REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

216 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

wanted to have some control over their own career. These three CEOs

also realized that the employees that worked for them were impatient.

These people were not prepared, as their parents were, to wait in line

for eventual recognition. They wanted responsibility and rewards now.

Consequently, they would be attracted to organizations that would offer

exciting, immediate challenges. They were looking for companies in

which they would be stretched, where senior executives were willing to

take a gamble on them and give them the room to learn. Learning and

the permission to make mistakes seem to be very closely linked. Thus

they were searching for organizations in which employees would be

allowed to make mistakes. After all, people who don ’ t make mistakes

haven ’ t made any decisions!

That doesn ’ t mean, however, that employees were not held account-

able for their performance. Accountability was driven deep down the

organization. It is impossible to be part of a winning institution without

making a distinction between excellent and mediocre work. Thus con-

structive feedback about performance is very much part of the culture

of these three organizations. There is compassion, but there is a limit to

excuses.

Small is Beautiful

All three CEOs knew that while size means more possibilities, it can

also become a serious impediment. Economies of scale are not without

serious diseconomies of size. These executives were very aware of the

fact that when organizational units become too big, employees would

become less involved. They could experience a sense of alienation and

depersonalization, with obvious negative repercussions on creativity,

innovation, and entrepreneurship.

To challenge their employees and give them a sense of ownership,

Branson, Welch, and Barnevik went to great lengths to create in their

large corporations the small - business atmosphere of a high - performance

workplace. Branson has been overheard saying that when there are more

than 50 to 75 people in a building, they lose their sense of identity and

belonging. When that happens, it is time to spin off the unit to create

a new business in another building. Branson has applied his philosophy

religiously: his organization consists of a large number of small autono-

mous units. His organization is like an amoeba, continuously dividing

and reproducing. Virgin has turned into a subtle network of interrelated

companies with a mutuality of interests, all of which can be mystifying

to outsiders. To some extent his company has become like an imaginary