During most leaders’ early careers, they play checkers – a simple, reactive game. But as those leaders advance, they instead must play chess – a strategic game requiring forethought and planning. Small firms can get by early on with a “checkers mindset,” but must switch to a “chess-not-checkers mindset” as they grow and their operations become more complex.
Like chess grand masters making careful moves, strategic leaders must understand the special skills and talents of each team member and combine, leverage and exploit those capabilities for maximum competitive advantage and efficiency. Leaders should adapt four classic chess moves to attain their organizational goals and achieve superior performance. The fable of Blake Brown, a newly appointed CEO, illustrates how a chess-not-checkers mind-set and philosophy function.
“Chess is a game of choices, and business is, too. We win or lose based on our choices and how well we execute against those choices.”
A Bird in the Hand
Blake Brown was frustrated. His colleagues at Dynastar thought highly of him. Many believed he would eventually become part of his firm’s senior management. But despite 10 years in the business, Blake had not moved up the corporate ladder. Why hadn’t Dynastar rewarded him with a senior leadership position? Should he remain at Dynastar with the hope of winning a top job or accept a recent offer to become CEO of a smaller firm?
Blake was pleased that his income would be higher as the CEO of the smaller firm, but was more excited about its growth potential. He believed he could increase the firm’s sales and profits by 100%. Yet he worried that the parent company, frustrated with the subsidiary’s years of flat sales, might pull the plug if business didn’t improve quickly. Blake wondered whether his wife Megan would support his move from an established company to one with an uncertain future.
“Chess is not a game of luck, and neither is business. When you win…you made good decisions.”
Blake bet on himself and took the CEO job. He told Megan, and she promised to give him complete support. She had one question: “You have never led a company,” she observed. “Do you know how?” “I think so,” Blake replied. “Your confidence overwhelms me,” she said.
The First Day
Blake accepted the position as CEO and showed up early for his first day at his new job. He beat everyone else to the office. Shortly after he came in, the previous CEO’s assistant, Suzy, introduced herself. She wore sweat pants and a T-shirt. HR had told Suzy and other employees that, due to the company’s poor performance, the new CEO might start by firing people. She asked if she still had a job. “Of course,” Blake replied.
“If you want your organization to thrive…strengthen your leadership team. You can’t transform your organization by yourself.”
Blake found more than 200 emails waiting for him, some 25% with the same subject line: “Decision needed.” As Suzy showed Blake around the building, he noticed that everything was messy and cluttered. Though it was close to 9:00 a.m., no one except Suzy had arrived. Blake asked when the rest of the employees would show up. “We start slow around here,” she said. “Since it’s Monday, most people will probably be in by 9:15.”
Blake invited five executives to his first senior management meeting, but only three showed up: “John, the vice president of marketing; Angie, the vice president of purchasing; and Brad, the vice president of finance.” They all arrived after Blake. Another executive, Elizabeth, showed up late, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. She apologized, saying, “I’m not used to starting my days so early.” Blake noticed that Angie and John concurred with Elizabeth. Blake asked if the missing executive, Charles, would join them. Elizabeth told Blake that if he had sent Charles’ invitation in an email, he wouldn’t see it. Charles “doesn’t really do email,” she said.
“For many leaders, our past successes just don’t translate. The game has literally changed before our eyes.”
Elizabeth told Blake that she would take notes of the meeting and give them to Charles. Blake told Elizabeth that her note taking would be easy since their meeting was going to be short. “Thank goodness,” Brad said, in a stage whisper everyone could hear. The executives had one notable piece of information for Blake: During the company’s 10-plus years, it had gone through four different CEOs. Blake was the fifth. And when he asked the executives to identify the company’s goals, no one had any ideas. He asked about the company’s plans. Their answer was just more blank stares.
Blake went back to his office and began answering his 200-plus emails. At 5:30 p.m., he walked through the office. Every employee had gone home. Blake, who’d been the first person to arrive, would be the last one to leave. His first day demonstrated that the company faced enormous challenges, and so did he.
“Invest in your leadership; ensure the…organization understands your purpose, mission and values; leverage people’s strengths…Help them pursue their dreams…Create systems to enable great performance.”
“Chess, Not Checkers”
Blake’s trusted mentor, Debbie Brewster, suggested that he talk to Jack DeLuca, a well-respected former CEO, who had agreed to counsel Blake in his new job. Jack invited Blake to meet him one morning the following week in Gresham Park and told him to look for the biggest crowd in the park. Blake saw about 25 people standing around a picnic table where Jack was playing chess. When Jack quickly checkmated his opponent, the crowd dispersed.
Blake told Jack about his new company and about his background and experience. Jack had one question: “Do you play chess?” Blake said he hadn’t played since he was a boy. “Do you play checkers?” Jack asked. “Sure, everyone plays checkers, don’t they?” Blake replied.
“You can’t be sure your investment in individual leaders will pay off. Some will rise to the challenge; some won’t.”
“If you want to lead a high-performance organization, you’ve got to play chess, not checkers,” Jack said. He explained that most small businesses play checkers, not chess. He said checkers was fine for small companies where leaders handle most of the important work.
But in a larger organization, management disperses tasks among numerous employees. In that situation, Jack said, you need a chess – not a checkers – mind-set. CEOs must understand when the “board has flipped” and the game has changed. Jack explained that CEOs with a checkers mind-set react to everything, an approach that doesn’t work for larger organizations. Instead, leaders must have a chess mind-set and be active thinkers who plan for the future.
“Most employers are trying to extract value from their people. If you foster dreams, you’ll be adding value to their lives. It’s a totally different orientation.”
Jack identified four “chess moves” that CEOs can implement to transform their companies and help them become industry leaders. As a ranked chess grand master, Jack was the ideal person to teach Blake how leaders use chess-like strategy to improve their firm’s performance. Over the next few months, Jack explained each classic chess move and taught Blake how to use them.
“If you want to bring out the best in each person, you must treat them differently.”
Cultivating leaders is the most important of the four classic chess moves. Organizations cannot thrive without good leaders. The company’s bet on the importance of strong leadership begins with the CEO, but all senior executives set the standard. Other people in the firm will mimic their leaders’ behavior. Leaders must enhance their own skills by setting personal development goals, asking for feedback and critique, seeking “stretch assignments, filling their skill gaps,” and recruiting mentors.
Senior executives must develop their “leadership bench” by investing in the professional development of their “emerging leaders.” The word “bet” in the axiom “bet on leadership” warns that you are taking a risk; you can’t be certain that investing in any one particular young leader will bear fruit. Nevertheless, you must nurture junior leaders so they can become senior leaders. Share this professional development commitment with all of your firm’s managers.
“If the front-line people aren’t performing and the leader can’t correct the situation, the leader will fall. Never underestimate the power of those on the front lines doing the work.”
To implement this strategy: 1) Determine what goals matter most; 2) get concurrence from “your leadership team”; and 3) disseminate this information throughout your organization. In other words, “decide, agree and communicate.”
“In chess…the right move is sometimes determined by your strategy and sometimes by circumstances outside your control.”
In business, to act as a team, people must commit to a simple idea: “all in or not at all.” To achieve such unity, team members should discuss why they are with the company, how they envision its success a decade down the road and “what beliefs will shape” how they work. This discussion taps into a company’s core values: “passion, learning, participation, creativity” and “collaboration.”
“When you work diligently to discover and leverage people’s unique contributions, you unleash latent value.”
Determine each employee’s unique talents and leverage them to maximize that person’s unique value. You want to earn the devotion of every employee because “engagement energizes effort.” When you give employees the opportunity to use their skills effectively so that they can see the results, you’re engaging them fully and enabling them to do their best work. As Jack told Blake, “If you help people accomplish their dreams, you’ll take another step toward winning their heart.”
“When you allow people to contribute their unique gifts and ask them to work from a place of personal strength, you do much more than get work done – you honor them and their contribution.”
Once you’ve educated and trained your workforce, you can apply these tactics to your business. Make sure the resources you move around are as strong and capable as possible. “Greatness hinges on execution,” and superior execution requires establishing and communicating short-term and long-term goals to everyone in your organization. Give your employees realistic metrics for measuring their progress toward these goals. Use charts, graphs and other visuals to communicate their performance levels.
Superior execution depends on a long-term mission and close attention to the immediate particulars, notably managing “the big picture and the details.” Tight focus is meaningless unless you establish accountability: Each employee must be responsible for solving his or her portion of the business puzzle and must close any performance gaps.
“In chess, the more pieces you involve in the game, the greater your chances of winning.”
The Big Payoff
Blake instituted each of Jack’s four classic chess principles, and over time the company’s performance improved substantially. As the firm grew strong, so did its market share and its position in its industry. Blake’s confidence in his abilities skyrocketed because he learned to play leadership chess.
