If Your Firm is Sinking, Fix the Holes First

Source: BNET

In this article, author Brent Schlender discusses similarities in the turnaround strategies of Steve Jobs and new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz. He begins the article with this quote from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison about Jobs' predecessor at Apple, Gil Amelio:

We were at a cocktail party, and Gil Amelio was explaining Apple's predicament to us, and he said: “Apple is a boat. There's a hole in the boat, and it's taking on water. But there's also a treasure on board. And the problem is, everyone on board is rowing in different directions, so the boat is just standing still. My job is to get everyone rowing in the same direction so we can save the treasure.” After he turned away, I looked at the person next to me and asked, “But what about the hole?”

The lesson here, Schlender explains, is that “when you are called on to bail out a sinking ship, it helps to lighten the load and fix the holes first, and only then figure out where you really want to go. Do that, and your crew will fall in with you.”

For the complete article, click here.

From BNET, www.bnet.com, November 17, 2009, “Perspective: Yahoo's Turnaround Efforts Are Straight from Steve Jobs' Playbook.”