Groups and Teams

As president of Hernandez &

Associates, Marco Hernandez knew his team was up

for the challenge. He had worked hard to create an environment to support a successful

team

—

he recruited people who had solid agency experience, and he consistently

communicated the firm’s mission to his tea

m. He made sure the team had all the

resources it needed to succeed and continually took stock of these resources. He had

built his team as he built his business and knew the group would respond to his

leadership. But where to start? Getting the team to un

derstand that growth depended on

a shift in how it served its clients was not difficult

—

each of the employees of the small

firm had enough contact with the clients that they knew client needs were changing.

But making significant changes to the status quo

at Hernandez & Associates would be

difficult. Group roles had to change

—

creative folks had to think about how to increase

a client’s phone inquiries and Web site visits; account people needed a better

understanding of the client’s desire for more agency le

adership. And everyone needed

a better sense of the costs involved. The company as a whole required a more integrated

approach to serving clients if they hoped to survive. Marco needed a plan.

1.

Like many leaders, Marco ha

s a team in place and does not have the luxury of

building a new team to adapt to the changing business environment his firm now

faces. Use the TLM to help Marco diagnose the problems faced by the firm and

identify leverage points for change.

a.

Consider the

major functions of the TLM

—

input, process, and output. Where

do most of the firm’s challenges fall?

b.

What are the team’s goals for outputs?

2.

Identify potential resources for Marco and his team in implementing a strategy to

change the way they do business at

Hernandez & Associates.

As president of Hernandez & Associates, Marco Hernandez knew his team was up

for the challenge. He had worked hard to create an environment to support a successful

team—he recruited people who had solid agency experience, and he consistently

communicated the firm’s mission to his team. He made sure the team had all the

resources it needed to succeed and continually took stock of these resources. He had

built his team as he built his business and knew the group would respond to his

leadership. But where to start? Getting the team to understand that growth depended on

a shift in how it served its clients was not difficult—each of the employees of the small

firm had enough contact with the clients that they knew client needs were changing.

But making significant changes to the status quo at Hernandez & Associates would be

difficult. Group roles had to change—creative folks had to think about how to increase

a client’s phone inquiries and Web site visits; account people needed a better

understanding of the client’s desire for more agency leadership. And everyone needed

a better sense of the costs involved. The company as a whole required a more integrated

approach to serving clients if they hoped to survive. Marco needed a plan.

1. Like many leaders, Marco has a team in place and does not have the luxury of

building a new team to adapt to the changing business environment his firm now

faces. Use the TLM to help Marco diagnose the problems faced by the firm and

identify leverage points for change.

a. Consider the major functions of the TLM—input, process, and output. Where

do most of the firm’s challenges fall?

b. What are the team’s goals for outputs?

2. Identify potential resources for Marco and his team in implementing a strategy to

change the way they do business at Hernandez & Associates.