New CEO learns territory quickly
08:30 AM CDT on Sunday, August 19, 2007
Career advancement often requires a temporary surrender of security. Every important promotion creates a yin-yang effect: increased compensation but nagging uncertainty. "Will success mean failure?" This tendency to fret stems from the very human apprehension that, deep down, each of us feels unworthy of success. But if properly harnessed, this natural fear of failure is a great motivator.
A case in point is Jeff Kane, who joined Irving-based NEC Unified Solutions Inc. as senior vice president of sales in 2006. A 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Mr. Kane had experience leading sales divisions for Perot Systems Corp. and Electronic Data Systems Corp. Sales was his sweet spot.
But 10 months later, Mr. Kane was asked to become NEC Unified's new chief executive. His challenge: Make the psychological leap from an area where he had long been successful to a leadership role in an unfamiliar industry.
The company's Japanese parent, NEC Corp., began in 1899 as a joint venture between Western Electric and Nippon Electric. Today, most cellphone and land-line calls in Japan are on NEC's infrastructure.
NEC Unified Solutions does what its name suggests - it provides networking and communications to major industries such as health care, education and hospitality. The local company capitalizes on its worldwide affiliates' array of products and applications to be a single-source provider of voice, data and video to customers with no geographical borders.
Here's how Mr. Kane has evolved:
Micromanagement is a dragon that slays leaders under the pretense of keeping them alive.
As head of sales, Mr. Kane was involved in every detail of every large transaction. As CEO, he has to push himself to let go. He relies on a team of five vice presidents of sales, the vice president of marketing, the chief financial officer and the vice president of operations.
NEC Unified Solutions
Chief executive Jeff Kane had spent his career in sales until 10 months after joining NEC Unified Solutions in 2006 and is now meeting the challenges of a higher position.
"If a leader tries to do everything, thinking that only he can perform specific tasks well, he'll go insane," he says. Instead, Mr. Kane has transformed himself from executor to catalyst and motivator.
Through healthy interaction with each member of management, Mr. Kane ensures that everyone on the team understands his role. Then he gets out of their way.
He strives to provide an atmosphere where people apprise him of problems as they arise. His philosophy is that problems should not fester - they are remedied quickly.
Mr. Kane also makes a habit of asking each member of his team what he can do to help them, and then he delivers. Otherwise, the question would be seen as hollow, diminishing his credibility.
Mr. Kane makes himself totally accessible. He wants any idea - from mild to wild - that will improve the company.
He still talks to customers, but his focus has shifted. Now he speaks broadly about the life cycle of their relationship with NEC and the value in a long-term relationship.
We like to say that delegation is the sincerest form of flattery. But Mr. Kane is quick to point out that part of delegation is follow-up and accountability. If his trust is misplaced, he's not afraid to restructure roles to better align with the company's priorities.
He who never asks questions is not very knowledgeable.
It would be foolhardy for Mr. Kane to hide the fact that he's new to the company and industry. So he doesn't pretend. Instead he asks questions - in private meetings with management, at trade shows and even during sales presentations - and listens to what people say.
The questions let people know that he's interested; the answers give Mr. Kane the information he needs to better perform his job.
Indecision is anathema to decision-making.
Mr. Kane's decision-making philosophy is straightforward: Accept good coaching from his senior managers, then make a decision with the data available. He abhors indecision and overanalysis. If the decision turns out to be wrong, correct it and learn from it. A bad decision is better than no decision.
To sum up Mr. Kane's strong feelings regarding decisiveness, he quotes the great management guru President Theodore Roosevelt:
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Pauline Graivier is president of Dallas-based Verbal Communications Inc. Rob Hoffman is a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP.
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