Be Careful What You Wish For

Have you ever wished for something, had it come true and then regretted it?   Here is an example you might be able to relate to.

Once upon a time 
Once upon a time there was a compensation professional named Roger.  He was very experienced and was always viewed as very competent and knowledgeable by management wherever he worked.

But Roger had a problem.  He always ended up working for companies whose C-suite members were “all over the map” in terms of what they believed about compensation and how it should work.   These companies were rapidly growing and  the C-suite members were fairly new in their positions so did not have a long history of working together.  

Each member had strong opinions about compensation instilled in them from a previous employer.  Because of this Roger had difficulty getting agreement from the group.  Even when he got agreement everything fell apart after a few months as each C-suite member gradually drifted back to his/her old mindset.   Then Roger had to go through the approval step again.  It was like trying to "herd cats."

Going through this constant hassle made Roger daydream about working for a company that had a very stable C-suite team with a long history of working together and a strong consensus on compensation philosophy and strategy. 

Finally his wish came true.   He began working for a company where the C-suite had worked together for years in various capacities before reaching their current positions.  Upon learning this, Roger’s hopes soared.  

It never occurred to him that although this group had “jelled” in their thinking on many business issues, including compensation, it might not be as ideal as he thought.

In his first 6 months with the company Roger audited all compensation programs worldwide and put together a proposal for the changes he believed were necessary.  

Imagine his surprise when top management didn’t bless his recommended changes.   Roger offered many solid reasons for them.  There was much discussion.  The bottom line from them was “This is not the way we do things.  It doesn’t fit our model.”   Roger was stunned.

This response by the executives was not just a one-off reaction regarding compensation.  It was the same with every business process in the company.  Anything outside the "norm" seemed to be off limits.

The End
What Roger had run up against was “organizational memory”.   This happens when companies have long track records of success and a management team that has worked together long enough to reach an accord on how business should run. This “memory” becomes firmly entrenched, and if it continues long enough may end up preventing the company from moving forward.  It is very difficult to give up something--- especially  when it has a history of success. 

Here's some things that Roger did to make some progress:

1) He approached the VPs and talked to them one on one.  He showed them how his recommendations would impact their BU/division.  Some of them agreed with him, and were able to put some pressure on the CEO to take a second look.

2) He sent articles to the CEO that supported his recommendations.  To make sure they were credible he sent ones from business pubs like HBR, Forbes, Fortune, etc.  

3) He found a reason to bring in an outside consultant and arranged an informal meeting with the CEO.  During the course of conversation, the consultant found a way to reinforce Roger's recommendations.

4) Roger compiled data from what the CEO viewed as competitors and showed him what their compensation philosophy was and the kind of programs they developed to support it.

Roger kept hammering away at it, gained some traction and over time gradually made some progress. 

Have any of you had "be careful what you wish for" experiences?   Care to share them?

Jacque Vilet, President of Vilet International, has over 20 years’ experience in Global Human Resources with major multinationals such as Intel, National Semiconductor and Seagate Technology. She has managed both local/ in-country national and expatriate programs and has been an expat twice during her career.   Her true love is working with local national issues.  Jacque has the following certifications:  CCP, GPHR, HCS and SWP as well as a B.S. and M.S in Psychology and an MBA.    She belongs to SHRM, Human Capital Institute and World at Work.   Jacque has also been a speaker in the U.S., Asia and Europe, and is a regular contributor to various HR and talent management publications. 

Creative Commons image "wishes on a stick" by az jade

Comments

[Dan Walter]

when I read that everyone agreed I though were going to go down the rabbit hole of the uninteresting, unmotivating job where there everyone agrees and no one innovates.

Good piece.

One of my favorite "be careful what you wish for" stories is about a company that created an incentive program. The plan would pay out only if their stock price doubled and remained above that level for at least 60 days. Models showed it would talk 4-5 years for the price to double.

Then their entire market took off over the next 6 months. Everything was earned, but that had not yet put anything int systems, created call centers, figured out the tax consequences etc... Fun stuff. By the time thy paid everything out, I think the stock price had dropped about 25%.

[Jacque Vilet]

Funny story Dan --- hope you were not involved in any way!

Interesting that they designed an "incentive" plan they didn't figure would pay out for 4-5 years. Why did they even bother? Some incentive.

[E. James (Jim) Brennan]

There are long-term incentives, retention incentives and short-term incentives, not to mention hybrids of every flavor beyond chocolate and vanilla. Frequently, shareholders lobby compensation committees for triggers based on long-range forecasts (inaccurate as those may turn out to be) most profitable for shareholders versus short-term targets with questionable stock-price value impacts. Things change. Crystal balls don't work well. Murphy arrives. It's a constant battle of guess, aim, fire, score, adjust and repeat. Sometimes the results get better, sometimes worse.

[Jacque Vilet]

Yeah --- God love Murphy's law.