefully will avoid the same mistakes as the Automobile companies...THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS and PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER - a guide to strategic thinking and decision making.

Destroying STAKEHOLDERS personal wealth and Confidence!!!

During the past six months we have witnessed many companies destroy their stakeholders' personal wealth and confidence. Note I use the word "stakeholders" and not shareholders. Stakeholders include employees, communities, governments, investors, stockholders and any one who has a vested interest or "stake" in an organizations.
There are FOUR factors that have contributed to this destruction:

1. Unrealistic expectations. Most of the LOSERS have promised results that were unrealistic, poorly conceived and missed them dramatically. It is truly amazing how much money major organizations have lost and missed their promised results.
2. Surprised Themselves. To make matters worse, the management of these organizations have not only surprised their stakeholders, but themselves. This is the worse SIN anyone can commit. It means that the organizations lack internal assessments and believe their press releases and not the reality of their situation. It appears that they have had staff organizations who were "yes people" and not willing or able to point out that the "emperor has no clothes".
3. Arrogance and unwilling to admit mistakes and take responsibility. Not only have these "so called leaders" fooled themselves, but have been so arrogant that they refuse to admit they made mistakes and were at fault. They use the "blame game" to say that everyone else was at fault and not themselves.
4. Rewarding themselves for failure. Finally they destroy organizations, put them in bankruptcy, do harm to their investors, employees, communities, but have the nerve to take HUGE compensation packages. They reward themselves tens of millions of dollars and benefits for FAILURE.It is amazing that these four characteristics can be attributed to major organizations. Some are still viable, but many have been destroyed forever and everyone has lost.

The real issues are: WHY DID IT HAPPEN AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT THIS IN THE FUTURE. I hope that the major MBA programs are studying this situation and will determine if they were also responsible for the problem and how they can prevent it in the future.
Bill Rothschild, author of the only comprehensive, objective and insightful assessment of GE's 127 years... THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS and Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership.

STOP OVERCHARGING ON CREDIT CARDS.

WHY ARE OUR PRESIDENTAL HOPEFULS AND ELECTED OFFICALS AT ALL LEVELS NOT ADDRESSING THE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH AMERICAN CONSUMERS...NAMELY CREDIT CARD INTEREST...

IF WE WOULD ENFORCE THE USUARY LAWS AND STOP CHARGING CREDIT CARD USERS EXHORBANT INTEREST RATES. (15% PLUS) THE SAME AS THE LOAN SHARKS CHARGE WE WOULD RELEAVE THE AVERAGE AMERICAN OF AN ENORMOUS BURDEN. MOST AMERICANS ARE MAXED OUT BUT BEING CHARGED THESE LOAN SHARK RATES...TAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS ILLEGAL AND MORAL ABUSE.

Bill Rothschild, CEO of ROTHSCHILD STRATEGIES UNLIMITED LLC.

"Never Over promise and Minimize (if not avoid) Surprises"

This was the essence of the Ralph Cordiner and Reg Jones eras in Strategic GE's history.

• These are some quotes from my book" The Secret to GE's Success" which focus on creating and meeting investor expectations:
  " In the 1950's, Cordiner initiated Investor Relations as one of the new corporate functional services. The organization's job was to help create realistic expectations among the investment analysts and then communicate expectations internally so that the operating and executive officers understood the right level of profitability to achieve


• "Jones was one of the most skilled executives in this regard. He established a team consisting of staff members from investor relations, finance, and strategic planning (my job at the time) as well as his own vice chairmen to determine the expectations that could be achieved consistently.


• "If there was a gap between what business units promised and "Wall Street expectations" Jones recognized that if he compelled all of the businesses to increase their profit levels, he might negatively impact the ability of at some divisions to execute their approved strategies.. a special evaluation was created to assure that the increased profit levels didn't negatively impact the "growth businesses" (again one of my jobs).
  

I had the good fortune of being part of the Jones process and helping the company meet Wall Street Expectations while implementing the approved strategies. It was challenging but fun.

Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS the most comprehensive, objective assessment of GE's 127 years of progress, now in six languages.

THE GENERATION THAT GAVE...EVEN WHEN IT HURT THEMSELVES..

I grew up during the Great Depression, which demonstrates that I am not young, though I still feel, THANK GOD, young and my brain is more vibrate than those much younger. I remember the GREAT WAR...when he had air raid drills, no lights, when we had to wear HEAT RESISTANT name tags, so if we were killed they would know who we were; when there was no gasoline, no meat and so on...but GUESS WHAT we didn't feel sorry or deprived.

When the war was over...we had the EISENHOWER era...when America was the leader...things were good, but unlike our older brother we had to pay for our education, NO GI BILL...some of us went to war...Korea...Viet Nam... BUT many didn't serve...

We went to work...but it was the BABY BOOMER, MBA, generation that ultimately took over..but we were happy since we were much better off than our parents, and we were able to live a VERY GOOD life...

Now we are suffering because... the BABY BOOMERS took our jobs and then they had the government reduce interest and now they were able to put the country in the most serious economic situation since the depression.

Overall, my generation is the GREATEST GENERATION because we experienced it all, but unfortunately contributed to the WORSE GENERATION, the baby boomers who have destroyed our ability to grow, and prosper and now may even have put us back to where our parents were..

But the real issue is where our grandchildren will be...will they follow the successes and failures of those before my generation,or my generation or be totally unprepared for the REALITY of the WORLD TODAY...

I am faithful and hope they will learn and follow the BEST GENERATIONS...those who served in WWII and those in my generation and NOT THE BABY BOOMERS and the current crop of those who have failed to lead and only take and run...even when they fail.

Bill Rothschild... author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS... which shows the dedication of my generation and before...

Marie Antoinette School of Business Graduates.

Based on the track record of many of executives and Government officials it would appear that they all graduated from the "Marie Antoinette School of Business".

They have managed failing or failed companies with the attitude that there is just one stakeholder, themselves. They appear to have been taught that they must first negotiate contracts that pay them handsomely even when they fail.

Their handpicked boards of directors have not only supported this, but in many cases get handsome fees, benefits and even pensions. All have the Marie Antoinette attitude of " let them eat cake".

This must stop. CEO and Boards must recognize that they must meet the balanced best interests of all the key stakeholders, starting with those who dedicate their lives for the organization, then the shareholders and of course the customers.

Further they must recognize that they have a responsibility to their communities, the States and the UNITED STATES in total. This means the build plants and invest in the United States and not just in China, India...

It is time that the Business Schools teach what leadership really is and not just how to do creative book keeping, negotiate golden parachutes to optimize yourself. We need the rebirth of real leaders and not just optimistic negotiators.

Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS... the book that shows how GE historically have had dedicated, home grown, professional leaders that put the company and key stakeholders above their own personal gain.

The Impossible Job Is Available... Why would anyone want it and can anyone succeed during a crisis?

Imagine that you have just been selected to lead the largest, most powerful organization in the world. You are now on the job the first day and this is what you find:

• You have no real power. The programs sent to you are not yours but those of other key vented interests. You must either agree or disagree what is proposed, you can't change any of the items or veto those parts which are not part of the proposal, but vented interest additions.


• Your staff is enormous, but the leaders are all temporary and the professionals and clerical employees are all vested and you can't remove them without a very difficult and complex process and the final results will not be what you wish, but a compromise.


• All of the key stakeholders have their own vested interests and not focused on the final solution or even the good of the entire organization.


• Budgets are always overrun ( or loss) and there is no discipline to balance the budgets. When there is an overrun the organization just get permission to add to the deficit. When there is a surplus (or profit) the stakeholders all vie for their unequal share.


• You have a limited time horizon, since it is possible that you will be removed in four years, but definitely in eight years, so everything is short term and not long term. Some of your key stakeholders must reapply for their jobs every two years, others have a life time employment.
  

This is a NIGHTMARE for any executive and it is amazing that anyone apply for it. Yet there are long lines of applicants and some spend their entire lives and resources to get the job. Of course it is prestigious if you win and succeed, but success is very temporal and not well defined.This is the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES situation... so you may wonder why it is so difficult to succeed...and most business executives would not apply and if they do, they are likely to fail. The business executive is an autocratic/ prince... they have the power and if they are smart they would not want to be President of the United States.

This is why the whole notion that a Business CEO would be able to any better than the politicians is not realistic.

Unfortunately the current Presidential situation is only workable when the Country is winning and strong, but it is in crisis.... changes are needed. This is why Franklin D. Roosevelt began a autocratic president and not one like the one I just described. He even lasted three plus terms and if lived might have served many more terms.

The United States needs leaders, but any real leader would not apply of the Presidents job...since they would not have the power to lead... so this may be the reason that our Presidents are quite often not leaders, but just those who can manage the system and with a little luck get out of the office being somewhat popular.

Changes are needed... but these will require a re-thinking of our entire mentality and even a change in whether it is really viable to have a democracy...this is really SCARY...

Bill Rothschild, author of RISKTAKER, CARETAKER, SURGEON, UNDERTAKER- the four faces of strategic leadership...available on AMAZON and http://www.strategyleader.com/

Challenging the FOLKFORE...competence before just loyalty

One of the obvious failings of the Bush administration has been Bush's emphasis on loyalty rather than competence. There is no question that President Bush has had several unqualified members of his team and they have held their jobs because they have been "team players".
This has practice is also very prevalent and obvious in many large corporations and it has negatively impacted all of the key stakeholders.

According to Doris Goodwin's " Team of Rivals", Lincoln selected his cabinet members because they were competent and provided another perspective, even if they have adversarial views. His cabinet included people who ran against him and in some cases even criticized him in public. One of his team was running against him even while a member of the cabinet. But Lincoln used the talents of these adversaries to lead in probably the biggest CRISIS that the country had to face.

In my book: Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- a four faces of strategic leadership I emphasize that there are no one leader for all times and that the team must fit the leadership type and the situation. If an organization is in crisis, the leader and the team must be willing to challenge everything, hold nothing sacred and seek all views.

In my latest book: THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS.. I emphasize that GE has avoided the "cookie cutter" approach and selected leaders and team players that were different and fit the unique situation.

When I was GE's Corporate Strategist, I always looked for and selected people who provided different insights, even if I didn't agree with them. When I led the Management Development Program and Strategic Planning Workshops and Seminars, I included professors and outsiders who challenged the GE Folklore and didn't just recite the party line.

I am not sure what is happening in GE today, but it is vital that all companies and organizations seek out people who are competent and not just "back slapping/ yes" people. Unfortunately it appears that most of the failing companies today have not sought "teams of rivals" but "teams of friends, neighbors and those who refuse to challenge the folklore".

Bill Rothschild, CEO of Rothschild Strategies Unlimited, LLC

Back to SELECTIVITY...Learning from past successes.

The last time that GE had to have a "white knight" come to their financial rescue was in 1897, when Edison GE and Thomson Houston had to merge and JP Morgan put in capital to save the company.

On October 1, 2008, it happened again... this time it was Warren Buffet, bought $3 billion of Preferred Stock... to help save the GE TRIPLE A rating.

Since I wrote my book, THE SECRET OF GE's SUCCESS, I have challenged IMMELT and team...GO BIG strategy. It was clear to me that promising to grow the company 8% organically seemed to be improbable, if not impossible. Unfortunately, I have been right and a change in strategy is required.

GE introduced strategic thinking, decision making and planning in the 1970's because Fred Borch had embarked on nine new, organically grown, ventures. Five of ventures failed, but Fred recognized and admitted his mistakes and focused on being selective and not growing for the sake of growth. This action enabled the company to focus on winners and contributed to the Welch's remarkable earnings and stock value growth.

There are lessons to be learned from this period in GE's 126 year history.I still have faith that GE leadership will rise to the occasion and replicate the company's past success and ability to adapt to change. However, it will require all five key success factors: Leadership, Adaptability, Talent, Influencing and Networks (LATIN).

If you wish to learn the reasons for GE's past success, take a look at my book: The Secret to GE's Success, now available on Amazon's Kindle and in six languages.

Bill Rothschild, author of Global best seller: The Secret to GE's Success, Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership, GEWatcher blog on Rothschild Strategies Unlimited LLC website: http://www.strategyleader.com/

THe GO BIG failures...new Undertaker Leaders.

When I wrote my book, Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership, I had a difficult time finding examples of Undertakers.

In the past few weeks the number of Undertaker leaders has significantly increased. Some of these leaders, like Merrill, merged their "storied" company with Bank of America. Lehman Brothers disappeared and had to settle for a garage sale. AIG became a ward of the United States Government.

One of the underlying causes of all these failures, what the high risk, high roll, GO BIG mentality that permeated these companies. GO BIG never works. But unfortunately another result of this fiasco is that there are now BIGGER financial services and not smaller ones. It is interesting to note that the financial companies who have prospered during this crisis are the smaller, specialized, focused local and regional banks.

It should be clear that strategically focused organizations who resist the GO BIG, GO GLOBAL temptation and stick to what they know and can lead are the WINNERS.
Bill Rothschild, author of RISKTAKER, CARETAKER, SURGEON, UNDERTAKER, the four faces of strategic leadership and

THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS.

Team of Rivals

As you and I sit at our televisions, read our newspapers, listen to the radio and so on, we should be totally depressed. But fortunately we are still alive and keeping our heads above the rising tide.

I am reading a GREAT book TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns GOODWIN.. a Pulitzer Prize winner and a great writer...

This book continues to provide insights into what it takes to LEAD IN A CRISIS... Lincoln surrounded himself with those who ran against him and continue to think and act that they were far superior to Lincoln himself. This gave Lincoln the opinions and insights of those with different perspectives and views. It enable him to make decisions that were beyond the obvious and even contradictory to what he believed.

Lincoln had the ability to LISTEN, THINK and THEN MAKE DECISIONS, even if they were not what he desired and even were not what he wanted to do...but he was a REALIST.

His greatest failure was selecting GENERALS..but he continue to stay involved and finally got it right. Unfortunately the General he really wanted was Robert E. Lee. He offered Lee the generalist position, but LEE elected to fight for his friends, neighbors and family and not the UNION.

I wish that we had a leader like Lincoln today...but unfortunately Bush has been a TOTAL failure. His focus on loyalty and not competence has led to the PROLONGED Iraqi war...

The only individual who might fit the Lincoln level of leadership is JOHN MCCAIN... it is clearly not Obama...

I hope that the United States is LUCKY enough to select a leader that can stop our HARVESTING and WORLD decline and is willing to do the SURGERY required and not just follow the polls and the instant analysis of unqualified and biased journalists and instant experts.

Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS...and RISKTAKER, CARETAKER, SURGEON, UNDERTAKER...the four faces of strategic leadership...and author of www.strategyleader.com.

GE's success factors- adaptability and realistic expectations.

Two of the reasons that GE has had a successful 126 years is because the leaders were adaptable, set and met realistic expectations. It is highly promising to see the Immelt team continue this successful leadership approach.

It is clear that the company must reduce its dependence on Financial services and its complexity. GO BIG has not worked and focus and selectivity must become the new theme.

Bill Rothschild, author of the insightful,comprehensive, objective 126 year history of GE, THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS...a global bestseller.

We are in CRISIS we NEED SURGEON LEADERS NOW....

We are in CRISIS...We need SURGEON LEADERS

It Takes A CRISIS·

• Change… is the theme of the United States today.· But it requires a Major, clear crisis to get the type of change we need.

Unfortunately we are NOW IN CRISIS...so Need Surgeon Leaders…

You can find situations like this through out our history, but the most recent crises included: the GREAT DEPRESSION, THE WAR TO END ALL WARS, THE SPUTNIK SURPRISE, 9/11.In each case, the country was forced to make major changes and to become more focused and dedictated.

• 
  In the Great Depression the country was willing to allow the President and the Democratic Congress to take complete control of thecountry to turn it around.
• World War II saw the change in the number of terms a President could serve and the willingness of the people to get behind what was originally an unpopular war.
• Sputnik allowed Kennedy to reallocate resources to a SPACE program that has contributed not only to the US’s global military power, but also help provide all of the micro-electronics, software and computer power to make the world more fun and permits worldwide communications.
• 9/11 is still not clear. It permitted Bush to overthrown the Iraqui dictator, but unless the war is “won”… it may have caused a major change in our view of ability and willingness to be the police force and democracy missionaries of the world.United States CAN’T Afford our traditional types of leaders..

We can’t “be all things to all people”, believe we are INFINITELY wealthy and POLICE and CONVERT THE WORLD…WE NEED “SURGEON LEADERS”…NOW!!!THE UNITED STATES HAS LIMITED RESOURCES…Since the end of World War II, the United States has executed “all things to all people” strategies and programs.

The underlying assumption was and still is that we are LEADER of the world, have INFINITE resources and can not only grow our own country, but be the police man of the world and the missionary to convert the world to democracy.

• 
  In the 1950’s and early 1960’s this was the same attitude and underpinnings of many of the now deceased or critically ill, United States corporations. Names like Westinghouse, RCA etc.. can now only be found on tombstones or references in business history books and case studies. Others like General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, US Steel are possibly likely to join the group or will be restructured as only shadows of their past.The United States as a nation is moving from the moderate growth to the declining growth stage of its economic and possibly military power. But is still acts and has a Government that pretends to be a GLOBAL ECONOMIC POWER, when it is on the rapid decline of the growth curve.
• TOO MANY RISKTAKER/CARETAKERS AND NOT ENOUGH SURGEONS.In my book (Risktaker. Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership) I classify leaders into four types and describe their characteristics. This is a summary of each of the leadership characteristics and its relationship to the life cycle of the organization.
• 
  Risktaker Caretaker Surgeon UndertakerMissionary Cautious Nothing and No One sacred DecisiveIntuitive Managerial Challenges “folklore” CompassionateAdaptive Analytical Portfolio manager UnselfishDynamic Experienced Ability to sell at a profit Realist
  EMBRYONIC CONTINUING GROWTH MATURING/ SLOWING NEGATIVE GROWTHLet’s take a look at the situations that each of these president’s faced and their style of leadership.·

• Roosevelt--- inherited a country in crisis… the depression required taking major risks to jump start the economy. His first act was to close all of the banks… move the country to a more socialistic than capitalistic situation. He took enormous risks in helping England survive and some even believe the was willing to let the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor to get the country into the war.
• Truman… the risktaker of all time…he bet on dropping the bomb…even though he had very little insight in how it would work out…· Eisenhower was the caretaker of all time… he just let the world happen… no waves..
• Kennedy… not in time long enough to really classify… he was a risktaker when he tried to invade Cuba, but lacked the courage to see if it would work… he took a major risk with Russia and they backed down…so he was more of a risktaker than a caretaker.·
• Nixon…was a risktaker, but his personality negated what he was able to do.· Carter…was a true caretaker and a micromanager…
• Reagan was a risktaker.. and was able to create an economic evolution and the creation of a CULT.
• George HW BUSH was a caretaker… really didn’t do much. His invasion and quick retreat of Iraq demonstrated this.
• Clinton the typical caretaker… was willing to change to fit the popular reaction.
• Bush W.. was a risktaker…but didn’t really understand the risk he was taking and surrounded himself with individuals that supported a “hawkish, foreign policy.

No Longer NUMBER One!!!The NEXT President, whoever he must be a realist and move into the surgeon category. Let’s examine some of the reasons that this is needed and then the characteristic the President and the Members of Congress must possess.

Current SITUATION:A Debtor Nation· United States has become a major DEBTOR nation---(some figures)· The American consumer is a highly leveraged and unable to continue to spend like there is no tomorrow. The Sub-Prime problems is making it even worse.

China and other nations have enormous economic power and are CREDITOR nations.· United States dollar is eroding and enabling other nations to purchase our companies, assets, national resources at bargain prices.·

“FOR SALE”.. appears to be the message of today’s United States institutions, whether are the “in-crisis” financial institutions, like Citi and Merrill, the real estate or the infrastructure and ship yards. This is a clear sign of a declining nation.Divided Politically, Socially and Economically

Country is highly divided and there is no real majority.· The very wealthy are getting wealthier and the poor are becoming wards of the state.· Jobs and assets have been GIVE AWAY to the highest bidders, or the opportunists who have take advantage of the “ very weak, declining dollar” and a Greenspan led Federal Reserve who was more political than economists.· The nation must recognize it is on the upper end, declining position of the growth curve and not on its rapid growth position.Infrastructure has been harvested·

The INFRASTRUCTURE… road, water, electricity have been HARVESTED and are on the verge of a major collapse… there is MAJOR GRIDLOCK in all of the major cities, there is flooding and water damage in even the most affluent cities, there are BLACKOUTS when it rains…·

Education spends more on the buses, security than on TEACHING… there is no discipline in the classrooms since everyone is “politically sensitive” and no one wants to be sued.

In short, America is becoming more like a THIRD WORLD nations, but behaves like it was what it was… the BANKER, SAVIOR OF THE WORLD…WANTED—Surgeon Leaders.Surgeon leaders are those most suited to “re-structure” and change the business priorities and focus. These are individuals who are first and formost realists and clearly recognize that if the patient, in this case the country, doesn’t under grow surgery they will become invalids or even worse will die.There have been many great surgeon leaders in the history of America business and these are the type of people we need to lead the country now. Let’s outline some of the key actions required,

NOW:· “NOTHING and NO ONE is SACRED”- The country leaders, including the President, his administration and Congress must be will to step back and evaluate all of the country needs and requirements and not make anything or anyone sacred.· Set Priorities and Allocate Resources- Using a clear set of viable criteria the leaders must do an OBJECTIVE evaluation and set priorities and then be willing to communicate what needs to be done and what can’t be done…

this means being POLITICALLY INCORRECT is needed.· DO what they SAY…this is the essence of strategic leadership. Strategy is what you do and not what you say. Unfortunately, this will take a major change in the “political mindset”..where it is common to say one thing and do something else.

LINE ITEM VETO- The president must be able to cut out the polk and not permit the valuable and needed programs to be surrounded by politically motivated, non-productive waste full polk.· BALANCED BUDGET. Willingness to live in our means and not just continue to add to the debt… this means that there must be a CONSTITUTIONAL BALANCED BUDGET and no exceptions. If programs are increased in one area, others must be decreased or more revenues must be generated.

TERM LIMITS FOR EVERYONE- Time limits on all members of government. Roosevelt made it clear that there must be time limits on the Presidency and so we have a two term president. But the Senate have become the House of Lords and a long tenure group of “too comfortable” and too Powerful individuals. If it make sense for two terms for the PRESIDENT, why doesn’t make sense for the Senate. The House members terms should be extended to four years and they two must only be able to serve for two terms.

STOP FINANCING OUR ENEMIES. Stop all FOREIGN aid and examine where it should go. Don’t give money to our enemies or to those who are wealthier than we are. We can’t buy friendship and these funds should be used to solve real problems and be time limited. No annuities that go on and on and are actually used to undermine their purpose.

NO MORE POLICEMAN AND MISSIONARY- Moving from the policeman and “democratic” missionaries to willing to allow other countries to manage their own countries and select the best form of government for them and not what may work of us. This also means a reality test on whether democracy is really working here. It is only partially working.

IMPOSSIBLE DREAM??

• Reading this list of requirements may make you think that I am totally Naïve and it is impossible to get these type of changes. After all, the current systems and policies protect the incumbents in government and allow them to get enough “polk” to keep them in office. There are too many and strong lobbyists who have created one of the only growth industries in the United States. There is a great fear of not giving away money to all nations even to our enemy since the country is already unpopular.So, on the surface it is impossible and the current policies and practices will continue
• UNTIL THERE IS A REAL CRISIS. The crisis is likely to take the form of major recession, combined with massive unemployment and even some form of the “bread lines of the Great Depression”
• A CRISIS SOCIETY.If there is a major crisis… the real issue is whether the country can respond and how long it will take. The best solution, is to take actions now… ELECT a SURGEON GOVERNMENT.

Bill Rothschild, author of Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership...available on www.strategyleader.com

What it takes to be a SURGEON leader!!!

In my last blog, I asserted that the UNITED STATES needs both a SURGEON President and Congress, because the country is in the mature stage of its life cycle and it continues to believe that it has the resources to be ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE.

The reality is that the country has limited financial and military resources and they need to be selectively allocated. The country is a debtor nation and it is getting worse.So the country needs to have leaders at all levels with a clear recognition of reality and not a bunch of dreamers.

1. Surgeon leaders have three key characteristics:
   First they are realists and survival driven. This means that leaders must be focused on setting priorities and then allocating the resources to the highest priorities and not just spread them across the entire portfolio. In simple terms it means that some programs will be cancelled and the resources allocated to the key priorities. This is not simple, but it is critical to survival.



2. Second, surgeon leaders are not tied to the past or the "status quo". "Nothing is sacred" and all of the programs and projects are given the same objective and comprehensive evaluations. Even the "sacred cows" are considered to be expendible. This means that some of the traditional services will be curtailed or eliminated.



3. Third, surgeon leaders "challenge the folklore" and evaluate the present and anticipate the future and not just the past. The old saying it "worked in the past" and so it is assumed it will work in the future, is not accepted. This requires understanding why it worked and determining if the situation is the same as the past.

Surgeon leadership has enabled many companies to succeed. My favorite example is GE. If the GE leaders in the 1970s and 1980's didn't recognize the need to execute sound and critical evaluations and accept the philosophy that nothing is sacred, GE would be among the list of companies that no longer exist.

In the next blog I will discuss the type of team that a surgeon leader needs.

If you wish to learn more about strategic leadership, I recommend you read my books:

Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership

THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS.

Surgeon President and Congress

Since we are in the mist of an election, in which leadership is being highlighted and emphasized, I thought it would be useful to review what I believe are the four types of leaders and when they are most successful.Can't Be All Things To ALL People.

Before I start I need to emphasize that all organizations and governments are Portfolios, that is they are comprised on pieces. Some of the pieces are new, growth, others may be mature and still others may be declining. Further successful organizations can't afford to "be all things to all people" so they must be selective and invest in some of the pieces, discard some and use some as the "cash cows" to fund others. In short, the investment strategic alternatives are GROW, DEFEND, HARVEST or EXIT.

In my book" Risktakers, Caretakers, Surgeons, Undertakers- the four faces of strategic leadership", published by Wiley in 1993, I used the life cycle as a first step in determining which component of the portfolio, fits which type of strategy. For instance, business units, or components that are new, embryonic and rapid growing, like the i-phone, wind generation, hybrid cars, are all in this category and are clearly growth businesses and must be led by a Risk taking, entrepreneur. Businesses like the broadcasting networks, traditional oil and gas, credit cards are clearly in the mature stage and need to have "surgeon leaders". Then there are components that are declining and need the skills of the trained undertaker.In today's world there is a mix of all of these types of situations and it is critical that the leader and the team have the skills, motivations and talents to lead in these very different situations.

This is the ability that has been demonstrated, by my Alma Mater, GE, who has had different type of leaders for different phases of their portfolio. Even though the CEO could be classified in these categories, it is more vital that the leader of the specific business unit be right for the strategic direction of the business unit. For instance, GE has used its traditional businesses, like lighting, motors, turbines to generate funds to finance the growth businesses, like wind, new financial services, medical systems.Unfortunately this talent and selection has not been found in most companies and even governments and this had contributed to the problems we have today.

The US government, still believes it can be ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE and has unlimited resources to do everything. Unfortunately this is the reason that the US is a debtor nation and is so dependent on foreign funds.Both Obama AND McCain saying they will change this situation and focus. But neither have shown the ability and willingness to say what they will DIVEST and HARVEST and not just what they want to grow.

The discussion is on where the revenues will come from. Obama has the ROBIN HOOD strategy, steal from the rich and give to the poor. This is called socialism, but it may be acceptable to the voters. McCain is emphasizing the need to generate more revenues by using the REAGAN strategy of growing the economy and this will yield more money to spend.I have said before and still believe, that the US must accept the reality that can't be the the defender of the world, the land of opportunity- that invites illegal aliens, that is willing to erode and even destroy is ability to make its own products and provide its own services... it continues to want to do everything and make everyone happy. History has proven this is FAILURE. The companies that tried it are no longer around, the major governments who continued to implement these failed programs are either second rate countries, or just foot notes in history books.

We NEED SURGEON LEADERS...The United States needs leaders who are realistic and willing to "give up something" and not just pretend it can be all things to all people... it needs SURGEON leaders in all levels of government and in all branches of government.

Bill Rothschild, author of THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS and CEO of ROTHSCHILD STRATEGIES UNLIMITED, LLC

Standing and Fighting- a key success

Many leaders have taken the easy way out. Rather than taking strong stand against adversaries they have been willing to give in to unreasonable and uneconomical demands rather than standing a fighting.This is painfully obvious today when we witness the problems in the automobile and its supplier industries. General Motors and Ford have bleeding heavily and are not able to compete against its non-union foreign competitors. Not only are their wages high, but they are forced to pay for workers who don’t work, fund pensions, and contribute to ever increasing health benefits. In addition, these companies are forced to operate in old, non-competitive factories in locations that have high taxes and worker protection laws.All of these problems were not caused by the current management but by those who preceded them, especially the leaders in the 1950’s and 1960s.

Following World War II, the United States experienced its most prosperous times. There was enormous demand for consumer and industrial products. During the war, the entire US manufacturing effort was focused on winning the war and not on providing consumer and industrial products. Further the US companies stood alone in the ability to provide these products worldwide, since the European and Far East producers had been devastated during the war.

Unlike other major companies in autos, steel, aluminum and transportation, GE was unwilling to “pay off” the unions with overly generous, non-economic wages and benefits. Instead, GE leaders took a strong stand in the mid-1950s against the then strong labor unions dominance and uneconomic demand.

Led by Lemuel Boulware, GE’s refused to participate in industry bargaining and negotiated with the unions on a company basis. They carefully thought though what was in the balanced interest of employees, investors, stockholders and made a “fair offer” prior to the negotiations. Though they were willing to make some concessions, they were firm and were willing to take a strike rather than give away the shop. They christened this approach “Doing Right Voluntarily” and used these policies and practices to assure that the company didn’t mortgage its financial future. In addition, GE made it clear that it was ready willing and able to move its established plants to friendlier, non-union locations, rather than be blackmailed.

This practice became known as “Boulwarism” and though it received a great deal of negative press, it worked for a number of reasons:

1. First, GE had a long positive track record from the company’s inception of caring about its employees and their well fare. They instituted a suggestion system in 1906, a pension program in 1912 and insurance in 1920.


2. Second, the major GE union, the United Electrical Workers (UE) was a communist led union that appeared to be more concerned with having a people’s revolution than about the conditions faced by the GE workers themselves. This union was highlighted in the McCarthy hearings and was ultimately ejected from the CIO.


3. Third, the CIO created a competing non-communist controlled union, under Jim Carey, who aggressively sought to convert the UE members to the IUE. Further other powerful unions were part of the GE bargaining units, including the Teamsters and the IBEW. So Boulware divided and conquered the unions and didn’t have to face one dominate union, as there were in the auto, coal and steel industries.


4. Fourth, as we said GE did its homework and was willing to give the workers, both union and non-union, attractive and even innovative benefits before they were required. In most cases, the workers recognized that the benefits and wage increases were fair and balanced and were will to accept them without a strike. This neutralized the unions bargaining power.


5. Fifth GE hired the “Great Communicator” and the popular host of GE Theater, Ronald Reagan to tour all of the GE plants and spread the message of evils of Big Unions and Big Government. Reagan claimed to have visited 135 GE research and manufacturing facilities and met with some 250,000 individuals. It ultimately led to his own conversion and gave him the underpinning of his successful election to President of United States.Sixth and probably most important, GE was willing to close plants in unattractive union locations and move them to non-union cities. This was very powerful, since it gave the company power that the auto, steel and coal companies didn’t have. GE was an early proponent of moving to the southern US and overseas.

Overall the GE Boulwarism approach enabled the company to maintain control over its own destiny and not allow Big Unions and Big Government to dictate to them. GE was unwilling to mortgage the future for short term gain and was willing to take a strike if it was needed. This was sharp contrast to the other industry leaders who accept peace at any price and didn’t appear to care about the long term implications of giving away the shop.

This is just one of the elements that has enable GE to prosper and grow over its 126 years of existence, while other United States giant companies have gone out of business or are one the verge of bankruptcy.

The complete story can be found in Bill Rothschild’s latest book “The Secret to GE’s Success”, published by McGraw Hill and is now available Simplified Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Spanish, Japanese and CD.

The right talent for an aggressive innovative strategy.

Talent required to implement an aggressive growth innovation strategy.
In my most recent book: THE SECRET TO GE's SUCCESS... I used "LATIN" to summarize why I think GE has been so successful. LATIN stands for Leadership, Adaptability, TALENT, Influencing and Networks.Over the past few months I have focused on Leadership and Adaptability, to evaluate the Immelt Team's actions and policies, but it is really TALENT that can make the difference. No leader can do it by him or herself. It takes the RIGHT TALENT to make it work.In my fourth book: Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker... the four faces to strategic leadership. I describe the unique talents and team required for the most popular strategies. In the next few blogs I wish to demonstrate how these talents differ from one strategy to another and the challenges they present to the human resource organization.I will start with the talents required to successfully implement an aggressive growth, innovation strategy. This innovation can be either based on creating a new innovative product, like a new electric car; or a service, like a new way to teach foreign languages; or software and systems that improve communications.Folklore challengers. Obviously the first talent required in the innovators of the product, service or software. These individuals must be willing to experiment and challenge the current technologies or the folklore. Experimentation is key.Next Generation before required. The innovative staff must recognize that no matter how clever they think their innovation is, it will be replicated and copied in time. This means that the team must not fall in love with their innovation, but be prepared to respond when the enemy tries to replicate or leap frog the innovation.GOOD AGGRESSIVE PATENT and Copyright LAWYERS...Even if you have the best patents or copyrights, you must be prepared for challenging the copycats... this means you have a strong legal staff or access to the best legal patent and copyright lawyers who will aggressively challenge any and all violations, even if they are questionable.MISSIONARY SELLERS - the sales and marketing staff must be COMPLETE zealots and believe in the innovation. They can't even be objective...but must appear to be objective.PRODUCTION MUST MEET EVEN EXCEED EXPECTATIONS. The production team must meet even exceed expectations and respond quickly to any problems. This is a no quibble mentality.Enough funds to stay the course...This requires accountants and financial teams that can get the money and then assure that the budgets are met and not exceeded.
This is the first in a series of articles that will describe the RIGHT TEAM and RIGHT TALENT required to execute a variety of strategic options and alternatives.
If you wish to see the total picture...read my book : Risktaker, Caretaker, Surgeon, Undertaker- the four faces of strategic leadership. It can be purchased on www.strategyleader.com