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A Way To Cut Long Meetings Short
CEO of a large company hired
Larry Farrel, a management
consultant, to help him to get
rid of the corporate
bureaucracy. In particular, the
CEO complained about the length
of corporate meetings – the
discussions were poorly focused
and too long. Larry suggested a
very simple but a very effective
solution: to remove chairs from
the meeting room. The CEO was
extremely satisfied with the
results: decisions were taken
now within three minutes instead
of three hours.
Dell
Inc.
"From the very beginning, we
tended to come at things in a
very practical way," says
Michael Dell. "I was always
asking, "What's the most
efficient way to accomplish
this?" Consequently, we
eliminated the possibility for
bureaucracy before it ever
cropped up, and that provided
opportunities for learning as
well. Our sales force, for
example, had to set up their own
computers. It helped them
develop a more intimate
understanding of the products
they were selling. As a result,
they were able to help customers
make informed decisions about
what to buy and they could help
solve equipment problems. That
marked the start of our
reputation for
great service, one of the
tools for staying ahead of the
competition."
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Bunsha
Bunsha means company division.
In practice in means routinely
spinning off companies from
the core group. Kuniyasu Sakai
and his partner, Hiroshi
Sekiyama, are legendary managers
in
Japan. They don't buy the
"bigger is better" concept.
Kuniyasu Sakai and Hiroshi
Sekiyama started a business
together and turned it into a
highly profitable one.
Rather than building a single,
giant firm, they divided it, and
then kept on dividing. Always
keeping each of their firms at
its optimum size.
In the process of creating a
prosperous Bunsha group of companies, they discovered how to keep their
companies on the cutting edge, their employees productive, and their clients
happy, all at the same time.
Their method is what Mr. Sakai calls
bunsha (literally, 'dividing companies'), a system he and Mr. Sekiyama developed
over more than 40 years of real-world corporate management.
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