It's convenient to go after the easy fix to a problem or challenge. I call that the band-aid approach.
Sure, you could put in the hard work to really invest in your technology, people and processes to align to the outcomes you desire, OR you can band-aid it.
A recent, very public example is the lack of technology investment at Southwest Airlines to replace their outdated systems (tech debt). They kept applying the band-aids until the band-aids failed.
I suppose the shareholders these past 10+ years didn't realize the growing problem, only saw the positive returns. For the former CEO/s and other leaders who made a lot of money by not spending money, they knew this was a "202x" problem, but one they chose not to address during their tenure. I can only imagine how well they were rewarded for controlling expenses to increase profits.
How do the employees, customers and shareholders today feel about those past decisions? What an expensive lesson to have not made these critical investments over the years (and that is what they are, investments, not expenses).
I get it. It is definitely inconvenient to spend money, project and resource time on systems that haven't broken, yet. Sometimes you don't have the knowledge in house to address. But, to what cost in the end? It's tough to buy back your tarnished reputation or to re-engage team members who are on the front lines. Sometimes no amount of money will undo the harm done.
Hopefully, Southwest Airlines will return stronger than ever, but it will cost them so much more to be reactive to this problem than it would have to have been proactive in addressing it.
As a former COO, I am well aware of the challenging work to keep an organization running well and appease shareholders. It requires a sound business case to get support to make the investments.
CEOs and leaders, where are you applying the band-aid in your organization? And are you willing to have the future leaders and team members pay the price for that?
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