A Lesson from Foreign Minds


Two of the people I interviewed for this book—Bruno Schmitter (CEO of Hydromat) and Hendrik Verfaillie (former CEO of Monsanto) were born and raised in Europe. They both adopt an approach to professional friendship that is similar to that advocated above—keeping a little professional distance from their employees based on the reality of the need for business hierarchy, supplemented with genuine and personalized concern for the well-being of their employees. But they add one important dimension to the analysis that comes from their foreign upbringing. Effective American executives recognize hierarchy, but, unlike their European counterparts, they also recognize that everyone has a chance to move up in that hierarchy. So, while superiors keep some distance between themselves and their subordinates, a critical factor in the success of American organizations is that the subordinates all have the chance to advance.

"Europe is extremely hierarchical ... and I just despised that," notes Schmitter. In Germany, you might work side by side with the same boss for thirty years and you still have to use the formal pronouns when addressing the boss. You will probably not know all that much about your boss's family, and he or she will not know too much about yours. It is almost as if there is a managerial class and a working class, and there is no effort to find common ground between the two.

The rigid sense of hierarchy lowered the professional expectations and social mobility of employees. Working-class families tended to stay working-class families. "When I was younger, I just did not feel comfortable with the habits of my friends. After school, you go to the local tavern or restaurant and have a few beers and go home, and the next day you start all over. I wanted to see more," noted Schmitter.

Verfaillie and Schmitter believe that one of the best characteristics of American business or industry is that the concept of "permanent" hierarchy is less prevalent. Just because your father was a miner does not mean that you have to be one. A corporate structure never becomes a detention cell for people of certain social and economic backgrounds. Having seen a European system that is less mobile and slower to react to changing situations, both Verfaillie and Schmitter make a concerted effort to look for talent and ability at all levels and in all areas of their companies. They pride themselves on their ability to ignore the social backgrounds of their employees. They take a special interest in the careers of those who have overcome adversity, and they work hard to bring them up in the corporate structure. They also see their efforts to promote talented people as contributing to the broader goal of improving social mobility in the society as a whole. As Verfaillie put it, "It became clear to me that an American company gave much better chances to people to advance than in Europe.... In America it was much more based on performance and skill."

Perhaps Barrett Toan, the visionary CEO of Express Scripts, summed the issue of professional distance best when he told me, "The relationship you want to develop with your people is one of trust, not friendship." If they understand you and see your good intentions, and if you give them the opportunity to improve their professional lives, they will respect you and you will get good work out of them. You do not, however, need to become their best friend.




Staying Power. 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top - and Staying There
Staying Power : 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top - and Staying There
ISBN: 0071395172
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 174

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