Evergreen - (2+2+2)*5 rule
There are many centuries-old companies among the world's top 500 companies, and the reason why these centuries-old companies can transcend time and space and keep their business evergreen is inseparable from their unique talent development mechanism. The core logic of talent development mechanism is to realize sustainable competitiveness through systematic investment in human capital.
This issue introduces the (2+2+2)*5 talent development mechanism that has been implemented by a Fortune 500 company for a long time and has been effective. We hope it will inspire your company and welcome your discussion.
The first "2"
two different functional departments
For example, there is an employee with strong personal ability, proficient in technology, smooth communication, and leading the team to successfully develop one new product after another. He is now the head of technology and has the potential to become a general manager in a few years. In this case, he can be transferred to a new position, from technical leader to product management leader or marketing leader, so that he has experience in two different functions.
The second "2"
Two different business units
In a large company, there are both long and short cycle businesses. There are direct sales products and distribution products. There is a b-to-b model that serves industry, and there may be a b-to-c model that serves consumers. It is best to let young managers experience in two different business units to increase their experience and to test whether they can learn and grow quickly under different business models to accomplish various tasks and targets.
The third "2"
Two Different Locations
If a talented person is an American, he can be sent to Europe for a period of time. If the person is a native Chinese, consider moving to Singapore for a period of time. Even if you are a domestic company, you can also learn from this method. For example, if a high potential talent born in East China has been working in East China for many years, would you send him to South China or Northwest China for a period of time. Although all Chinese people speak Mandarin, different regions in South China, East China, North China and Southwest China have different living habits and different customer requirements. As a leader, and possibly a more senior leader in the future, you need to know all aspects of the situation, which is called rotation.
Next, we introduce 5, which refers to 5 different business states:
01 Well-developed business
The business is growing in size, efficiency is improving, cash flow is good, profits are high, and the team is good. After the new manager takes over, it is important to continue the good momentum of business development in one, two or three years. Even to do further enhancement and improvement, so that the team is more cohesive and combat effectiveness, so that sales continue to grow, profits continue to improve, and more than 95% of the profits should be converted into cash. This is the first type of business, which is good business.
02 Growing a Bad Business
Faced with declining sales, falling profits, less cash, low employee morale, and declining customer satisfaction. In short, all kinds of bad. How can a potential cadre turn things around after taking over such a business? Take a poorly run business, and under his leadership, work with his team to transform that business into an excellent one in six months, a year, or two years. Realize profit turnaround, sales from decline to growth, cash flow from shortage to sufficiency, customer satisfaction and so on.
03 A new business
New business here does not mean the creation of a new enterprise in the general sense, but refers to the existing enterprise or business among the potential cadres need to have the courage and commitment of entrepreneurs, he can see the new market opportunities, with a relatively small amount of money, leading a small team, the opportunity to become a reality, and the gradual development of the new business. Therefore, new business refers to the business that innovates in the company's existing business.
04 Project Groups/Project Sets
The head of this type of business such as Quality Director, AI Director, or even VP, VP, VP, the position sounds not small, but he has no subordinates directly reporting to him or may just have a small team of one or two people. He has to promote and implement key programs throughout the company. Whether it's Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is hot right now, or traditional customer satisfaction improvements, quality improvements, cost reductions, and so on. The person in this position is expected to form virtual teams without direct reports, drive new initiatives across the company, and achieve demonstrable performance in six months, a year, or two years.
05 Mergers and Acquisitions
is not about the action of acquisition and merger itself, but rather how the acquired and merged business can be integrated with the existing business to achieve the effect of 1+1>2. The reason why a company wants to acquire or merge a company is usually to meet the needs of business development. For example, the need for new channels, new technologies, or to realize the extension from products to services and so on. Since there is a company in the market that can fulfill this need, it is bought back through mergers and acquisitions. The buyer is usually a relatively traditional elephant in the room, with thousands or tens of thousands of people, strong capital, normal business development, and perfect management. The acquired party, on the other hand, may be a new company with just a few dozen people, or one or two hundred. Although the business is small, it has its own unique weapon, or technology, or channel, or service. These two companies have different cultures, different management philosophies, and use different systems. How to integrate the acquired company's business into the existing company's business, so that both businesses can develop smoothly, and to achieve the effect of 1+1>2, so as to maximize shareholders' equity, is a test for high-potential cadres.
In summary, (2+2+2)*5 refers to 2 different functions, 2 different business divisions, 2 different locations, and 5 different business states (good business, challenging business, new business, key projects, M&A).
When a young cadre or high-potential talent has all or most of the above 2+2+2 *5 experiences, and is able to fulfill the tasks in different positions and business statuses, then he is more fully prepared for further promotion to lead a bigger team and experience bigger storms. From the company's point of view also cultivates excellent successors.