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WHARTON LEADERSHIP DIGEST
July, 2000,
Volume 4, Number 10
Contents
Leadership Development
Program: Knowledge-Intensive Growth at Dupont
Leadership Case: Acquisition
by a Minority-Owned Radio Station
Leadership Conference: Tichy
on Leading with Speed
Research Center:
Corporate Governance in the U.K. & Worldwide Leadership
Interview:
William Kelvie, EVP and CIO, Fannie Mae
Leadership Quote: Visionary
E-Leadership
Leadership Development Program:
Knowledge-Intensive Growth at
DuPont
By
Robert Cooper, Planning Director, Knowledge
Intensive University, DuPont
 DuPont’s
new leadership development program is intended to assist the company’s
goal of sharply enhancing earnings growth and reducing capital intensity.
In mid-1999, we faced three challenges for jump-starting our
growth:
1) Because of our intense
focus on productivity in recent years, we had not built a strong culture
of growth.
2 ) To foster productivity
and execution broadly, we had introduced a formal program – “Six
Sigma” – but we had no comparable program for fostering growth.
3) We were asking our
divisions to change fundamentally their business models and methods of
doing business, but we had not yet provided them with the models and tools
for doing so.
We therefore launched a program for “knowledge intensive” growth to drive
value creation through a basic knowledge of our customers, markets, and
intellectual property. We are
transitioning from our traditional product-centric business model to a
customer-centric model in order to promote top-line driven earnings growth
and reduce our historically high capital intensity.
Our approach was
first to identify a process for driving growth with a proven record, and
then to create a management “experience” for kick-starting that
process.
For driving growth, we have adopted McKinsey and Co.’s “hypothesis driven
strategy process,” and for driving the program we have created the
Knowledge Intensity University (KIU).
The latter is a partnership with McKinsey and the Wharton School,
and it is intended to foster a sense of passion and energy for the growth
initiative.
We have built two KIU
programs. One is for the top
management of product divisions and global businesses.
This program helps our most senior people develop an understanding
of how to establish the best places to grow; the importance of creating a
sense of urgency; and how to allocate resources among the business teams
that must execute the agenda. The
second program is for the business teams themselves.
That program is intended to help our business teams identify, test,
and implement their best
“growth engines.”
Both programs are
intensive, often running 18 hours per day.
McKinsey consultants, drawing on their practical experience with
growth companies, work with DuPont’s internal consultants to orchestrate
and lead the week-long learning events.
Wharton faculty, building on their research experience with growth
companies, structure classroom discussions of strategic alliances,
e-business, change leadership, and related topics.
We are also extending our programs internationally, with a group of
top DuPont managers in Latin America coming together for a week in Brazil.
To build and sustain
the programs, we consulted with DuPont’s chief executive and other key
leaders. We have also
consulted frequently with DuPont’s senior officers for new technology
and e-business, and we have even briefed the company board.
Since their inception
in late 1999, the programs of the Knowledge Intensive University have
created a number of growth initiatives at Dupont and the beginnings of a
company-wide culture that celebrates growth.
Note:
Robert Cooper is Planning Director, Knowledge Intensive University, Corporate Plans,
Dupont Corporation, and he can be reached at <robert.a.cooper@usa.dupont.com>.
LEADERSHIP CASE: Acquisition
by a Minority-Owned Radio Station
Case
summary:
WHAT is family owned talk radio station that targets Philadelphia's
African-American community, the largest in the state of Pennsylvania, and
one of the largest in the United States.
WHAT is about to acquire WCXJ radio, a Pittsburgh station, which
serves the second largest African-American community in the state of PA.
The grant from Philadelphia's Department of Housing and Urban
Development that will be used to finance the acquisition is withdrawn at
the last minute and alternative sources of financing, though available,
will put WHAT under a substantial financial strain at a time of rapidly
increasing competition from radio station conglomerates.
Cody Anderson, the visionary founder and CEO of WHAT, feels that
the acquisition is in line with WHAT’s vision and wants to proceed
regardless. His son Bill, the on-air personality, is very
supportive of the growth that will allow his voice to be heard across the
state. However, his
business-educated son, Kyle, Vice President and Station Manager, feels
that rather than proceed with the acquisition, WHAT should invest in
operations to remain competitive. How
should Cody approach this decision?
Uses
of the case:
This case allows an exploration of leadership dilemmas,
interpersonal conflicts, individual biases in decision-making and group
diversity. The richness of
this case allows for a discussion in which each one of these topics can be
the sole subject of a whole class or the issues can be studied in
combination. The case fits curricula that stress group dynamics including
leadership, team dynamics, strategy making, decision-making, and special
interests in African American issues.
Teaching
support:
The Wharton Leadership Center, jointly with the Management
Department, has sponsored the development of a teaching package for the
WHAT case. The package includes a teaching note, a PowerPoint
presentation, a “part (B)” case that details the aftermath of the
decision and wraps up the story and the conclusion of the story, and video
clips that introduce the main characters and the issues involved.
The complete teaching package is available by going to <http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/l_c.htm>
and clicking on “Business Cases.”
Any leader who engages in transformation will not win
popularity contests, at least in the short run. GE’s Jack Welch was referred to as “neutron Jack” on
his way to gaining the status of the greatest CEO who has ever lived.
Note: Robert
Gunther can be reached at <gunther@pond.com>, Noel Tichy can be
contacted at <noel_tichy@ccmail.bus.umich.edu>, and information on
GE’s leadership programs can be obtained at <http://www.ge.com/ibcroa18.htm>.
New
Research Center: Corporate
Governance in the U.K. and Worldwide
 Professor Christine Mallin of the University of
Birmingham has established a new program for studies of company governance
in the United Kingdom and other national settings.
Housed at the Birmingham Business School, the “Centre for
Corporate Governance Research” is focused on the relationship among
directors, investors, and other stakeholders, and the impact of these
relations on company strategy and performance.
Among the center’s research are studies of voting by institutional investors, the disclosure of directors’
compensation, and company compliance with the Cadbury and Greenbury
recommendations for effective governance.
It has also undertaken projects on the development of corporate
governance in China, Malaysia, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Professor Mallin can be reached at <C.A.Mallin@bham.ac.uk>,
and the information on the center is available at <http://business.bham.ac.uk/ccgr/>.
Leadership Interview: William
Kelvie, EVP and CIO, Fannie Mae
William Kelvie, Executive Vice President and Chief Information for
Fannie Mae, has built an Internet capacity at Fannie Mae during the past
several years. John Joseph,
Wharton 2nd-year MBA student, interviewed him recently about leading the
Internet development, and you can see the interview by clicking on
“Interviews and Portraits of Leaders” at the Wharton Leadership
Center’s “Leadership and eCommerce” website (http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/ecom.htm).
Leadership Quote: Visionary
E-Leadership
By Diby Malakar, Project Manager, E-Engineering
Practice, KPMG Consulting, LLC
 Leadership
is the demonstrated ability of management to
motivate and encourage all teams within the organization to work hard
towards realizing the long-term goals of the organization.
What we need today in
this rapidly expanding world of e-commerce and information technology is
visionary e-leadership.
Visionary
e-leadership involves using vision as a glue, binding people together in
common effort and shared values. The
pioneers in e-commerce, such as Cisco and Dell, have succeeded in
establishing their niche not just because they used the latest technology
to greater benefit, but also because they infused their vision of the
Internet’s business potential into all of their employees and partners.
Visionary e-leadership means moving all aspects of
companies into the brave new world of online business.
E-leaders need to channel the energy of the Internet startup –
whether stand alone or part of an established firm – into the defining
force of the firm. They must
think about the whole picture and have a clear vision of how the
e-commerce initiatives fit into the overall company.
And they should press everybody to understand the critical
importance of the Internet for every aspect of the business.
At General Motors, CIO Ralph Szygenda sees his primary job is “to
help transform every automotive executive into an e-business executive.”
Note:
Diby Malakar can be contacted at <dibymalakar@yahoo.com>, and
information on KPMG Consulting can be found at <http://www.kpmgconsulting.com>. |
